Which means tighter credit conditions are on its way for Australian borrowers. Join discussion...

A fun explanation of credit inflation and deflation from assets. Join discussion...

Example of mal-investments in the Australian economy that has been going on for years. As the article says, "Economic modelling produced for the Herald by PricewaterhouseCoopers shows the task of building the new roads, houses, schools, supermarkets and recreation facilities needed by 2050 will be so great that the nation's current pool of savings will struggle to cover it, even with the help of foreign capital...'The banks rely quite heavily on the savings of individual people to provide capital for investment in infrastructure. Because as a nation our savings are currently quite low, there is a real risk that there will be a significant shortage of credit.''" Join discussion...

As we said before, the political pressure to keep mortgage rates low resulted in banks having to squeeze blood elsewhere. And that is from small business. Join discussion...

Basically, despite lending to mortgages and government increases, lending to the business sector is contracting and getting tighter. That could be the reason why the RBA is not raising interest rates. If the business sector is stuffed, you can be sure household finance will be stuffed too, which means house prices will be stuffed, which means the banks will be stuffed. Join discussion...

European banking system is still vulnerable. Join discussion...

In Australia, a journalist posed as First Home Buyer and guess what? The banks are willing to make sub-primish loan. Join discussion...

I have to laugh at this one... they claim we are taking on even more debt, but the repayments are higher (even though we are still taking on more NET debt). Join discussion...

(24 April 09) "Households with mortgages of more than $500,000 will soon be able to legally request changes to their credit contract." Join discussion...

Australian banks are not raising mortgage rates beyond RBA's increase. But they are turning the screws on business lending and personal credit card. No wonder personal & business credit growth are falling. Join discussion...