Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 13-Jul-18

Economists have been urging the Reserve Bank of Australia to use the opportunity afforded to it by the nation’s strong economy to lift interest rates. They are concerned that failure to do so will leave it struggling to respond to any future financial crisis. RBA governor Philip Lowe has made it clear that rates will not go up until inflation rises, while outgoing Treasury secretary John Fraser has also warned against calls for rate increases.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 11-Jul-18

Jeffrey Carmichael is the latest monetary policy expert to have urged the Reserve Bank of Australia to begin increasing official interest rates. The inaugural chairman of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has warned of the economic risks of failing to begin raising the cash rate when other central banks are doing so. He has suggested that there may be a need for up to eight rate rises, but stresses the need to do so gradually. He adds that the domestic economy is strong enough to absorb rate rises without any significant risk. Carmichael worked at the RBA for two decades.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, PROMONTORY AUSTRALASIA PTY LTD

Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 19 & 27 : 4-Jul-18

Financial markets have priced in little chance of monetary policy tightening by April 2019 after the Reserve Bank of Australia left the cash rate unchanged at 1.5 per cent on 3 July. Economists note that the wording of the statement issued by governor Philip Lowe was largely similar to the previous month. Lowe reiterated that progress in reducing the unemployment rate and lifting inflation to the RBA’s target range of 2-3 per cent is likely to be gradual. He also noted the potential for a trade war to impact on global economic growth

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 3-Jul-18

The Reserve Bank of Australia is widely tipped to leave official interest rates unchanged at 1.5 per cent on 3 July. However, the central bank’s so-called "shadow board" believes that there is a strong case for the cash rate to be increased immediately, given factors such as low wages growth, low unemployment and an inflation rate that is within the RBA’s target range. Meanwhile, new data shows that there was an 0.3 per cent decline in house prices in major cities during June.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NOMURA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, MONASH UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY, MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY

Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 25-Jun-18

The general consensus of market economists is that the Reserve Bank of Australia should leave official rates on hold at 1.5 per cent for the rest of 2018 and most of 2019. However, former RBA board member Warwick McKibbin says the central bank should increase the cash rate by at least 25 basis points, as interest rates are beginning to rise globally. He also argues that the RBA should gradually shift its focus from an inflation target of 2-3 per cent toward a nominal income target.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BANK OF ENGLAND, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF NEW YORK, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION