Early and postal voting jumps in SA
ADELAIDE, AAP – Pre-poll voting numbers have doubled and more than 160,000 South Australians have applied for a postal ballot ahead of Saturday’s state election. Latest figures from the South Australian Electoral Commission show that 135,417 have taken the option of voting early, with people in country seats among the keenest. Postal vote applications have…
Greater jobs growth than G7: Morrison
CANBERRA, AAP – Scott Morrison has lauded the latest employment figures, saying there are around 325,000 more jobs now than before the COVID-19 pandemic. The Australian Bureau of Statistics said 77,400 people joined the workforce in February, a stronger result than had been expected by economists. Full-time employment surged by 121,900, while part-time workers fell…
Little chance of relief at the bowser
CANBERRA, AAP – Motorists shouldn’t expect relief at the petrol bowser any time soon, even though global crude oil prices dropped further to below $US100 a barrel on hopes of progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks. Commonwealth Securities senior economist Ryan Felsman says th situation is fluid and forecasts Brent crude oil will hover about the…
Stocks clear the first Fed hurdle magnificently as inflation lurks
The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates just 25 points in the first of what will be a strident rate hike cycle. Expect the Fed to raise interest rates at every meeting for the rest of this year. Especially, if it is going to move in baby steps. Entirely inappropriate for the hurtling speed of…
Fed hawkish,but cease-fire trades are the rage
MARKETS: US equities were stronger Wednesday, S&P up 2.2%, Europe’s Stoxx600 up 3.1%. US curve flattened: US10yr yields up 3bps, 2yrs up 8bps as Fed dots lean hawkish. Oil down 2.1%. So clearly, cease-fire trades are the rage. The FOMC was interpreted as hawkish, but expectations ran high for that scenario. Perhaps getting the event…
Qld dam project to get $483m from budget
CANBERRA, AAP – Almost $500 million has been set aside in the upcoming federal budget to build a new dam in central Queensland. It comes as a new survey revealed nearly three-quarters of respondents want the budget to focus on services and recovery efforts from the recent Queensland and NSW floods as well as the…
Jobless rate drop predicted for February
CANBERRA, AAP – Economists expect the unemployment rate could hit its lowest level in over 13 years when the latest labour figures are released as a result of an easing in infections from the Omicron variant. The consensus among economists centres on a fall in the unemployment rate to 4.1 per cent when the Australian…
Wall Street gains amid Ukraine peace talks
NEW YORK CITY, RAW – Wall Street’s main indexes have jumped, led by gains in technology and financial stocks, as signs of progress in Ukraine-Russia peace talks lift sentiment ahead of a widely expected interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve. Ten of the 11 major S&P sectors rose in early trading, with financials up…
China stocks surge after huge sell-off
SHANGHAI, RAW – Stocks in China and Hong Kong have surged after Vice Premier Liu He said Beijing will roll out more measures to boost the Chinese economy as well as favourable policy steps for capital markets. The comments came as China shares have been pummelled in recent weeks by rising domestic COVID-19 cases, the…
ASX climbs 1.1pc, US rates decision looms
SYDNEY, AAP – A broad-based rally has helped Australian shares higher as investors wait for a US Federal Reserve decision tomorrow which is widely tipped to raise rates. The ASX rose 1.1 per cent and most world markets were higher after Brent crude oil prices dropped below $US100 per tonne. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed…
