![NAB chief executive Andrew Thorburn: Hats off for smart PR by throwing in a "special" for first-home buyers.](/web/20170317042118im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/a/e/e/p/image.related.wideLandscape.460x259.gv09q8.png/1489713190954.jpg)
NAB sailing the RBA winds to profit
If the Reserve Bank and National Australia Bank were competitors, the consumer watchdog could have a case against them for price signalling.
If the Reserve Bank and National Australia Bank were competitors, the consumer watchdog could have a case against them for price signalling.
The Dutch banking giant's Australian arm expects to increase lending to housing investors this year, allowing it to gain market share as the big four banks pull back for fear of breaching regulatory caps.
Former treasurer Peter Costello often gave good advice to the nation. Perhaps most memorable was his suggestion about family planning.
The Federal Reserve may be determined to lift US rates three times this year, but soft local jobs numbers were a timely reminder that the RBA is still at a very different stage of the rates cycle.
One almost wonders whether the Fed is really raising rates to puncture the asset bubble out of moralistic urges, just as it did from 1928 to 1929.
The jobless rate has unexpectedly jumped to 5.9 per cent, its highest level in just over a year, as the economy shed 6400 jobs in February.
The sheer scale of Australia's household debt means lifting interest rates is going to be a far more sensitive operation than in previous times.
Australian consumer sentiment has held steady in March as worries over family finances were offset by optimism over the longer-term economic outlook.
The Reserve Bank is considering tighter bank lending standards amid concern about how the financial system would handle a collapse in housing prices.
The reality is that higher profits aren't translating into higher wages.
The ability of employers to exploit casual workforces made up mainly of women and students would be reduced if the Turnbull government removes a $450 minimum income level for superannuation guarantee payments, a federal inquiry has been told.
Traders betting on further gains in the US dollar aren't being dissuaded by its slump late last week after the February employment report showed robust jobs growth
Shadow assistant treasurer Andrew Leigh wants the nation's highly-paid chief executives and politicians to forgo a big tax cut they are due to get on July 1.
Confidence and capacity are the real drivers of investment.
Mortgage pain in towns hit by a commodities downturn is beginning to be felt in parts of the financial system.
Company boards are on notice. The world's third largest asset manager will use its proxy voting powers to influence greater gender diversity.
Australia's solid labour market performance is sullied by its failure to fully tap the potential of women: those with young children, single mothers and females in their late 50s
Soaring home prices in Australia's biggest cities don't necessarily mean the country is in the grip of a housing bubble, according to the heads of the big four banks.
On the present trajectory of political fiddling about housing affordability, the odds are reasonable that Scott Morrison's second budget will include National Housing Lotto. It's not much worse an idea than some that have been suggested and apparently are about to be tried.
Markets are tipping a one-in-three chance the RBA will start lifting rates this year, while Goldman Sachs says a move in 2017 is now more likely than not.
The Reserve Bank is increasingly certain the global economy is picking up and increasingly determined not to cut its cash rate again.
Why is it that a mother caring for her children produces no "measured" economic value, but the same mother hiring others to look after her children does?
The Reserve Bank of Australia has held the cash rate steady at 1.5 per cent amid concern about what another cut would do to the housing market and amid signs the economy is picking up.
Retail sales rebounded in January after two months of tepid outcomes, although the underlying pulse was one of sluggish household consumption.
An estimated 400 restaurants and cafés and hair and beauty salons will get a visit from the Tax Office this month.
What happened to the the job of "paid companion" or "inspector of nuisances" recorded in Australia's first national census in 1911?
Australia is on the cusp of achieving something truly remarkable – not to mention unprecedented in modern world history. It will be worth celebrating.
The value of our collective wellbeing increased by $22 billion in 2016
When the media headlines hit about bad behaviour by men at the highest levels of corporate Australia, female board directors can't help but feel despondent.
Fabulous news on the economy this week. The recession that never was, didn't happen. Phew. That's a relief.
This Aussie franchise is growing more quickly than McDonald's and is booming overseas.
Companies must create a culture of continuous learning in the new machine age.
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