House prices grow at fastest pace in 13 years … Credit card holders schemed out of $2 billion … US rate rise could hurt Australia markets...
Sydney house prices grow at 13-year high
Sydney house prices grew at their fastest annual pace in nearly 13 years in July, highlighting the huge task ahead for Australia's bank regulator to rein in the boom that threatens to destabilise the country's already-fragile economy, according to Nasdaq.
Sydney house prices jumped 5.4 per cent in the second quarter, to be 18.4 per cent higher from the same period a year earlier, according to date from property research firm CoreLogic RP Data.
The jump in the Sydney market comes as the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has ramped up efforts to curb speculation on Sydney housing, with major banks responding by asking for bigger deposits on loans. Home prices have risen across most of Australia, particularly in Sydney where they have jumped about 40 per cent since 2012.
New lending has been dominated by investor mortgages, which the central bank has warned is distorting the market, and last year prompted the banking regulator to call for investor lending growth to be limited to 10 per cent.
Credit card holders schemed out of $2 billion
Credit card holders have been ripped off more than $2 billion dollars in nearly half a decade because of the banks' failure to pass on official interest rate cuts, according to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Since November 2011, when credit card providers stopped moving interest rates in line with the official cash rate, Australians have been gouged $2.07 billion, say consumer group Choice and comparison website Mozo.
"The fact is an average credit card holder has paid an extra $281 because of unnecessarily high interest rates. Worryingly, this comes at a time when one-in-five Australians are living off their credit card to get through to payday," said Choice's campaigns manager Erin Turner.
"The findings point to a systemic issue with Australia's banking system. Because the big banks control over 80 per cent of the credit card market, they aren't competing on price and are keeping consumer costs high even though their costs for providing credit have dropped," she said ahead of the Reserve Bank's meeting on Tuesday.
US rate rise could hurt Australia markets
The Reserve Bank has been quietly looking forward to the US Federal Reserve lifting its benchmark rate above zero — not only because it will confirm the world’s most important economy is returning to normal but also because it will produce a rise in the US dollar against our own currency that will improve competitiveness, according to an article in the Australian.
The International Monetary Fund is confident the US can start raising rates without repeating the turmoil that followed the Fed’s decision to wind back its quantitative easing program in May 2013 — the so-called “taper tantrum” that sparked a near-100 point jump in the US 10-year bond rate and led to an exodus of capital from emerging countries.
IMF managing director Christine Lagarde commented last week that everyone was more prepared this time, with many countries having taken measures to resist a recurrence of the volatility.
“I think that tapering tantrum was painful, but it has been a good warning of how prepared we should be, and I think the level of preparedness has significantly improved,” Lagarde said.
Sydney house prices grew at their fastest annual pace in nearly 13 years in July, highlighting the huge task ahead for Australia's bank regulator to rein in the boom that threatens to destabilise the country's already-fragile economy, according to Nasdaq.
Sydney house prices jumped 5.4 per cent in the second quarter, to be 18.4 per cent higher from the same period a year earlier, according to date from property research firm CoreLogic RP Data.
The jump in the Sydney market comes as the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has ramped up efforts to curb speculation on Sydney housing, with major banks responding by asking for bigger deposits on loans. Home prices have risen across most of Australia, particularly in Sydney where they have jumped about 40 per cent since 2012.
New lending has been dominated by investor mortgages, which the central bank has warned is distorting the market, and last year prompted the banking regulator to call for investor lending growth to be limited to 10 per cent.
Credit card holders schemed out of $2 billion
Credit card holders have been ripped off more than $2 billion dollars in nearly half a decade because of the banks' failure to pass on official interest rate cuts, according to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Since November 2011, when credit card providers stopped moving interest rates in line with the official cash rate, Australians have been gouged $2.07 billion, say consumer group Choice and comparison website Mozo.
"The fact is an average credit card holder has paid an extra $281 because of unnecessarily high interest rates. Worryingly, this comes at a time when one-in-five Australians are living off their credit card to get through to payday," said Choice's campaigns manager Erin Turner.
"The findings point to a systemic issue with Australia's banking system. Because the big banks control over 80 per cent of the credit card market, they aren't competing on price and are keeping consumer costs high even though their costs for providing credit have dropped," she said ahead of the Reserve Bank's meeting on Tuesday.
US rate rise could hurt Australia markets
The Reserve Bank has been quietly looking forward to the US Federal Reserve lifting its benchmark rate above zero — not only because it will confirm the world’s most important economy is returning to normal but also because it will produce a rise in the US dollar against our own currency that will improve competitiveness, according to an article in the Australian.
The International Monetary Fund is confident the US can start raising rates without repeating the turmoil that followed the Fed’s decision to wind back its quantitative easing program in May 2013 — the so-called “taper tantrum” that sparked a near-100 point jump in the US 10-year bond rate and led to an exodus of capital from emerging countries.
IMF managing director Christine Lagarde commented last week that everyone was more prepared this time, with many countries having taken measures to resist a recurrence of the volatility.
“I think that tapering tantrum was painful, but it has been a good warning of how prepared we should be, and I think the level of preparedness has significantly improved,” Lagarde said.
