Economic Update

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Date: 01/07/2011

As the new financial year dawns, hopes are that the second half of 2011 will be better than the first. So how are our January predictions tracking?

Natural and man-made disasters contributed to create a tough time for many in the first half of 2011, so can we hope for better things in thesecond half? Economist Professor Neville Norman of Melbourne University reviews the forecasts he made back in January, and finds that most are still on course though, for small business, purchasing power and confidence may still be in the doldrums. Another interest rate rise is still in the offing, and the investment climate for business is still being held hostage to the successful introduction of things like the carbon tax and the Mining Resource Rent Tax.