Australia’s CBA may buy HBOS’ BankWest
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd said Tuesday it has started exclusive talks with Britain’s HBOS Plc to buy its local unit, BankWest.
Last week HBOS Australia downplayed speculation it was in talks with Australia’s local banks about selling BankWest, saying it was not interested in selling the operation, AAP said. Read more
The high cost of credit
Interest rates on some cards are rising, putting debt-laden users under more stress, writes Lesley Parker.
You may well know your mortgage interest rate to two decimal places – before and after the recent rate cut – but chances are you don’t know the rate on your credit cards.
Amid all the hue and cry about home loan rates going up over the past year – when lenders decided they’d go even further than the central bank – not much was heard about cards.
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Credit crisis to take toll on property prices
Waiting for the next thing to go wrong in the sharemarket sure throws a new light on the virtues of property. Don’t get your hopes up. Although a rate cut next week is a dead cert, if for no other reason than the Reserve Bank needs to keep the financial system liquid, that won’t be enough to prop up property prices. Read more
RBA stuns with massive rate cut
UPDATE The Reserve Bank has stunned financial markets by announcing a full-percentage point cut – double what analysts had tipped – saying financial markets had taken a “significant turn for the worse.”
Australia’s official lending rate was lowered by the most since May 1992. Banks, though, aren’t likely to pass on all of the 100 basis-point cut to their customers, citing their own rising borrowing costs on overseas money markets. Read more