Retail sales jump by 1.4% in November: Economy Roundup

Retail sales rose by a higher-than-expected seasonally adjusted 1.4% to in November, following October’s 0.4% increase, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

In trend terms, sales in cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services increased by 1.1%, food retailing and department stores rose by 0.4% each, household good retailing was up 0.3%, with “other retailing” decreased by 0.2%.

All states recorded increases in trend terms, with New South Wales gaining 0.7%, Tasmania 0.6%, Northern Territory 0.6%, South Australia 0.5%, the Australian Capital Territory 0.4%, Victoria 0.3%, Queensland 1% and Western Australia 0.1%.

Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted balance on goods and services resulted in a deficit of $1.7 million in November, a decrease of $380 million from the revised October deficit.

Goods and services credits fell 2% to $19 million, non-rural goods fell 3%, non-monetary gold fell 3% while rural goods rose 5%. Services credits fell 1% to $33 million.

In debits, goods and services debits fell 3% to $20 million, capital goods fell 8% to $307 million, non-monetary gold fell 34% to $231 million while consumption goods rose by $12 million.

The Australian sharemarket has opened higher today after positive leads from Wall Street overnight along with higher oil and metals prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 1.1 points or 0.02% to 4920.2 at 12.00 AEST, while the Australian dollar also rose to US92c due to comments from the US Federal Reserve.

Commonwealth Bank shares lost 0.6% to $55.62, while NAB shares fell 1.1% to $29.60. ANZ lost 1.4% to $22.35, while Westpac fell 1.1% to $25.12.

Atlas Iron in trading halt

In the mining sector, iron ore miner Atlas Iron has now requested a trading halt pending an announcement which would clarify a newspaper article.

The West Australian previously reported the company was now close to finishing the sale of a majority stake in the company, with the deal worth about $150 million.

As reported in The Australian, the local division of JPMorgan Chase & Co has reduced the amount it is now seeking in alleged unpaid fees from Gennadiy Bogolyubov to $50 million.

The company is seeking the money from the Ukrainian due to his involvement in the takeover of Consolidated Minerals, which cost about $1.3 billion. The case, which is set to begin in the New South Wales Supreme Court in late February, will focus on the amount of fees investment banks are able to charge clients.

The managing director of the International Monetary Fund has said governments may think economies are recovering more quickly than they actually are, prompting a withdrawal of stimulus funds necessary to combat recessions.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn told the Australian Financial Review he believes the global recovery is continuing as planned, but that governments must continue stimulating their respective economies.

“The good news is the recovery is beginning and that we have growth in different parts of the world , and part of that good news is that it has happened a little bit earlier than expected… the bad news is there is still a lot to do,” he said.

“There’s a very high probability that the recovery will be sustainable providing we don’t go back and say, ‘Okay, the crisis is over and now is the time to deal with our domestic problems’.”

Amazon to sell larger Kindle internationally

In the US, online retail giant Amazon has announced it will now sell the larger version of its Kindle device internationally after it received high demand for the original international version.

The larger version, which is aimed at businesspeople and students, is expected to ship towards the end of this month.

Also in the US, the Federal Reserve has released its minutes from its last meeting which state officials were worried government support could reduce the viability of a housing recovery.

“Some participants… noted the risk that improvements in the housing sector might be undercut next year as the Federal Reserve’s purchases of MBS wind down, the home buyer tax credits expire and foreclosures and distress sales continue,” the minutes said.

The notes also stated the Fed intends to keep the official interest rate at an expansionary level for some time, prompting investor confidence on Wall Street. However, disappointing data from the services sector subdued any gains, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising just 1.66 points or 0.02% to 10,573.68.