Manufacturing conditions have recovered smartly from a range of negative factors that dogged the sector in the latter part of 2010, a new survey shows.
Business confidence has jumped to a record high, while worries over a strong Australian dollar, rising interest rates and a slowdown in the housing market appear to have receded into the background for now.
The north-east region of Japan has sustained damage estimated at around US$180bn (3.3% of GDP) with the area representing about 8% of Japan’s economy.
Japan is the world’s third largest economy, with GDP of around US$5.4 trillion, representing about 9% of the global economy. While Japan is a significant economy, it has not been a major contributor to global growth in recent years.
The total number of houses and apartments that started construction in the fourth quarter of 2010 fell 5.3% to a seasonally adjusted 37,897 from the third quarter.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics also reported that the number of private-sector houses started in the fourth quarter fell 8.0% from the previous quarter to 23,342. The trend estimate for the total number of housing starts, which further smoothes the seasonally adjusted numbers, fell 4.6% from the third quarter to 38,375.
The value of personal finance in Jan fell 9.5% after seasonal adjustment from Dec to $6.90bn, the ABS said.
The decline in personal finance comprised a 14.5% fall in revolving credit and a 4.5% fall in fixed lending.
Commercial finance fell 5.8% in seasonally adjusted terms to $30.94bn. A fall of 9.7% in revolving credit for commercial finance was accompanied by a fall of 4.0% in fixed-lending commitments. The use of commercial finance for purchasing dwellings for rent or resale fell 4.6%.
Lease finance fell by 1.3% after seasonal adjustment to $434m.
A survey of inflationary expectations during Mar shows consumers expect prices to rise 3.6% over the next 12 months, down from 4.3% expected in Feb.
The MelbourneUniversity's Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research said 15.7% of those polled now expect inflation to fall back within the Reserve Bank of Australia's 2%-3% target band, compared with 14.1% in Feb.
The economy shed jobs in Feb for the first time in a year and half as part-time employment fell sharply over the month, but the data was a mixed bag with full-time employment rising strongly, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5%.
The total number of jobs fell 10,100, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. The number of people in full-time work rose 47,600 but this was countered by the number of people in part-time work which fell 57,700.
An index of consumer sentiment fell 2.4% in Mar from Feb.
The index fell to 104.1 points in Mar in seasonally adjusted terms from 106.6 points in Feb, compilers Westpac and the Melbourne Institute said. In annual terms, the consumer sentiment index fell a seasonally adjusted 11.3% from Mar 2010. In trend terms, the index fell 0.2% from Feb, contributing to a 9.8% annual decline.
The total number of job advertisements in newspapers and on the Internet rose 1.2% in seasonally adjusted terms in Feb from the previous month to an average of 193,555 ads per week, contributing to a 19.3% annual rise, ANZ said.
The number of Internet job advertisements rose 1.0% in Feb from Jan, contributing to an annual rise of 20.8% in seasonally adjusted terms. Job advertisements in newspapers rose 4.4% from Jan, contributing to a 3.7% annual fall. The survey data implies 28,000 new jobs were created in Feb, with the unemployment rate unchanged at 5%.
The simple summary is BHP and banks were the clear winners and large industrials were disappointing.
This reflects the "two speed" nature of the Australian economy (not surprisingly resources bounced 3.7% during the month compared to 1.7% for industrials).
Sales of new cars and trucks in Australia fell a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in February from January, according to industry figures.
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries said in its monthly VFACTS report that 80,896 vehicles were sold in February, 1.6% more than in February 2010 in original terms.
Year-to-date industry sales were 154,480 vehicles, down 1.7% or 2,603 vehicles from the same time a year earlier. The FCAI said passenger vehicle sales fell 5.0% in February on year, while sales of sports utilities were up 4.7%.