Hard work and commercial nous acquired on the fly have helped Queenslander Carmel Sales turn a small-time cabinetmaking business into a multimillion-dollar manufacturing powerhouse.

The business conditions index decreased by 6pts to +15 index points, easing back from the historical highs seen in April. The business confidence index fell by 5pts to +6 index points, to be around its long-run average level.

NAB Online Retail Sales Index (NORSI) accelerated in April (+1.4% mom s.a.) from stronger growth in March(1.1%).

Total NAB customer spending grew 6.8% y/y in Q1 2018, up from 5.0% in the previous quarter and 2.0% compared to the same quarter a year ago.

A big order could completely transform your business but there’s a limit to how much anyone (or any small business) can handle. BDO partner Dr Mark Pizzacalla and Total Image Group CEO Pamela Jabbour discuss preparation, parameters and being strong enough to say ‘no’.

In seasonally adjusted terms, at 0.9%, online retail sales accelerated in March. The 12 months to growth rate is however a bit slower.

Business conditions at record levels.

With 1.2 million visitors injecting $10 billion into the Australian economy each year, and almost one third of our international students now coming from China, Chinese custom is big business. Alibaba Australia’s MD explains Alipay.

Total NAB customer spending accelerated to 5.0% y/y in Q4 2017, from 3.0% y/y in the previous quarter with spending growth up across all metropolitan and regional areas.