by Stephen Roberts | 24 Jun, 2013 | Economic Weekly, Laminar Economist Stephen Roberts
Risk markets and bond markets have weakened – sharply in the case of equity markets – since late May when Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman heralded that if the US economy continued to strengthen the Fed could start to reduce its monthly bond buying program...
by Stephen Roberts | 17 Jun, 2013 | Economic Weekly, Laminar Economist Stephen Roberts
The Australian sharemarket rose strongly on Friday, breaking a run of almost continuous daily falls since late May. While it is too early to say whether the gloom from May has started to go away, there are good reasons in our view why risk assets should rebound over...
by Stephen Roberts | 13 Jun, 2013 | Economic Weekly, Laminar Economist Stephen Roberts
Employment was a touch stronger than the market expected in May up 1,100 (consensus -10,000) although April was revised to +45,000 from +50,100. Employment growth averaging 23,000 a month through the first two months of Q2 is reasonably strong. The unemployment rate...
by Stephen Roberts | 11 Jun, 2013 | Economics, Laminar Economist Stephen Roberts
Housing finance commitments for owner occupiers rose in April by 0.8% mom, softer than market expectations (+2.0%) and after the March increase was revised down to +4.8% from +5.2%. Interestingly, the softness in housing finance commitments was confined to Victoria,...
by Stephen Roberts | 11 Jun, 2013 | Economic Weekly, Laminar Economist Stephen Roberts
The drivers of Australian economic growth are changing as the recently released Q1 GDP report attests, but the changeover is proving to be lumpy and at times a somewhat uncertain process. Uncertainty about the changeover is we believe a key reason why Australian risk...