Andrew Hauser appointed as new RBA deputy governor, ASX 'dribbled lower' — as it happened
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has appointed the Bank of England's Andrew Hauser as the RBA's next deputy governor, while Australian shares closed lower as Wall Street futures fell.
Follow the day's financial news and insights from our specialist business reporters on our live blog.
Disclaimer: this blog is not intended as investment advice.
By Michael Janda
Live updates on the major ASX indices:
By Michael Janda
As I am about to head off, the S&P 500 futures are down around 0.3%.
David Chau of News Channel and 7pm Finance fame will join you in the morning to keep you across the market action tomorrow.
By Michael Janda
The Australian share market started the day higher, albeit without much conviction.
It then proceeded to deflate throughout the afternoon, and the ASX 200 closed 0.8% lower at 6,988 points.
Capital.com's senior financial market analyst Kyle Rodda noted that rising bond yields were a factor in the share sell-off.
"The ASX 200 dribbled lower throughout the session, and Asian indices were broadly weaker, albeit on volumes that remain well below average," he wrote.
"Bond yields are increasing as funding pressures persist in global markets, with the issues stemming from Germany this time.
"Sentiment towards Chinese indices soured after industrial profits data revealed continued sluggishness and arguably deflationary pressures. Profits rose 2.7% as the rate of growth declined from a month earlier."
Only the tech sector managed to edge higher, with education, real estate and mining leading the losses.
By Michael Janda
What product can you buy in David Jones in Melbourne that could land them in jail if they sold it in Sydney?
The humble vibrator. Or various other sexual wellness products, unless they're for contraception.
That's due to laws that restrict the sale of products related to "sexual behaviour" to adult shops in NSW, and which also place rules on those adult shops that keep them hidden upstairs or behind darkened windows, and away from schools and churches.
Ironically, but perhaps not surprisingly, the biggest opponents to relaxing those laws are the owners of adult shops who don't want competition from big department stores and chemists.
But the laws are also preventing a different, modern, more open style of sexual wellness store, like that run by Soeren Poulsen and his partner Paige Aubort in Melbourne's CBD.
Here's the excellent news feature from Daniel Ziffer.
By Michael Janda
This quick reaction from the ABC's senior business correspondent Peter Ryan, who has been canvassing views on Andrew Hauser's appointment as the RBA's deputy governor.
While it's not unusual for a central bank like the RBA to seek fresh talent offshore, the appointment of Bank Of England veteran Andrew Hauser would most likely be a disappointment to internal candidates who would otherwise be "a heartbeat away".
Christopher Kent, assistant RBA governor (financial markets) was known to be a leading candidate — highly regarded within the central banking community.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers recently said the appointment would be made before the Reserve Bank's December board meeting — and today he's delivered on that.
Dr Chalmers was on the record as saying he'd been in no rush to decide on the deputy governor having talked to potential candidates both internal and external to the RBA.
A former colleague tells me Andrew Hauser is a "good guy and a good all-round central banker" who would bring a "fresh perspective" to the role.
By Kate Ainsworth
It will be the end of an era at the close of trading today, with InvoCare being removed from the ASX.
Last month the funeral and crematorium group's shareholders approved TPG's takeover offer of $1.8 billion.
InvoCare is the company behind White Lady Funerals and Simplicity Funerals, as well as a handful of smaller, state-based brands.
It was first listed on the ASX on December 4, 2003.
By Kate Ainsworth
Andrew Hauser has released a short statement about being appointed as the deputy governor of the RBA, saying he is 'humbled' and 'honoured' to take on the role.
"I am humbled and deeply honoured to be asked to serve as the RBA's next Deputy Governor," he said.
"I look forward to working closely with Michele Bullock, her senior team and the talented staff of the RBA to serve the Australian people, and to make a reality of the recommendations in the RBA Review."
The current governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, has also remarked on Mr Hauser's appointment:
"Andrew is an outstanding central banker, respected around the world," Mr Bailey.
"While he will be greatly missed at the Bank of England, I am delighted that he is taking up such an important role at the Reserve Bank of Australia."
By Kate Ainsworth
Here's a quick rundown of who Mr Hauser is, and why he's been appointed to be Michele Bullock's deputy at the RBA, according to Treasurer Jim Chalmers's statement:
"Mr Hauser joined the Bank of England in 1992 and is currently the Executive Director of the Markets Directorate, a role he has held since 2018.
"His responsibilities include the design and execution of the Bank's balance sheet operations, managing the UK's official foreign exchange reserves, and providing market intelligence and analytical advice to the monetary and macro-prudential policy committees.
"Previously, he has held senior roles across most of the Bank of England's other major functions, including its international economic analysis and its intelligence-gathering regional agencies. He has also served as a member of the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC.
"Mr Hauser holds a Master of Economics from the London School of Economics and a first degree from Oxford University.
"His appointment comes after a thorough, methodical and considered selection process, in consultation with Governor Bullock, which led to the Cabinet endorsing the Treasurer's recommendation today.
"Mr Hauser comes highly recommended for the position of Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank, and his appointment will help ensure we have the most effective central bank to meet our current and future economic challenges."
By Kate Ainsworth
The federal government has announced former Bank of England central banker Andrew Hauser as the deputy governor of the RBA.
Mr Hauser has spent more than 30 years at the Bank of England, and replaces Michele Bullock after she was elevated to the role of RBA governor earlier this year.
"His appointment strikes the right balance between providing deep central banking experience and offering a fresh, global perspective to the work of the RBA," Treasurer Jim Chalmers said in a statement.
"He will work closely with Governor Bullock to implement the recommendations of the Review of the Reserve Bank of Australia, including a stronger monetary policy framework for the benefit of all Australians."
It's expected Mr Hauser will begin as deputy governor before the RBA board's first meeting next year.
By Kate Ainsworth
In the interest of providing variety here on the blog, Australian online beauty retailer Adore Beauty has seen its share price rise by as much as 20% today.
Its share price may be just under $1.10, however its trading volume has surpassed 277,000 today alone — well above their usual daily trading volume — and surged past 24% today.
The reason for that? Adore Beauty has confirmed its board rejected a cash offer from London-based ecommerce company THG of $1.25-1.30 per share to acquire 100% of the Australian retailer.
"Following a review of the terms of the proposal … the board of Adore Beauty concluded that the proposal undervalued the company, was unable to be implemented, and was not in the best interests of shareholders," Adore Beauty's statement to the ASX read.
"For these reasons, the board rejected the proposal."
Adore Beauty was first listed on the ASX in October 2020, and its stock has fallen by 9.2% this year as of Friday's close.
By Kate Ainsworth
After some slight gains this morning, the ASX has dropped by 0.4% to 7,011 points as of 1:10pm AEDT.
(For live figures at any time, head to the top of the blog).
Losses for the academic and educational services and utilities sectors are far outweighing any gains.
Technology, real estate and energy stocks are the only sectors seeing growth at lunch, while financials, industrials and healthcare are flat.
Pathology services provider Healius is leading the charge when it comes to top movers, after its chair Jenny Macdonald announced she would retire from the position at tomorrow's annual meeting — a year after joining the company.
The top five performers so far:
As for the bottom five performers:
By Kate Ainsworth
Live updates on the major ASX indices:
By Kate Ainsworth
A new week means a new batch of economic data coming through — and it's an especially important batch given the RBA's final cash rate meeting for the year is happening next Tuesday.
Here's what's coming up:
By Michael Janda
Some interesting data out from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which shows that combined solar and wind energy production in Australia exceeded household electricity use for the first time in 2021-22.
From the ABS:
Renewable energy sources can now supply 30% of domestic electricity use and have exceeded aggregate annual household electricity demand since 2019-20, with combined solar and wind energy supply exceeding aggregate household demand for the first time in 2021-22. The main sources of renewable energy in 2021-22 were:
We're also using, and producing, less energy than previously.
Many industries are also becoming less energy intensive:
Energy intensity is the ratio of energy consumed (GJ) per unit of economic output (GVA). This ratio has fallen from an average of 1,509 GJ/$M GVA output in 2020-21 to 1,482 GJ/$M GVA output in 2021-22.
Industry energy intensity of selected industries:
So, in the effort to get to net zero emissions, Australia is making progress. But is it happening quickly enough?
By Michael Janda
An interesting email from Woolworths to its customers outlining the price rises they've experienced over the past year.
"Based on our internal data, grocery inflation peaked at 10.5% in November 2022 and remained stubbornly high until March this year," wrote Woolies CEO Brad Banducci.
"Since then, inflation has thankfully started to come down, with vegetables, fruit and now red meat (esp lamb) all in deflation.
"Last week at Woolworths, grocery price inflation as experienced by customers at the checkout was 3.4%."
Woolies' figures echo the ABS, although the bureau's quarterly figures for food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation peaked at 9.2% in December 2022.
The most recent September quarter figures had annual food inflation at 4.8%, a sharp fall from the June quarter's 7.5%.
On Wednesday, the ABS will release its latest monthly inflation indicator for October, with economists generally expecting the overall consumer price index to show an annual rise of 5.2% (excluding the most volatile price changes), down from 5.6% in September.
By Michael Janda
ASX 200: +0.2% to 7,053 points
Australian dollar: Flat at 65.81 US cents
S&P 500 (Friday): +0.1% to 4,559 points
Nasdaq (Friday): -0.1% to 14,251 points
FTSE (Friday): +0.1% to 7,488 points
EuroStoxx (Friday): +0.3% to 460 points
Spot gold: Flat at $US2,002/ounce
Brent crude: +0.2% to $US80.72/barrel
Iron ore (Friday): +0.5% to $US133.90/tonne
Bitcoin: -0.9% to $US37,511
US 10-year bond: +1bp to 4.49%
Live updates on the major ASX indices:
By Michael Janda
The Australian share market is creeping higher in early trade, with the ASX 200 up 0.1% to 7,049 points.
The leading sectors were industrials (+0.4%), Tech (+0.4%) and healthcare (+0.3%), while consumer non-cyclicals (-0.3%), utilities (-0.3%) and consumer cyclicals (-0.2%) were on the way down.
Gains were vastly outnumbering losses, with 125 stocks up to 65 falling.
Biggest gains:
Biggest losses:
By Michael Janda
Does Peter Ryan have to put articles on TWITTER l don't have it and I'm not installing another A/C his commentary is very interesting
– John
Hi John, Peter posts his audio via his Soundcloud account.
I believe you don't need any kind of login to listen there.
We'll try and post links to that whenever possible, let me know if you have any problems accessing the audio.
By Michael Janda
Confirming trends reported recently by rival Fitch, ratings agency S&P has found mortgage arrears are on the up for "non-conforming" or "sub-prime" borrowers.
Mortgage borrowers in this group — who are often self-employed, have irregular income streams or are borrowing near their maximum capacity — climbed from 3.47% to 3.86%.
"Nonconforming borrowers are more sensitive to cashflow pressures arising from higher interest rates, given their higher levels of leverage," the report notes.
"A slowdown in refinancing activity will also add to debt serviceability pressures for some nonconforming borrowers by keeping them locked into higher rates."
Prime mortgage arrears were 0.92% in the third quarter, which is around their long-term average of 1%.
However, S&P doesn't expect arrears to peak until the first half of next year, due to the lagged impact of interest rate rises and the savings buffers many borrowers have built up.
"The pause in cash rate increases during the third quarter (Q3) provided a brief reprieve for borrowers. However, this has now ended and cash flow pressures will continue to mount for some borrowers, particularly in the lead up to Christmas," the agency predicts.
Not that S&P expects arrears to hit historically high levels.
"High household savings buffers, particularly those held in offset accounts, have acted as a shock absorber for many borrowers and reduced interest burdens," the report notes.
"Competitive refinancing conditions have enabled many borrowers to take advantage of the lower rates on offer by lenders, aiding debt serviceability.
"A rebound in property prices has also enhanced refinancing prospects by improving borrowers' LTV ratios.
"Higher property prices and enhanced equity positions in home loans also increase the likelihood of borrowers being able to voluntarily sell properties without realising a loss."
By Michael Janda
With the new Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock on heightened alert about rising inflation, key economic data out this week could influence the likelihood of the need for yet another interest rate rise.
Also, legislation to reform the RBA will be introduced in parliament today.
The ABC's senior business correspondent Peter Ryan analyses the week ahead on News Radio.
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