ANZ & CBA have both moved immediately following the RBA announcement today to lift their variable home loan rates by 0.25% passing on the full RBA rate rise (but no more).
All other banks are expected to follow with their announcements in the next few days and I expect all banks to lift their rates.
At its meeting today, the Board decided to raise the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.0 per cent, effective 3 March 2010.
Statement by Glenn Stevens, Governor Monetary Policy RBA: “The global economy is growing, and world GDP is expected to rise at close to trend pace in 2010 and 2011. The expansion is still hesitant in the major countries, due to the continuing legacy of the financial crisis, resulting in ongoing excess capacity. In Asia, where financial sectors are not impaired, growth has continued to be quite strong. The authorities in some countries are now seeking to reduce the degree of stimulus to their economies.
Every one talks “equity” but most don’t really understand what it is and how it can be used. So at a time when property prices have jumped forward by somewhere between 5-20% in the last 12 months, I thought it might be useful to have a look at what “equity” is and how you can use it to your advantage.
What is equity? Equity is the amount of your home that you “own”. In other words, it is the difference between what your home is worth and what you owe on your home loan. So the more you pay down your home loan, or the value of your house increases, the more equity you have.
With interest rates on the rise, and further rate rises expected it is not surprising the clients are starting to worry about how they are going to manage. Our financial landscape is changing.
This means that now is a really good time to stop, survey our position and develop a plan of attack with which we can move forward with confidence. Along the way we may need to re-evaluate our lifestyle decisions and core beliefs about money.
Most people would have been happily unaware that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) was due to meet yesterday. All focus has been on getting the kids out the door and back to school (or for those without kids, recovering from another BBQ where a little too much of everything was consumed). Either way, the only discernable activity I have noticed this week has had been a collective rush to the nearest café for a quiet latte.
I had this realisation the other day. Actually, it was just one of a number of moments of clarity I have had recently…A few weeks away from the office will do that.
Anyway, for me realisations come not so much as blinding flashes but slow, creeping new dawns. Wonderful “aah ha” moments that warm the soul like the morning sun on a crisp morning.
If ever there was a popular time to go into debt, Christmas is the choice of many. According to a Reserve Bank report, Australians have more than $1.9 trillion in outstanding debt, 61 per cent of which is made up of consumer debt. The festive season may well blow-out this already inflated figure unless we reign-in our spending.
While the essence of Christmas is sharing, this doesn’t mean running your bank account dry with gifts you can’t afford. With a little planning and restraint you can stay debt-free and still keep the spirit of Christmas alive. Here’s how…
One of Australia’s major banks now expects the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will raise interest rates twice this year - in November and December.
The National Australia Bank (NAB) is the first among the big four banks to pencil in a rate rise for this year, rather than holding off until the early part of next year.
NAB said on Friday it now expects 25 basis-point increases in November and December, as well as a further increase of this size in February.
I have received dozens of calls from clients in the last 2 months. All asking the same questions: “Have interest rates hit rock bottom? Should we fix our home loans now?’.
In recent weeks the frenzied activity around fixing rates has almost reached swine flu hysteria like proportions.
Financial markets have lowered their expectations for interest rates rises, amid renewed concerns about the sustainability of the global economic recovery, reports The Australian Financial Review.
