While it’s a close call, chances are the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut rates again before year end reflecting the poor business investment outlook, greater than expected weakness in commodity prices, and the $A remaining too high.
The story of this reporting season will be a familiar one: companies with offshore earnings or exposed to the booming housing market doing well, while miners and the companies that service them suffer.
BHP Billiton’s annual profit statement to be released next month could contain a pleasant surprise for shareholders, and a nasty surprise for Australia.
Employment figures are due next week and may go some way to resolve the mystery of jobs growth that appears too strong to be consistent with an economy growing at less than its normal pace.
Architects have a saying about ‘less being more’. The mining industry has flipped that around with ‘more being less’, as shown in this week’s production reports and share prices of Fortescue Metals and BHP Billiton.
Total sales recorded by REIWA member have fallen by 2% to 557 for the week ending 21 July 2015. This fall was due to land and house sales dropping with Units remaining strong.
Retail, not mining, has borne the brunt of the slowdown in Western Australia during the past 12 months, with a study of the state’s economy by the investment bank Goldman Sachs revealing a startling decline in retail jobs of more than 20 per cent.
Indonesia’s decision to slash the import quota for Australian beef cattle to 50,000 for the third quarter has little to do with the tense relationship between the two countries.
A small batch of bauxite sent overseas for refining may signal the start of a much bigger play by Alcoa, which would have major consequences for WA’s South West.