Today is the day! (was reserve bank meeting)

It’s usually the first Tuesday of the month, so it should be the 2nd of December. I’ve also heard them talk on the radio about how it’s next week, so I’m pretty sure I’m correct with the date.

The announcement (if there is one) is usually the following morning (9.30am I think).

Rod.

So what are we all hoping for?

Lozza

Procrastinator,

Ask yourself would your bank manager say “Yes I think rates are going to rise so don’t borrow any money off us.”

For what it’s worth I think there will be another small rise next week.

If there is a rise, I would think its a bit unjustified. The figures about increases in borrowing/credit don’t really take into account the most recent rate rise. At this stage, it’s hard to know if the drop in auction clearnace rates is due to the spring factor, or the rates, or both.

The difficulty is also the timing. A rate rise before xmas would have a negative effect on consumer spending over a period which is normally retailers favourite time of year. That would then flow on to the share markets to compaines with retail exposure etc etc.

Then of course, there are the currency effects, which are already being felt. Dollar goes up, we buy more imports, we export less.

Inflation is within targets, I think it may be premature for another hike. If there isn’t one, there will be after xmas though, that is almost a certainly IMO.

Well the media seems sure there will be another rise.

So that probably means there won’t be one!

Rod.

I wish i’d listen a little more carefully, some economist (a Government guy) was just on the radio sprouting that interest rates will rise by at least 3% over the next three years…

Wonder if i could borrow his crystal ball… []

My “guesstimate” is we will probably see another 0.25 increase, that should keep things under control until at least March next year… []

Cheers,
Paul…

“I want to be rich, and stupidly happy – so far i’ve only managed to achieve the stupid part…”

Something from ‘the west’ re the rates.. i believe they’ll go up also, dont trust that bank manager.

HOME borrowers should brace themselves for an interest rate rise of up to half a percentage point today, economists have warned, after fresh figures yesterday revealed that Australia’s debt-fuelled shopping spree marched on.

Economists said the Reserve Bank is almost certain to announce a second consecutive monthly increase in rates after a surprise pre-emptive rise of 0.25 of a percentage point in November.

“The writing is on the wall for another lift,” CommSec senior analyst Craig James said.

“The real question now is whether the Reserve Bank opts for the hammer or the mallet.” While most forecasts are centred on an increase of 0.25 of a percentage point, which would lift repayments on the average WA home loan $26 a month, Mr James said he “wouldn’t bat an eyelid” if rates rose 0.5 of a point.

The case for a rate rise was reinforced by figures showing the Rugby World Cup helped drive retail sales 1.2 per cent higher in October for an annual rise of 8.6 per cent.

And building approvals for the month rose 1.6 per cent to a year-high, underlining the Reserve Bank’s concerns about a property bubble.

WA helped fuel the building boom with its approvals leaping 15.5 per cent in October to 2240 – the biggest month since June 1994 – for an annual increase of nearly 37 per cent.

But the executive director of the WA Housing Industry Association, John Dastlik, said the spike was a result of “blockages” in the approvals system.

The Reserve Bank is increasingly concerned about rocketing household debt as Australians have taken advantage of cheap rates to spend big and invest in property.

And now a laugh

Two bored casino dealers were waiting at the craps table.
A very attractive blonde woman arrived and bet twenty-thousand
dollars
on a single roll of the dice.
She said, “I hope you don’t mind, but I feel much luckier when I’m
completely nude.”
With that she stripped from her neck down, rolled the dice and
yelled,
“Mama needs new clothes!” Then she hollered…”YES! YES! I WON! I
WON!”
She jumped up and down and hugged each of the dealers. She then
picked
up all the money and clothes and quickly departed.
The dealers just stared at each other dumbfounded.
Finally, one of them asked, “What did she roll?”
The other answered, “I don’t know I thought YOU were watching!”

Moral: Not all blondes are dumb, but all men are men.

REDWING [:0)]

“The man that thinks at 5o as he did when he was 20 has wasted 30 years of his life”