AMP Business Easy Saver Account (BESA) 5.50%

June 30 is the final day to open the above account and receive the bonus of 5.50%. This rate will be effective until Aug 31 and may be extended. Funds are available overnight and it is paying higher than many 30 or 60 day TD rates.

US Growth
Worries seem to be growing about a risk to the US recovery and talk increasingly being of a 'double dip' recession. Yields in long term bonds in the US lowered towards the end of the week causing a flattening in their yield curve. This could have some influence on our yield curve with a significant flattening already occurring.

Expectations are now for the FED to keep their rates low for an extended period of time. Recent data has shown that consumer prices declined, housing starts dropped and unemployment claims rose.

The consumer price index declined 0.2 percent in May, the biggest drop since December 2008, data from the Labor Department showed on June 17 initial claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose to 472,000 for the week ended June 12, and housing starts fell 10 percent in May, the biggest tumble since March 2009, Fed data showed on June 16.

It seems therefore that the RBA won't have to worry about growth and inflationary pressure coming from the US so, depending on China, they may be able to pause for a few months. They key will be our inflation figures released on the 28th of July.