Ross Gittins
Ross Gittins is economics editor of the SMH and an economic columnist for The Age. His books include Gittins' Guide to Economics, Gittinomics and The Happy Economist.
Deficit realities finally dawn on all
Ross Gittins Something highly significant has happened in just the past week: it's become clear the tide has turned in our politicians' demonisation of budget deficits and debt.
Ross Gittins
Economy not likely to drag in the voters
Ross Gittins If the economists' forecasts are right - a big if - the economy is likely to be in worse shape by the time of the election.
Ross Gittins
Prudence is back - and it's about time, too
Ross Gittins One of the first lessons economists teach us is that the economy moves in cycles of boom and bust. A second, trickier lesson is that although most of the changes going on in the economy at any moment...
Ross Gittins
Dear prudence, you've come back to stay
Ross Gittins It's better for businesses to adapt to the way the world now works.
Ross Gittins
Ceiling on housing affordability reached, and won't be breached
Ross Gittins For years when people at dinner parties worried about houses becoming too expensive for the younger generation to afford, I used to tell them not to worry: it was logically impossible for prices to...
Ross Gittins
Houses hit affordability ceiling, the price plateau is here to stay
Ross Gittins The decade of skyrocketing values was down to a one-off, and now it's over.
Ross Gittins
Rates gap a fair price to pay for safer banks
Ross Gittins As I'm sure you've gathered, a surprising number of our industries are going through a painful, job-shifting process economists euphemistically refer to as ''structural adjustment''.
Ross Gittins
We're still holding steady, even as jobs go
Ross Gittins Economists don't have a good record on forecasting what will happen to the economy, but here's a prediction I make with great confidence: whatever happens, it won't be as bad as you think it is.
Ross Gittins
It's too soon to crow at the Reserve's big surprise
Ross Gittins IF YOU are a borrower, don't be too cock-a-hoop that the Reserve Bank has cut its official rate by half a percentage point rather than the usual quarter.
Ross Gittins
Demand a better deal and stop moaning about greedy banks
Ross Gittins Forgive me if I'm less than impressed by the tirade of righteous indignation being unleashed against the banks. It's self-serving, selective and uninformed.
Ross Gittins
We're kidding ourselves on living costs
Ross Gittins It's human nature to think we're doing it hard, but most are doing all right.
Ross Gittins
All that glitters is not gold
Ross Gittins Economic good times lie ahead, but interest rates are likely to go up, and stay up, perhaps until the next downturn.
Ross Gittins
It's in your own best interest to save before Reserve forces you
Ross Gittins Barring some global catastrophe, the outlook for our economy is particularly bright - so a lot of people aren't going to like it. Why not?
What Keneally and co achieved ... and what they didn't
Ross Gittins This budget foreshadows a marked improvement in the budget balance, which has returned to operating surplus two years earlier than expected.
Ross Gittins
Low rates not always best option
Ross Gittins I think I can safely predict this will be another year of much fuss about rising interest rates and worsening home loan affordability.
Ross Gittins
Recession's lost youth
Ross Gittins The downturn may have been short, but it has hit young people especially hard.
Ross Gittins
How the puny Pacific Peso became a pumped-up dollar
Ross Gittins Last week a picture of Australia's Reserve Bank governor, Glenn Stevens, appeared on the front page of The Wall Street Journal, a rare occurrence.
ROSS GITTINS
Rate rises set to start, but pain won't be great
Ross Gittins There's a high chance the Reserve Bank board will decide to raise the official interest rate at its meeting tomorrow. Failing that, it will move at the following meeting on Melbourne Cup day.
