As I covered in this article, the cost of the Queensland floods could amount to as much as 3 percent of GDP. Despite this, CEOs around the country are still bullish about the future.
The CEO Institute Business Confidence Index rating has fallen sharply this quarter from 45 down to 19, but it’s still in positive territory. WA is also down — 44 (from 58) — as is Victoria — 45 (from 47), while NSW has climbed to 47 (from 43). South Australia continues to suffer the lowest confidence; 20 (down from 22).
Forty-seven percent of CEOs in Queensland cited natural disasters as having an issue for their business, although across the country recruitment and concerns over underlying demand were also big concerns.
Evan Davies from the CEO Institute says expectations in the economy have fallen more steeply than resondents’ confidence in their own business prospects. In this episode of BTalk I ask him whether that means many business leaders are too optimistic and living under the “it won’t happen to me” blanket.
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Australia’s Pollution Dependence
Australia lags well behind when it comes to putting a price tag on carbon pollution. Could the country become irrelevant in a low carbon world?
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Will the RBA play catch up?
The RBA might make up for the shortfall in RBA’s bond buying at the start of the week, says NAB’s Tapas Strickland on today’s Morning Call podcast. Powell says the US rise in yields was to do with strength of the recovery rather than inflation concerns.
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Kaplan’s hawkish wings are clipped
One of the FOMC’s more hawkish members is suggested tapering could take longer. NAB’s Ray Attrill says that the prospect of the Fed continuing to provide $120 billion a month for longer wasn’t lost on the equity markets.
