Archive | December, 2011

How to ‘green’ your backyard pool

19 Dec

While swimming is a great form of exercise, the downside is that pools require vast amounts of water. Just to fill the average backyard pool takes 50,000 litres – and that’s roughly one third of the water used by an average person in a year. Even more water is needed for regular top-ups. All up, [...]

Number of Home Loans Falls

12 Dec

Home loans by value fell in October and remained flat over the year, suggesting the housing sector remains stagnant. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said on Monday that total housing finance by value fell 2.5 per cent in October, seasonally adjusted, to $20.458 billion. The ABS data also showed that the value of home [...]

RBA Cuts Interest Rates by .25%

6 Dec

The Reserve Bank of Australia board has cut the official interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.25 per cent, giving mortgage holders and borrowers a pre-Christmas reprieve. The RBA announced the rate cut at 2.30pm AEDT today following the board’s final meeting for the year. It’s the second interest rate cut in as many [...]

December Rate Cut 50/50 Probability

6 Dec

Economists are divided on whether borrowers will get a second interest rate cut in as many months on Tuesday. Seven of the 14 economists surveyed by AAP say the RBA will cut the cash rate to 4.25 per cent from 4.5 per cent on December 6. On Melbourne Cup day, the Reserve Bank of Australia [...]