Economic mood swing sees consumers confident again
THE gloom is lifting. The latest Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer confidence survey, conducted after the Reserve Bank cut interest rates on Melbourne Cup day, recorded a bounce of 6 per cent, enough to push the index into positive territory for the first time since June.
Among mortgage holders, confidence surged 14 per cent. Among mortgage-free home owners it rose 6 per cent. Among renters it fell 7 per cent. It rose for both Labor and Coalition voters.
Perhaps surprisingly, the biggest jump in confidence was not in answers to questions about family finances. Views about personal finances in the year ahead were little changed. The biggest boost was in answers to the question about the broader economy. Confidence in the year ahead rose 19 per cent from deeply negative into slightly positive territory. Confidence about the coming five years rose 7 per cent.
"At face value, this bodes well for consumer spending, which has clearly improved," said UBS Australia economist Alvin Pontoh. "But on closer examination the persistence of worries about family finances despite the rate cut suggest a good Christmas for retailers is not a done deal."
Myer said yesterday that it was closing stores and reducing floor space to move as much as 10 per cent of its sales online.
Its sales fell 5 per cent in the three months to October and it expects flat sales over the financial year. But it also foreshadowed a better than expected festive period, revealing early sales of toys, Christmas decorations and hampers had hit double-figure growth.
''I hope it's a precursor to a much improved Christmas,'' said the chief executive of Myer, Bernie Brookes.
The Westpac survey found consumers 6 per cent more confident about buying a house, but 3 per cent less confident about buying a car.
A separately released Bureau of Statistics found home loans rose 2.2 per cent in September.
But loans for home construction fell 0.
Westpac Personal Loans - News
The Westpac survey found consumers 6 per cent more confident about buying a house, but 3 per cent less confident about buying a car. A separately released Bureau of Statistics found home loans rose 2.2 per cent in September. But loans for home
Deleveraging consumers are now spending less than they are earning, and are paying down personal loans and credit card balances at a fair clip. The more austere spending environment has also spread to the housing market where evidence is building of a
Personal banker Susan Bourton gained the trust of her clients while stealing money from them, a court has heard. The former business banking manager at Westpac Bank in Hamilton is accused of defrauding the bank and several customers
Yet the September 30-balance date banks - National Australia Bank, ANZ and Westpac - found themselves defending their growth prospects and cost-control record rather than basking in a ticker-tape parade down Sydney's Martin Place.
Foundation chairman Dewan Chand Maharaj maintains he took out a personal loan of $1 million from Westpac to buy two blocks of land for the new centre on Suva's Extension Street. In an earlier interview with this newspaper, he said the freehold land on
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