Login
ISCOVER
Business expectations for the first quarter of 2009 have fallen to record lows according to the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (ACCI) January Survey of Investor Confidence.
The findings come off the back of similarly bleak expectations published yesterday by Dun & Bradstreet.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
According to the ACCI business conditions are at their lowest point since the survey began in 1998 and expectations for sales and profitability have fallen into negative territory for the first time in more than a decade.
The survey also found interest rates remained a constraint on business investment despite aggressive rate reductions at the end of 2008. The ACCI said this reflected the low pass-through rate of official rate cuts to business borrowers.
Greg Evans, ACCI director of industry policy and economics, urged lenders to pass rate reductions on to businesses in order to support local commerce.
“Major lenders should see that official interest rate reductions flow to business borrowers and also that tightened lending criteria is relaxed to encourage business investment.”
