After yesterday’s effort regarding “soaring” cost of living pressures (see our post here), today the Cairns Post reports “soaring” passenger numbers at Cairns Airport. Passenger numbers at Cairns have certainly been on a steady trend of growth (as has been well documented for some time by Loose Change; his latest on the airport …read more
Data released by the ABS this morning shows that Retail Trade grew, as expected, by 0.5% for the month in December. The final quarter of the year saw a 0.9% increase in volume terms. Both numbers support the contention that the Aussie consumer is slowly becoming less cautious and spending …read more
Not known for letting the facts ever get in the way of a good (?) story, the Cairns Post today runs an article which claims that families and young professionals are struggling to make ends meet as “living costs continue to soar”. The basis for this claim is their State of the …read more
Today’s release by the ABS of the Cost of Living Indexes show clearly that, despite the pick-up in inflation seen in the 4th quarter (see our post here), the bulk of households are actually experiencing cost of living increases still well below 2%. The Cost of Living Indexes are designed to …read more
The markets have been surprised this morning by a sharp uptick in the rate of inflation. Headline CPI rose 0.8% in the final quarter of 2013 for an annual increase of 2.7% (up from 2.2% the previous quarter). The more closely followed “core” inflation of trimmed mean and weighted median …read more