Getting better all the time

Let’s not kid ourselves.

The downturn is real. Most of us know someone who has been thrown out of work. In our own marketing departments, we all know how tough it has been to make budget.

But we need to be informed and accurate.

There are concrete signs that recovery is on the way. Just look at this selection of news pieces that have appeared in Australian media since 9 June 2009.

Property market on the up and up
Chris Vedelago 21 June 2009

“MELBOURNE'S property market appears to be headed towards a strong recovery as conditions begin to mirror the heady days of the 2007 property boom.

The auction clearance rate surged to 86 per cent this past week to hit its second highest level on record, according to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria.

The volume of private sale transactions has also risen to a record high, with 15,354 properties selling this year to date compared to 15,060 in the boom year of 2007.”

Recovery hopes get big boost
Angela Monaghan 14 June 2009

“BETTER than expected economic data from China is likely to raise hopes that the world's largest emerging economy could help to drag the rest of the world out of recession.

China's National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday that industrial output jumped 8.9 per cent last month, compared with a 7.3 per cent rise in April, and higher than a median forecast of 7.5 per cent growth.

Retail sales in China rose 15.2 per cent in the year to May, following a 14.8 per cent increase in April, which was also ahead of forecasts.

They were the latest signs to suggest that the Government's $585 billion stimulus was working.”

Consumer confidence records 22-year bounce
By Online business reporter Michael Janda - 10 June 2009

“Consumer confidence has recorded its largest bounce in 22 years after the news last week that Australia had avoided a technical recession - two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.

The widely watched Westpac - Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index surged 12.7 per cent between May and June and now stands at 100 - meaning there are as many optimists as there are pessimists.

The bank's chief economist, Bill Evans, says the size of the increase is surprising and is the second largest bounce in the survey's 35 year history.”

Worst of financial crisis over, says bank
Peter Martin 9 June 2009

“THE only international organisation to foresee the global financial crisis says the worst of it has probably passed.

The Swiss-based Bank for International Settlements says "glimmers of hope" are sparking a "rebound of risk appetite among investors", pushing up borrowing by more than a quarter so far this year.

"The key economic indicators remain at depressed levels," the bank says in its latest quarterly report. "But investors are focused instead on incipient signs that economic conditions are deteriorating less rapidly than before, while intensified policy actions to counter the crisis have helped bolster confidence."

In Australia, the latest Dun & Bradstreet survey found businesses more positive with expected sales, profits and employment all improving from a low base.”

Business confidence back on the up and up
Glenn Dyer 9 June 2009 - Crikey

“Australian business confidence has surged to its highest level in well over a year, thanks, it seems, to the effects of the free-spending federal budget, the stockmarket and commodity rally and last week's better than expected growth figures.

The ANZ's job ads series for May fell 0.2%, the lowest fall for months. And several major international financial oversight groups have expressed cautious optimism that the worst of the global crunch is over.

The better business confidence came in the latest monthly survey of business conditions and confidence from the National Australian Bank.”