Related Articles
Top Stories
May 27 2012 11:21
There's a price war raging between South Africa's cellphone networks after Cell C lowered the rates of its prepaid calls by more than 34%.
May 28 2012 07:53
The City of Cape Town has spent R175m running the Myciti bus service since the Soccer World Cup compared to an income of R35m, a report says.
May 27 2012 13:09
The oversupply of golf estates has claimed another victim.
Sydney - Australia became the first major Western nation to lift interest rates since the global financial crisis hit as its central bank announced a rise of 25 basis points to 3.25% on Tuesday.
The Reserve Bank of Australia had left the cash rate unchanged at 3.0%, the lowest since 1960, since April following an aggressive series of cuts aimed at resisting the global economic plunge.
"In late 2008 and early 2009, the cash rate was lowered quickly, to a very low level, in expectation of very weak economic conditions and a recognition that considerable downside risks existed," bank governor Glenn Stevens said in a statement.
That basis for such a low interest rate setting has now passed, however."
The central bank moved to slash the rate from 7.25% last September, helping Australia fight off the worst global slump since the Great Depression.
It is the only major Western nation to avoid a recession in the downturn and posted growth of 0.6% in the three months to June -- the best in the developed world.
- AFP