Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
AUSTRALIA’S CENTRAL BANK has cut interest rates to record lows in a bid to kickstart the country’s economy as it continues to suffer the hangover from its mining boom.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) sliced its official lending rate to 2% today, the latest in a series of reductions that started in November 2011 – when rates were at 4.5%.
The country’s unemployment rate has been creeping up from a low of about 4% in 2008 to 6.2% in March as China’s appetite for commodities like iron ore – Australia’s biggest export – waned.
Australia had been one of the few major economies to emerge virtually unscathed during the financial crisis having recorded 23 straight years of GDP growth.
That economic strength worked to push up the value of the Australian dollar, most importantly against the greenback as US officials slashed interest rates and unleashed a money-creating quantitative easing programme to get the world’s biggest economy going.
But Australia has been struggling to maintain employment and wage growth since China’s unprecedented building binge came to an end.
High dollar woes
During the mining boom, the high Australian dollar hit the competitiveness of other industries like manufacturing hard as they battled to compete with cheap imports. The country’s car-making industry, for example, was pushed to extinction.
However since the RBA started cutting interest rates, the Australian dollar has lost about 20% of its value against the US dollar – a trend which the central bank hopes will continue.
Further depreciation seems both likely and necessary, particularly given the significant declines in key commodity prices,” RBA governor Glenn Stevens said today.
Meanwhile, growth in employment and consumer spending are expected to pick up, but both businesses and the government have been reluctant to open the purse strings – meaning the outlook for jobs was still hanging in the balance.
The economy is … likely to be operating with a degree of spare capacity for some time yet,” Stevens said.
- With AFP
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
So what if he served 48 days , and so what if that was the deal made by the prosecutor. He drugged and raped a 13 year old girl ! Why would you want filth like that back in your Country, no matter how good his films are..
@Blarneykite: you’re literally defending a paedophile.
@Blarneykite: you must be deaf if you cannot hear the calls for Blair and Bush to be tried for war crimes, perhaps selectively so. Anyway, back to your defence of an admitted paedophile.
A predator
“Polanski – the only polish wanted in the USA without a valid visa lol”
While I despise him as a person, polish court was right not to extradite him to the us. US made balls of the investigation and charges and wanted to change it after he served what they deemed at first. Only US court fault. Then still interesting why she wanted withdraw her case from the court, being a victim it sounds weird, who knows what was really between them, maybe consensual sex that turned wrong when he said to her bye bye. (Not that’s right anyway to have sex with 13 years old).
@Tomasz Kuchnik: a 13 year old cannot legally consent to sexual intercourse in the US. Anymore vile excuses for Polanski?
@Tomasz Kuchnik: maybe she’s just sick of this following her around and would like closure. She is now living her life and maybe she has recovered and wants it all to go away and I have a lot of sympathy for that. It must be hard for her.
@Paul Fahey: cannot consent legally, but can consent informally… not? and why are you attacking me I said I despise the man, and just thought that’s one possibility…
@Tomasz Kuchnik: what exactly is “informal consent” by a 13 year old child to sexual intercourse? I find that a most disturbing comment, I really do.
@Paul Fahey: Paul ok I need to explain that to you as for some reason you don’t get it, in 90s in the US first sexual intercourse under 13 years of age have been reported by more than 10% of the teenagers. It has been decreasing since then. So in 70s when this happened, that percentage was likely even bigger than 10% although I have no source for it. How do you know she didn’t want to sleep with him as you seem totally rejecting that version? Rape accusation is oldest trick in a book. Now before you go on holy war with me – I’m not saying this is the case. I’m just interested why you don’t let think it could have been consensual from her side then. Himself as a grown up man should have known better and of course shouldn’t touch her either way.
@Tomasz Kuchnik: you are aware how old Polanski was at the time of these crimes aren’t you? He was not a 13 year old boy having “informal consent” sexual penetrative intercourse with a 13 year old girl. No, he was a 40+ year old man committing statutory rape on a 13 year old girl, consent does not come into it, formal or “informal”. If you think all the US 13 year olds you mention are losing their virginity to 40+ year old man, then you need help. You are defending and making excuses for a paedophile, let that sink in. You may think you are being clever with your words, but most normal people will find them quite disturbing.
Good. Horrible man.
He is a dirtbag.
Jesus Barny.. give it a rest.
have your say