DEBTS

$1 trillion foreign debt a rating risk

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 12-May-16

Rating agencies have indicated that Australia’s ballooning foreign debt could prompt a review of the nation’s coveted "AAA" credit rating. Australia’s foreign debt has risen from 50 per cent of GDP to 62 per cent over the last three years, and it is now around $A1trn. Banks account for more than 50 per cent of Australia’s foreign debt, while the federal and state governments account for 25 per cent.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S CORPORATION, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Surpluses stockpiled to protect state for rainy day

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Original article by Rick Wallace
The Australian – Page: 6 : 28-Apr-16

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas unveiled the state’s 2016 Budget on 27 April. The State Government expects to achieve Budget surpluses of $A9.3 billion over the next four years. Capital spending has been increased to $A7 billion a year. Health and education will receive capital investment funding of about $A1 billion each. The Government intends to borrow up to $A16 billion, but it aims to keep net debt below five per cent of gross state product.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Spending and taxing failures risk AAA: Moody’s

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 15-Apr-16

Ratings agency Moody’s expects Australia’s debt to rise to about 38 per cent of GDP, compared with 35 per cent at present. Moody’s analyst Marie Diron notes that this has risen from just 11.6 per cent over the last decade, while the debt of other countries with a triple-A credit rating has averaged 41 per cent over this period. Diron adds that the Federal Government is unlikely to return the Budget to surplus by 2021 unless there is an increase in taxes.

CORPORATES
MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

AAA credit rating at risk from rising public debt

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 2 : 12-Apr-16

Australia’s credit rating has not been downgraded since 1989, but Peter Jolly of National Australia Bank has warned that the nation’s public debt may put the coveted triple-A rating at risk. Jolly says public debt is now higher than the level which prompted the ratings downgrades in 1986 and 1989, and he stresses that the Federal Government’s May 2016 Budget must rein in spending. Treasurer Scott Morrison says spending constraint will be a feature of the Budget.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, STANDARD AND POOR’S CORPORATION

Seven ‘fantasy’ promises carry $400bn bill

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Original article by David Crowe, David Uren
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 8-Apr-16

Some $A400bn worth of big-ticket spending initiatives over the next decade will present a challenge for the Australian Government in achieving its goal of returning the Budget to surplus. These include the $A111.4bn in net new spending on the National Disability Insurance Scheme and $A57bn in compensation payments for the now-repealed carbon tax. It is estimated that the Budget would be in surplus by 2019 without the seven spending commitments, which also include defence, education and pension funding. Australia’s debt is also expected to keep rising over coming years.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES

In hock to the world as debt tops $1 trillion

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 6 : 10-Mar-16

National accounts data shows that Australia’s total foreign debt has risen to more than 60 per cent of GDP, compared with just 37 per cent in 1996. Foreign debt has risen from $A180bn to more than $A1trn in the last two decades. The Australian Labor Party’s treasury spokesman, Chris Bowen, notes that public sector debt has blown out from $A90bn to $A250bn since Barnaby Joyce was dropped as finance spokesman when the Coalition was in opposition.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, LF ECONOMICS

Treasurer Morrison promises to stop the debt

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 7 : 21-Sep-15

Australia’s new Treasurer Scott Morrison says he will aim to reduce the Budget deficit and the nation’s debt. He has indicated that job creation will be also be a priority, with some 300,000 jobs created during the tenure of predecessor Joe Hockey. Morrison adds that the process of producing white papers on issues such as taxation and the federation will not be affected by the ministerial reshuffle.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

RBA likely to hold as no vote drives down Aussie

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 7-Jul-15

The shadow board of the Reserve Bank of Australia estimates that there is a 57 per cent chance that the central bank will leave the cash rate unchanged on 7 July 2015. Shadow board chairman Timo Henckel says the economic outlook for China is a bigger issue for Australia than the debt crisis in Greece. The Australian dollar’s fall below $US0.76 in the wake of Greece’s referendum will be welcomed by the Reserve Bank.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Australian dollar dips below US75c for first time since 2009

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Original article by Mark Mulligan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 7-Jul-15

There was renewed support for "safe-haven" currencies on 6 July 2015, in response to the outcome of the referendum in Greece. The Australian dollar reached an intra-day low of $US0.7453 before rising to $US0.7504 late in trading. The debt crisis in Greece also weighed on the euro, which reached a low of $US1.09 early in Asian trading. National Australia Bank’s Ray Attrill says the euro and the Australian dollar could come under further downward pressure.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, GREECE. MINISTRY OF FINANCE, BARCLAYS BANK PLC

All eyes on Greece as markets await result

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Original article by Rose Powell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 6-Jul-15

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index shed 0.14 per cent in the week ended 3 July 2015. The debt crisis in Greece and the country’s referendum referendum are likely to be the key issue for investors when trading resumes on 6 July. Meanwhile, Stephen Walters of JP Morgan expects the Reserve Bank to leave the cash rate unchanged on 7 July, while Rob Rennie of Westpac forecasts that the Australian dollar will fall below $US0.75 in the near-term.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UBS GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD