THE Australian dollar has opened firmer after the federal government’s guarantee to cover all bank deposits for three years lifted investor confidence about the country’s banks. At 0700 AEDT, the Australian dollar was trading at $US0.6674/82, up from Friday’s close of $US0.6591/99. During the weekend offshore session, the local currency traded between a high of…
Resource analysts say they’re not surprised Chinese steel makers have asked for slowdowns in iron ore deliveries. Several manufacturers have asked Mount Gibson Iron, Australia’s fourth largest ore producer, to delay shipments next year, as the industry slows down in the face of the global financial uncertainty. Resource analyst Mark Nuitta says, while Mount Gibson…
THE Australian stock market continued its freefall today, tumbling more than 8 per cent by early this afternoon. Just after 3pm , the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was down 344 points to 3976, while the broader All Ordinaries had fallen 341 points to 3948. More than $70 billion has been wiped off the value of All Ordinaries…
ABOUT 800,000 Australian households and up to 2 million small and medium-sized enterprises are living on a knife-edge and could go under in the face of high costs of debt, the latest mortgage report compiled by JPMorgan and Fujitsu warned yesterday. More than 800,000 households are experiencing some form of mortgage stress — five times…
THE dollar has opened lower for the 12th consecutive local session after dropping to a five-year low overnight as the bleak global economic outlook caused investors to abandon the high-yielding currency. The dollar touched a five-year low of $US0.6454 during the overnight session, but recovered slightly after a number of global central banks eased monetary…
THE share market was down 4 per cent at noon after a horror session on Wall St overnight, where stocks fell to a five-year low. At 12noon (AEDT) the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was down 4.08 per cent at 4430.2, while the broader All Ordinaries index had lost 4.03 per cent, to 4412.7. Macquarie Equities adviser Helen…
AUSTRALIA leads the world, and a bloody good thing it is, too. This is the theme of the response to Glenn Stevens’ bold 100-point cut to interest rates. I agree with it, and congratulate the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia and the RBA board for their boldness at a time of great global…
No two financial crises are exactly the same. There are times to be an observer, watching from the sidelines. And there are times to act. A week ago Monday, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 777 points after the House rejected the proposed $700 billion rescue legislation, the Nasdaq Composite dropped through my latest…
HOMEOWNERS will receive the biggest single reduction to their mortgage payments in 16 years after a worried Reserve Bank slashed interest rates by one percentage point yesterday to shield the economy against the global financial crisis. None of the major banks will pass on the cut in full but Westpac, the Commonwealth Bank, the NAB…