The Australian --- Page: 19 : 24 April 2008 Original article by Lisa Macnamara
LexisNexis Summary
Australian retail sector participants as well as economists warn that a slump in consumer spending is emerging. At the same time, the latest CPI data for the first quarter of 2008 shows that annualised inflation has blown out to a level of 4.2% last seen in 1992. This means the threat of further official interest rate rises has been revived, and the Australian dollar also closed at a high of above $US0.95 not witnessed since 1984. The money market now sees the chance of an August 2008 rate rise at 60%. Among the retailers predicting a flagging economy is Solomon Lew of Premier Investments.
