Economic and market news
In economic and market news, new data show that there was a record amount of retail spending in Australia during November 2023. The $35.6bn spent in the shops represented a stronger-than-expected 2 per cent growth in seasonally adjusted terms, after a fall of 0.4 per cent in October. The figures were led by a 7.5 per cent month-on-month surge in spending on household goods and a 4.2 per cent jump in transactions at department stores. It was also the best monthly result since November 2021, when retail sales lifted 5.8 per cent in response to the lifting of pandemic restrictions.
Commentators suggested that November may soon surpass December as the biggest month for consumer goods retailing due to the rapid growth in Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, and a growing trend among households to concentrate spending during periods of discounting.
In discussion about trends for the year, research suggests that 2024 is the last year of ‘robust’ prices for Liquified Natural Gas, a key export of Australia, before a surge in global supply. It was highlighted that the sector’s income has probably peaked (at $92.2bn last year) and the likely slowdown in both volumes and prices will impact economic growth and tax revenues.
In other commodity news, global oil prices have declined after Saudi Arabia cut official selling prices for all regions. This is being taken by commentators and markets to be the latest sign of persistent weakness in global market fundamentals.
In global financial stability news, there was discussion about the difficult choices being faced by the Chinese Government. Having previously declared that there would be no bail out for the country’s ‘shadow banking’ system, the bankruptcy of financial giant Zhongzhi Enterprise Group is seen as a test of the government’s resolve. The group, which has $209 bn in assets under management, is the highest profile financial casualty to date of China’s slumping property market, which has wreaked havoc on the non-bank lending sector.
Australian indices
ASX 200: Was almost unchanged over the week, down 0.04 per cent, to close at 7520.5 points on Tuesday.
All Ordinaries: Was down by a similarly amount (0.1 per cent), closing at 7749.5 points on Tuesday.
Government Bonds
Government Bond Yields (Source: Bloomberg)
|
NAME |
COUPON |
PRICE |
YIELD |
1 DAY |
1 MONTH |
1 YEAR |
|
GTAUD2Y:GOV Australia Bond 2 Year Yield |
0.25
|
93.60 |
3.84% |
-6 |
-15 |
+56 |
|
GTAUD5Y:GOV Australia Bond 5 Year Yield |
2.75 |
95.48 |
3.77% |
-7 |
-18 |
+30 |
|
GTAUD10Y:GOV Australia Bond 10 Year Yield |
3.00 |
91.12 |
4.10% |
-5 |
-19 |
+38 |
|
GTAUD15Y:GOV Australia Bond 15 Year Yield |
3.25 |
88.05 |
4.31% |
-5 |
-19 |
+27 |
Reserve Bank of Australia (Source:RBA)
|
RBA CASH RATE TARGET (RBATCTR:IND) CURRENT (per cent) |
MOST RECENT DECISION (percentage points) |
MOST RECENT CHANGE (percentage points) |
1 YEAR PRIOR (per cent) |
|
4.35 |
+0 (5 December 2023) |
+0.25 (7 November 2023) |
3.10 |
Currencies (source:RBA)
As at the close on 9 January, the AUD/USD was down 0.65 per cent over the week at 0.6719. The AUD/RMB had fallen 0.48 per cent in the period, closing at 4.8103 on Tuesday.
Venture Capital
Stoic investment partner Uniseed published a roundup of its 2023 activities. Stoic Venture Capital is proud to partner with Uniseed in helping to fund the commercialisation of Australian university research in deep-tech and life-sciences, representing over 60 per cent of the country’s total R&D spend. Many of the investees will go on to have a significant global impact on human health and welfare, and further demonstrate the power of the Australian university innovation eco-system.
Morse Micro
Stoic investee Morse Micro has débuted its collaboration with Abode and Xailient Inc. The resulting product is the world’s first wireless home security camera supercharged with AI-at-the-edge capabilities, a transmission range of over 1.5 miles, and best-in-class battery life performance.
It also announced that it is partnering with ViewSEC to deliver a new series of edge AI-powered security cameras. The integration of technologies enables ViewSEC’s cameras to provide extended range and coverage and maintain stable, high-quality video streaming, making them ideal for expansive residential and commercial properties and remote locations.
Property
In property news this weeknew data were said to show a moderation in the rental market, with the last quarter of 2023 seeing the slowest pace of annual rental growth since early 2022. Data from PropTrack shows dwelling rental prices were up 1.8 per cent over the December quarter nationally, bringing rents up a total of 11.5 per cent over the year. However, it was noted that in capital cities the rental growth was lower at 0.8 per cent for the quarter and 13.2 per cent annually.
