1. Is the worst behind us?
It was a dramatic and negative five days for stock prices and our super funds last week but is the worst behind us? Simply, no one knows, with stocks down 2.6% (or over 220 points) last week. Friday saw a 2.2% bounce-back and then US stocks rebounded 2.4%, but futures predict a negative opening for share prices today. This week, local companies start reporting profits and their company outlooks, which need to be better than expected to offset fears about rising interest rates.

2. House prices to keep rising
Despite economists expecting interest rates to rise this year, house price expert, CoreLogic, thinks house prices will also rise! The country’s most-watched property price monitor, CoreLogic, says prices might not start to fall until a year after interest rates start to rise, which are expected to be lifted as early as August this year. Home price data shows when interest rates rise, there’s a lag before it spooks buyers. And right now, economists think when rates rise, it will take a year before they go up by 1%.

3. Price of airline tickets up more than 20%
Airline travel tickets are about 20% more expensive right now and industry experts say they’ll stay high until 2023. To be precise, inflation data from the Australian Federation of Travel Agents says international travel and accommodation costs are 17.2% higher than in December 2019, just before the Coronavirus hit the world. Not only are ticket prices more expensive for air travel, but there’s also less discounting. And premium brand airlines are preferred by travellers right now. These higher prices are expected to be with us for the next 12 months.

4. RBA’s forecast looking good for jobless rate
The Australian central bank could forecast the national jobless rate to fall below 4% when it updates its official outlook this week – the lowest rate since 1974. It is also expected to tighten its outlook for inflation following recent positive economic data such as the December unemployment rate of 4.2%. “The RBA board will meet for the first time in 2022 on Tuesday. The board is widely expected to end its $350 billion bond-buying program, ahead of the next interest rate hiking cycle,” the AFR reports.

5. ASX to slip despite late Wall St push
Equity futures pointed to a 0.2% fall for the ASX on Monday, after Wall Street staged a late Friday rally to prevent the tech-heavy Nasdaq Index posting five consecutive weeks of losses. ASX futures were down 16 points or 0.2% to 6896 before 7.30am AEDT. AUD -0.6% to 69.88 US cents. On Wall St: Dow +1.7%, S&P 500 +2.4%, Nasdaq +3.1%. 2-year yield: US 1.16% Australia 0.93%.