Monthly Archives: September 2014

Australian Markets Weekly

House prices have been rising briskly in Australia since late 2011. They continued to do so at the weekend with RP Data showing that prices were up in nearly all the major cities and auction clearance rates robust. Read more

Rural Commodities Wrap – September 2014

The overall outlook for rural commodities deteriorated in August and September on account of a weak finish to winter rains in many areas combined with forecasts of abundant global grain supplies and lower prices for major agricultural commodities. Read more

Australia – Asia Business Engagement Index (Q2)

“The index shows that Australia’s engagement with Asia is dominated by product imports and not surprisingly, our engagement is clearly strongest with China across all sizes of business. But, it is higher for SMEs than the ASX 300” said Alan Oster. Read more

24 hours with Erica and Trudi from hardtofind

Since 2008, Erica and Trudi’s online gift site has grown to represent more than 700-curated sellers offering 25,000 products. Recently named by SmartCompany as Australia’s seventh fastest growing small business in 2013-2014, the two owners share a day in the life of running hardtofind. Read more

Alan Kohler: more than a business spectator

From fresh-faced cadet journalist to business publishing kingpin, Alan Kohler has traversed a lot of ground. In his journey across the desk he’s learned the difference between business commentator and business owner, and just how much graft it takes to make a business work. Read more

A Tale of Two Numbers

The juxtaposition of another significant downside Eurozone data surprise (German IFO) and a major upside surprise for US New Home Sales has – unsurprisingly – pushed the EUR below 1.28 against the US dollar for the first time since 10 July 2013. Read more

Cutting through in South Korea

With imports and exports worth $9 billion and $19 billion respectively, the Republic of Korea is Australia’s fourth-largest trading partner. We share tips to help Australian business prepare for opportunities in South Korea. Read more

Workplace wellbeing

As a small business gets bigger it increasingly becomes a people business. Chief Happiness Officer at The Happiness Institute, Dr Timothy Sharp, explains the importance of culture in an organisation and how a person’s immediate manager becomes most vital to a sense of wellbeing. Read more

Australian Markets Weekly

In their most recent quarterly RBA Bulletin released last week, the RBA published a summary of their business liaison program, how they use that to stay abreast of current business conditions and how it has been invaluable in providing warnings of any sudden changes in the business cycle. Read more