The Reserve Bank Board meeting is the stand-out event in what shapes to be a relatively quiet week for economic and financial news.
Craig James is CommSec’s Chief Economist.
On leaving school Craig James joined the (then) Rural Bank, whilst undertaking university studies. He received his Bachelor of Commerce (Economics) at University of NSW in 1984 and then a Master of Commerce (Economics) at the same university in 1988.
He remained at the Rural Bank, which became the State Bank over time and then Colonial, working in branches, Corporate, Planning and Economic Research.
He became chief economist of Colonial Group in September 1987, before becoming chief economist at CommSec in August 2000 with the Commonwealth takeover of Colonial.
In 2002 Craig had a sea-change, joining the Australian Financial Review. He had always wanted to pursue a role in journalism and enjoyed the role as an economic commentator and analysts, finding that he could pursue a journalistic-type role as well as doing more electronic media work at CommSec and rejoined the group in 2003.
On taking the reigns of chief economist at Colonial, Craig endeavoured to style their research in a “user-friendly” way – something that set their research apart and still does today. The approach has been successful in their media work and in promoting Colonial, and then CommSec, to the general public. CommSec is the most quoted economic group in the mainstream media.
CommSec economic reports are a bit different in that they devise tools such as the ‘Mums and Dads’ share index and the iPod index, and undertake research on the weather and demographic changes to show how they affect the economy.
Craig currently does around 2-3 regular TV crosses a day, ad hoc radio and newspaper interviews and writes regular commentaries as well as presenting to staff, clients and external organisations.
Outside work, Craig's main interests are athletics (cross country in winter), weight training, reading widely across a range of newspapers, magazines and electronic media, and trying to keep up with the children.
The Reserve Bank Board meeting is the stand-out event in what shapes to be a relatively quiet week for economic and financial news.
Catch up on the latest market and economic news from Australia and around the world.
The 2020/21 financial year commences mid-week with a slew of ‘tier-1’ data releases, including figures on home prices, building approvals, international trade, job vacancies, retail trade and purchasing manager indexes.
In the coming week, there will be a mixed array of new data, survey results and speeches.
Catch up on the latest market and economic news from Australia and around the world.
In the coming week, the May jobs data will dominate investor attention. But the international tourism, population and retail trade data will also be closely watched. Communication from the Reserve Bank will also be a key focus.
In terms of key economic events, Australia transitions from feast to relative famine. Around half the number of key events is scheduled in the coming week compared with the prior week.
Catch up on the latest market and economic news from Australia and around the world.
A strange quirk of the statistical calendar is that each new season is ushered in by a barrage of new economic data. So, the ‘Winter Whirlwind’ is upon us – around a dozen surveys or data releases are scheduled over the coming week.
Catch up on the latest market and economic news from Australia and around the world.
Catch up on the latest market and economic news from Australia and around the world.
An eclectic mix of data is expected over the coming week including readings on the job market and consumer spending.