Here is a piece from Bloomberg which recaps two important factors weighing on consumer sentiment
These are not new points, they've been in the news for a while, and they come on top of the impact of much higher energy prices on business (not just on households) and high debt loads.
On the constitutional crisis:
- High Court will hear the cases of Deputy PM Joyce and four other MPs who face being barred from parliament for breaching the constitution
- Hearing is set for October
- If Joyce is ruled ineligible, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's government could lose its one-seat majority, bringing fresh political uncertainty
The citizenship fiasco underscores the problems facing governments with small majorities and could become another factor locking in weak productivity and wages growth, according to Deutsche Bank AG's Chief Economist Adam Boyton
I've posted on this previously ... it could cause some short-term jitters but if the other side gets into power it won't make a lot of difference. Aussie politics is tweedledumb and tweedledumber
On higher electricity charges ... these are surging due to (previous) government incompetence. Says Bloomberg:
- could further hurt consumer confidence that's already beset by stagnant wages
- Citigroup forecasts prices to go on climbing after they already more than doubled in the decade through 2016
And, like I said, not just to consumers, but to business. This is a more serious cloud, IMO .
