Saturday 27th of April 2024
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shore break .....

shore break .....

Surfer Swan hits heavy weather …..

English classic actor Michael Gambon once defended his right to keep some things private from an intrusive media by saying if an audience knew everything about a thespian say, perhaps, that he was a model railway enthusiast it would detract from the performance.

Sometimes, in a bid to appear human, aspiring politicians reveal just a little too much of themselves.  

Consider our new Treasurer, Wayne Swan, who makes no secret of the fact that he is a keen surfer. He has spoken of his fondness for surfing. 'It's always the challenge of catching a bigger wave and being physically fit enough to do it. You have to respect the surf and you have to put in a lot of training before you can catch that bigger wave.'  

Swan's love of the surf is thoroughly Australian but it lends itself, unfortunately, to lazy metaphor and a cartoonist's delight. It's hard to imagine past treasurers, like Paul Keating or Sir Arthur Fadden, admitting to such pursuits. Coming from Nambour, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, Swan, however, has a comparative advantage in the art.  

Surfer Swan Hits Heavy Weather

still too bloated...

Foreign debt leaps $24b

There has been a worse-than-expected deterioration in Australia's current account deficit, while foreign debt has topped $600 billion for the first time.

A disappointing trade outcome during the December quarter has seen Australia import more goods than it exports.

 

RBA hikes rates to 7.25pc

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has raised its official interest rate by 0.25 of a per cent to 7.25 per cent, in a move which will put increasing stress on home owners struggling to pay their mortgages.

It is the 12th increase since May 2002 and keeps the official rate at its highest level in 12 years.

The move was widely expected by economic analysts, because the Reserve Bank is determined to put the brakes on demand in the economy to stop prices rising out of control.

The performance of the services sector has been weaker as well.

Higher interest payments on top of that have blown out the current account deficit to $19.3 billion.

Net foreign debt has come in at a record $610 billion - a jump of $24 billion.

And while still reasonably low, the so-called debt servicing ratio continues to deteriorate.

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