News Australia

The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut interest rates by 50 basis points in an unexpected move that should provide welcome relief to many homeowners. The reduction takes the official cash rate to 3.75 percent. Damian Smith CEO of financial comparison site RateCity called the RBA’s decision "a very big move". "They haven’t moved rates [...]

  Australia’s housing sector has called on the reserve bank to deliver a 50 basis point interest rate cut after a survey showed new home sales have fallen to their lowest level in more than a decade. The Housing Industry Association (HIA), which represents the residential building industry, says new home sales dropped 9.4 per [...]

This week, thousands of cities across the globe will dim their lights at 8.30pm for an hour, joining in the world’s largest voluntary environmental action: Earth Hour. Scheduled for the last Saturday of every March – closely coinciding with the equinox to ensure that most cities are in darkness as it rolls out around the [...]

Next time you’re cooking up a storm in your kitchen spare a thought for the passengers on board an A330 Qantas flight from Sydney to Adelaide on Friday, 13 April. This auspicious flight will be powered by recycled cooking oil from commercial kitchens that is mixed with jet fuel that emits 60% less carbon dioxide. [...]

With the first quarter of 2012 almost over, Melbourne’s property market is showing some encouraging signs. REIV Chief Executive, Enzo Raimondo, pointed out an emerging market trend in his latest real estate newspaper column. He highlighted the positive improvement in the clearance rate when compared with the end of last year. Mr Raimondo noted that [...]

The Reserve Bank of Australia board has kept interest rates on hold, leaving the official cash rate at 4.25 percent. The shock move comes as many parts of the economy continue to struggle with the side effects of the mining boom. Data published yesterday showed retail trade contracted 0.1 percent in December, traditionally the sector’s [...]

  The Board of the Reserve Bank meets tomorrow. In July last year Westpac forecast that the next easing cycle would total 100bps beginning near year’s end. Subsequently, the Board decided to ease the overnight cash rate by 25bps in both November and December. Based on current information, we continue to expect a further 50bps [...]

Ongoing discount loans lose momentum Borrowers’ preference for fixed rate home loans is continuing at an unrelenting pace regardless of recent cash rate cuts, national loan approval data from Mortgage Choice has revealed. Fixed rate loans accounted for 24% of all new home loan approvals during December 2011, up from 21% in November and well [...]

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, [...]

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 [...]