A new report has revealed 53 per cent of NSW buildings have had serious defects over the past 5 years, with only half resolved within one year.
The number has risen from 39 per cent in 2021 with the most common defects including waterproofing, fire safety, structural and key services issues such as lifts and plumbing.
The report, by The Strata Community Association (SCA) NSW and the Office of the Building Commissioner, has revealed that more than half of all strata buildings had serious defects between 2016 – 2022, with an estimated $79 million spent by owners corporations to fix the issues.
The average cost of rectifying serious defects was $283,000 per building.
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Digital Finance Analytics (DFA) Blog
More Than Half Of NSW Strata Buildings Have Defects!
An average of more than 50 UK bank branches have closed each month since 2015 and campaigners fear some retailers could stop accepting cash if it becomes too burdensome to process. That said, under government rules, free withdrawals and deposits will need to be available within one mile for people living in urban areas. In rural areas, where there are concerns over “cash deserts”, where the maximum distance is three miles.
This is important because cash remains a necessity for millions of people, research has found, with the elderly and those with disabilities among those likely to struggle. Branches have been more likely to close in disadvantaged areas.
Of course, Banks have pointed to the large reduction in branch use – a trend accelerated by the Covid pandemic – and the popularity of managing money via smartphones, as good reason for diluting their branch network.
But a recent survey by Age UK suggested that, among those who were uncomfortable about digital banking, the key concerns were fraud and scams, a lack of trust in online banking services, and a lack of computer skills.
And now, The British Retail Consortium says cash use has grown for the first time in 10 years as shoppers keep a close eye on their budgets while prices rise, retailers have said. They said 19% of purchases were made with notes and coins last year, echoing a report by banks showing a slight rebound. That’s up from 15% the previous year. Until 2015, notes and coins were used in more than half of transactions and, while card use now dominated, cash still had its benefits. Consumers made smaller but more frequent payments, the survey found.
The consortium said consumers were budgeting carefully to try to cope with cost of living pressures, and there was also a “natural return” for cash after it slumped during the pandemic.
It is essential use of cash is protected, you cannot leave it to the market, where banks are making a killing from extra fees on card transaction costs as a result of removing access to cash.
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The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released the June quarter National Accounts, which were an unmitigated disaster and confirmed that Australia is in a deep per capita recession.
The economy as measured by real GDP grew by only 0.2% in the September quarter, driven by increased government consumption and capital investment over the quarter and badly missing economists’ expectations of a 0.4% print: Growth over the year was 2.1%, less than population growth over the same period. While the population surge earlier in the year has supported demand overall, it is now rolling over and will not provide the same support in 2024. Or as Luci Ellis, at Westpac put it The Australian economy limped along in the September quarter.
Real per capita GDP has fallen for three of the past five quarters, with the March quarter revised up to flat. Accordingly, GDP per capita fell 0.3% over the year. Expenditure by households was dead flat over the September quarter and would have fallen by around 0.7% per capita. By contrast, growth in both household consumption and GDP over 2023 slowed due to sustained cost of living pressures and higher interest rates. Household consumption would have fallen even further had the savings rate not fallen to just 1.1%, which is the lowest level since December 2007.
The savings rate is now well below the ‘par’ of 6.5% and notionally implies a draw-down on the ‘additional savings’ accumulated during the pandemic – estimated at around $260bn – running at about $12bn a quarter. In total, about $43bn, or 16.5% of this reserve now looks to have been drawn down. Of course these are not equally spread across households, with many now having no buffers at all.
As Westpac put it. the policy drag on Australian households is clearly biting.
Digital Finance Analytics (DFA) Blog
Paying Tax And Interest Through The Nose In A Deep Per Capita Recession!
This is an edited version of a live discussion with Damien Klassen, Head of Investments at Walk The World Funds and Nucleus Wealth. Markets have taken a new turn over the past month, and expectations of rate cuts are rising, but how robust is this move, and how should portfolios react?
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DFA Live Q&A HD Replay: Investing Now: With Damien Klassen
I caught up with Robbie Barwick from the Australian Citizens Party to review the recent hearings into Regional Bank Branch closures, and more broadly about the progress made this year.
We look at the underlying issues which have been brought to the surface through the inquiry, and consider what happens next.
And here is the link to the paper which was discussed in the hearings: https://citizensparty.org.au/sites/default/files/2022-06/aust-hamiltonian-credit.pdf
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A Significant Year Of Breakthroughs... With Robbie Barwick!
Another dose of truth from our property insider, Edwin Almedia. In today’s show we look at the November property price moves, the falling listings, and the claims agents are making for more pay. We also warn about the risks in high-rise apartments, and how to select an agent.
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More evidence from the Senate last week, concerning the impact of bank branch closures. The Small Business Ombudsman calls out what is wrong with the current system, and why small business is being degraded. He makes a strong case for significant change!
This is the fourth segment following the recent hearings in Canberra in the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee, on Friday 1st December 2023 and relating to bank branch closures.
This is our weekly market update. As always we start in the US, cover oil and gold, as well as treasuries, and then move through Europe and Asia before we cover Australian developments and crypto. A succinct summary of the weeks events.
A searing late-year rally has brought the S&P 500 to a fresh 2023 closing high, as investors bet the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates and the U.S. economy will remain resilient in the face of tighter monetary policy.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the risks of hiking interest rates too much and slowing the economy more than necessary have become “more balanced” with the risks of not hiking enough to control inflation. He vowed to move “carefully” on interest rates.
Earlier this week Investor optimism about rate cuts surged after Fed Governor Christopher Waller – widely seen as a hawkish policymaker – flagged the possibility of lower interest rates in coming months if inflation continued to ease.
So, is the Fed is at risk of committing a major policy error if it begins to loosen monetary conditions too soon, which could see inflationary pressures begin to pick up again? If anything, the Fed has more room to raise interest rates than to cut them, presuming it follows the numbers. Indeed, U.S. government data released Thursday showed that the U.S. economy grew at a faster-than-expected 5.2% annual rate in the third quarter amid surprisingly robust consumer spending.
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This is the third in a series of posts following the recent hearings in Canberra as the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee heard from Dale Webster, from The Regional. She and I wrote to the Committee to get this inquiry up and running.
On Friday 1st December 2023 the Senate took evidence in Canberra relating to bank branch closures.
This is the second in a series of posts following the recent hearings in Canberra as the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee heard from Robbie Barwick and co who presented the case for a public bank.
On Friday 1st December 2023 the Senate took evidence in Canberra relating to bank branch closures.
