|
Property and Finance Brief 10 May 2013
Never listen to an Economist
21 out of 29 economists polled by Bloomberg last week expected the RBA to leave the cash rate on hold this week. In case you’ve been living under a rock the RBA cut the cash rate by 0.25% to 2.75%.Wonder how they go in the footy tipping comp? $4 billion dollar steelworks in Gladstone
Boulder Steel (BS) is proposing a $4 billion dollar steelworks in Gladstone's State development Area. The company has been in Gladstone for the past two days, meeting with local contractors to discuss construction and maintenance contracts. BS chief David Simpson said the meetings, coordinated by Gladstone Engineering Alliance, were the first step in gauging local interest. "We are confident that most of the construction skills and services (for the project) are available right here in Central Queensland."
Boulder Steel has submitted an Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Mt Larcom plant, which would produce five million tonnes of steel for export every year. The 30-month development could create 2000 jobs, and BS said construction could start in 2015, with final investment pending. Steel operations would require 1300 permanent workers, and 500 contractors.
$1.93 billion deal signed with Chinese
BG Group signed a $1.93 billion deal with the Chinese joint venture partners behind its Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) project. The UK oil and gas giant announced last October it had struck the deal with China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), which also included providing it with an additional five million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of liquefied natural gas. Combined with the 3.6 mtpa LNG sale agreement signed with CNOOC in 2010, BG Group now has total committed volumes to China of 8.6 mtpa which will make the group the largest supplier of LNG to the world's fastest growing energy market.
The $20 billion QCLNG project is more than half complete with the roof having been raised on one of the two LNG tanks on Curtis Island near Gladstone. The first LNG exports are due next year. QCLNG has also signed long-term LNG sales contracts with customers in Japan and India; and, where we will soon begin importing LNG into Singapore.
Landlords tax deductions rise to $38.6 billion or $23,000 per tax return
ATO figures Australia’s 1.76 million landlords claimed a total of $38.6 billion in tax deduction in the 2010-11 tax year, the latest ATO statistics show. This equates to an average tax deduction of $23,000 per landlord. The aggregate figure was an 18% increase on the $32.8 billion in tax deductions claimed in the 2009-10 year, where 1.7 million landlords claimed an average deduction of $19,000.
Japan’s employment market improves.
Japan jobless rate slid to 4.1 per cent in March, the lowest in more than four years, official data shows. This figure was down 0.2 percentage points from the previous month, the lowest level since November 2008, the government says. Japan has logged a modest rise in factory output in March as the nation's unemployment rate hit a multi-year low, official data shows. The new figures also come days after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) boosted its inflation and economic growth projections for the world's third-largest economy. |
