The former Governor of the Reserve Bank, Bernie Fraser, hit the nail on the head the other night when he found it absurd that the Reserve Bank could be reducing interest rates one day, while a week later…
Will the banks follow the lead of the RBA and cut interest rates?
AAP
The pressure is on Australia’s major banks to pass on the Reserve Bank of Australia’s 50 basis point cut in full to Australian households and businesses.
In a surprise move, the RBA slashed Australia…
RBA governor Glenn Stevens will no doubt be portrayed in a flattering light if the board cuts rates today: but not everyone is a winner.
AAP
UPDATE: The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut Australia’s official cash rate by a larger-than-expected 50 basis points, to 3.75%.
In the likely event that the Reserve Bank Board chooses to ease the target…
Publishing long-term interest rate projections can allow the Reserve Bank to operate with greater transparency.
AAP
By Shaun Vahey, Australian National University and Liz Wakerly, Australian National University
Today, all eyes will be on the Reserve Bank amid speculation that the cash rate will be eased by at least 25 basis points.
The RBA has often faced pressure from politicians and business leaders to reduce…
Political, rather than economic: economists say there is no direct link to surpluses and lower interest rates.
AAP
The Federal Government is continuing its pre-budget surplus sell, with Prime Minister Julia Gillard directly linking its plans to return the budget to surplus to lower interest rates.
Gillard will use…
Moves by ANZ last week to hike their interest rates was criticised by Treasurer Wayne Swan: but historically, banks have often been at odds with governments.
AAP
In Australia’s economic history, there always been tension between Labor and the banks. My grandfather was an adviser to wartime Labor Treasurer and Prime Minister, Joseph Benedict Chifley, better known…
AWU chief Paul Howes' call for the Reserve Bank to tackle more than inflation should serve as an ongoing debate about macroeconomic policy.
AAP
The head of the Australian Workers Union chief Paul Howes has called on the Federal government to urgently review the Charter of the Reserve Bank of Australia, suggesting its current policy setting is…
Contrary to a report published by French bank Societe Generale, Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens confirmed that funding costs for Australian banks had increased.
AAP
Predicting the setting for the banks' standard variable housing loan interest rate used to be simple. Before the subprime crisis in the US and the subsequent GFC, the variable rate was simply the RBA target…
Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens: knowing how individuals board members think is important.
AAP
Monetary policymaking is imperfect. When board members of a central bank such as the Reserve Bank of Australia sit down to set the appropriate target cash rate each month – as they did this week – there…
ANZ and NAB have cut their mortgage rates. Will the other two major banks follow suit?
AAP
ANZ and National Australia Bank have passed on the Reserve Bank of Australia’s 0.25% interest rate cut to mortgage holders, lowering their standard variable rates.
Treasurer Wayne Swan called on the big…
Banks increasingly choose not to follow the lead of Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens on interest rates.
AAP
By Kevin Davis, Australian Centre for Financial Studies and Josh Fear, University of Canberra
As Reserve Bank of Australia board members gather today to ponder Australia’s cash rate, financial markets are having a bet each way the RBA will cut rates amid the release of data reflecting a softening…
The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut the official cash interest rate by 25 basis points, from 4.75% to 4.5%, in a move matching most economists' expectations.
It was the first cut since April 2009…
Banks such as NAB are reportedly positioning themselves to use covered bonds to raise funds.
Australian banks are positioning themselves to take advantage of new laws allowing them to use the new instrument of covered bonds to raise funds.
Our large banks especially have enthusiastically welcomed…
Glenn Stevens has acknowledged the impact of deleveraging on Australia's economy
AAP
I have a hunch that the RBA will follow its conventional “neoclassical” models and raise rates this afternoon, even though the economy is locked in “two speed” mode, and the global economy is racked by…
Former Securency chief financial officer Mitchell Anderson, left, is facing foreign bribery charges.
The laying of charges against two Reserve Bank of Australia subsidiaries and six of their former senior managers for alleged bribery of foreign officials represents a truly historic moment in Australian…
There is economic reasoning behind Glenn Stevens's low public profile.
AAP
Late last month, Ben Bernanke held the first ever press conference by a chairman of the US Federal Reserve Bank.
For more than an hour, he took questions about the Federal Open Market Committee’s decision…
