Empower Blog Interest Rates

RBA Rates Decision – April 2010

Today the RBA announced it would increase interest rates a further 25 basis point to move the cash rate to 4.25%.  They are trying to take the heat out of the booming housing market, as a threat of a bubble is forming due to the historical low rates implemented during the GFC.   Yet our quick recovery out of the GFC to avoid recession has seen t...

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Mistakes Borrowers Make

With finance the flavour of this month’s newsletter I thought I’d pen a list of borrower’s mistakes. This list is not specific to investors or owner occupiers; they are basic mistakes or assumptions that lead to mistakes that all borrowers can make..... So lets take a look at them (in no particular order) Going straight to their current B...

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RBA Rates Decision – March 2010

Today the RBA announced an increase in the cash rate of 0.25% to bring the cash rate to 4%.  This is the first increase in 2010 and follows three consecutive increases in late 2009.  The RBA decided to increase the rate based on positive economic news within the Australian economy, led mainly by the improvement in the level of unemployment. Th...

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RBA Rates Decision – February 2010

The RBA announced an increase in the cash rate from 3.75% to 4.00% today.  This is the fourth consecutive increase in rates (given the RBA doesn’t meet in January).  The cash rate has now moved up 1.00% from a low of 3.00% back in April last year. Most forecasters are expecting the cash rate to increase by another 0.75% by the end of the yea...

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RBA Rates Decision – December 2009

The RBA chose to increase interest rates by another 0.25% to continue its program of moving rates up from their emergency levers.  This is the first time the cash rate has moved up in three consecutive months, since the RBA starting announcing cash rate movements back in 1990. Brief Interest Rate Outlook for 1st Quarter of 2010 So will inter...

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RBA Rates Decision – November 2009

The Reserve Bank has lifted interest rates by another 0.25% in November as they move to more sustainable cash rate levels, believing we are past the worst of the Global Financial Crisis.  The RBA believes the Australian economy has weathered the global storm well, and will be one of only a few countries that will to lead the rest of the developed ...

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RBA Rates Decision – October 2009

The Reserve Bank has lifted interest rates by 0.25% from their historical 40 year lows, due to rebounding economic outlook and change in sentiment.  The RBA believes we are past the worst of the economic downturn, yet the historically low rates were originally implemented with the view that the economy and unemployment were going to get worse than...

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RBA Rates Decision – August 2009

The Reserve Bank has once again decided to keep the cash rate on hold this month.  The cash rate remains at 3%.  The overall consensus of the market is now at the cross roads with many commentators now calling the bottom of the rate cycle. The RBA minutes of July’s meeting made mention of their belief the worst of the GFC is behind us, and mone...

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RBA Rates Decision – July 2009

The Reserve Bank has once again decided to keep the cash rate on hold this month.  The cash rate remains at 3%.  The overall consensus of the market is that the cash rate is still forecast to drop to a low of around 2.50% later this year, as it is anticipated that unemployment will rise later this year and into 2010. The recent positive econom...

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RBA Rates Decision – June 2009

The Reserve Bank chose once again to leave interest rates on hold today, leaving the cash rate at 3%. Commentators are now questioning whether the cash rate will actually get down as low as 2.5 to 2%, which is what was forecasted earlier this year. On the fixed rate side of the fence, the movement was up, with St George and Westpac both movin...

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What’s the Cheapest Loan?

If I had a dollar for every time……. so the saying goes, and in my case it relates to people asking me what is the best interest rate at the moment or who’s got the cheapest loan? I wish there was a simple answer to this question, and believe you me, when I first started out in the finance industry I was also naive to think that surely this...

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RBA Rates Decision – May 2009

The Reserve Bank decided to keep it powder dry this month and left the cash rate on hold at 3.00%.  They are taking this neutral position in light of seeing what effect the rate cuts made earlier this year are having on the economy.  The overall consensus of the market is that the cash rate is still forecast to drop to between 2.50% and 2.00% lat...

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To Fix or Not to Fix – ‘The question on everyone’s mind…..’

Depending on long term funding costs and increased demand for fixed loans, fixed mortgages can actually go up when the cash rate / variable mortgages are going down, as we have seen just recently. Fixed interest rates don’t automatically move in the same fashion as variable mortgage rates do. So in my attempt to make an informed comment on this ...

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