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News

• Job ads fall again in August

  Ahead of the release of the official employment figures, ANZ (ASX:ANZ) has estimated that job ads shrank in August for the fourth time in nearly as many months

• Retail turnover grows 0.5% in June

  Retail turnover showed signs of improvement in July, according to ABS data, while private capital expenditure is still increasing

• Business sentiment on verge of nasty turn

  Surveys from the CEO Institute show that Australian business confidence is shrinking fast, and is now on the brink of turning negative

• Consumer caution impact hits new sectors

  Business sales fell 0.3% in July, in what Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) said was a result of the impact of poor consumer sentiment spreading beyond retail

• Trade surplus narrows, retail turnover shrinks: ABS

  Australia's international trade surplus fell a seasonally adjusted $647m in June but remains over $2b, while retailer turnover fell slightly, ABS data shows

• House prices “severely unaffordable”: AMP

  Australian house prices have been growing at a greater rate than income for a decade, and can now be considered unaffordable in most cities, a survey shows

• Business confidence “erodes” in June quarter: NAB

  Business confidence shrank during the June quarter, and while actual conditions improved slightly they remain low, according to an NAB (ASX:NAB) report

• Australian exporters confident for future

  Nine in ten Australian exporters expect to grow revenues from the practice in the next year, even as they grapple with rising costs, according to a survey

• Consumer confidence sinks in July

  Australian consumer confidence is still shaken, falling 8.3% in July to the lowest point since May 2009, research shows

• Graduate prospects fall to lowest point since '94

  Recent graduates found it hardest to find a full-time job last year than at any point since 1994, a new study claims, adding to the conflicting data on the Aust jobs market
  

• Aust CFOs brace for wage spike on skills shortage

  Half of Australian CFOs expect their company's spending on recruitment and training to swell over the next 12 months, as they seek to counter a skills shortage

• RBA maintains cash rate again

  The RBA has left the cash rate unchanged at 4.75% again, and projected that Australia's economic growth through 2011 will fall short of initial expectations

• Retail turnover falls 0.6% in May

  Turnover for the Australian retail sector declined by a seasonally adjusted 0.6% to $20.61b in May, according to ABS stats, as weak consumer confidence bit into sales

• Record numbers employed: Roy Morgan

  The number of employed Australians grew to a record 11.22m in June, Roy Morgan estimates, but unemployment and underemployment still increased

• Internet job ads up 12% year-on-year

  The number of job ads online increased in May on an annual basis, according to government stats, with demand for professionals outstripping overall growth