The Federal Government delivered one of the most eagerly anticipated Budgets last night.
Given the magnitude of the Budget deficit, the Government did an exceptional job of managing the media and warning the public about the bad news in the weeks leading up to Budget night.
As is always the case with the Budget, everything is just a proposal until legislated.
From our perspective the key issues coming from the Budget include:
Australia's unemployment rate fell sharply and unexpectedly in April signalling concerted economic policy stimulus over recent months may have garnered early and unusually strong traction.
The Australian economy created 27,300 jobs in April, with 49,100 full-time jobs churned out through the month, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.
It was the biggest one-month rise in employment since October 2008. Unemployment fell to 5.4% in April from 5.7% in March. Economists had expected a rise to a fresh 6-year high of 5.9% and that employment fell 25,000.
The US government began informing the 19 banks tested by the government late on Tuesday about how much fresh capital they need to withstand the economic downturn. The Federal Reserve is expected to release the full report on Thursday after the stock market closes.
It is expected that 10 of the banks that were tested may need capital. JPMorgan, American Express, Goldman Sachs and Bank of New York Mellon won't need to raise more money to shore up their balance sheets, according to analysts.
Australian retail sales rose at their fastest pace since late 2008 in March as the economy got a second surge from government economic stimulus efforts and a hefty cut in official interest rates.
Also in March, Australia recorded its second-largest trade surplus in history largely as a result of falling imports and still high contract prices for bulk commodity exports.
The Reserve Bank of Australia left its cash rate target unchanged at a 49-year low of 3.00% and signalled it may remain on the sidelines for a substantial period, allowing time for stimulus already announced to flow through to the battered economy.
The decision leaves rates in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1??> Australia well above those in other major economies, and well short of any threshold that would require the central bank to consider extreme policy measures like quantitative easing.
The Australian government delayed the start date for a proposed carbon trading scheme by a year, to July 1, 2011, in a move designed to help it negotiate the policy through a finely-balanced upper house, or Senate.
It comes amid mounting pressure from business groups and the main opposition Liberal-National coalition party to delay the planned legislation, which they say would impose significant additional costs on firms already reeling from the impact of the global economic crisis.
The weighted average price of established houses in Australian capital cities fell 2.2% in the first quarter of 2009 from the fourth quarter of 2008, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.
The bureau's house price index also showed the weighted average price of established houses in Australia's eight capital cities was down 6.7% from the year earlier quarter.
The house price index for Sydney fell 2.9% in the first quarter, and fell 7.3% from a year earlier. Perth city had the largest quarterly decrease of 3.6%.
Australian employment advertising fell for the 12th month in succession in April, signalling more pain ahead in the job market as unemployment likely races higher over coming months.
Total job advertisements in newspapers and on the internet fell a seasonally-adjusted 7.5% in April, contributing to a 49.9% annual decline, its largest decline on record, according to a survey by ANZ Bank.
The good times continued in April for the Australian sharemarket.
The All Ordinaries Index closed April 6.0% higher at 3,744.7 points. While global shares experienced the best monthly result for two decades.
Stabilising, and in some cases, improving economic data, led by consumer sentiment, housing and business sentiment, were the major economic drivers of Australian and global markets over the month.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has confirmed that the government won't extend a temporary hike to federal grants for first-time home buyers beyond the middle of 2009, despite signs the measure has led to an uptick in housing activity.
The decision withdraws a key lifeline underpinning new housing development in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1??> Australia, likely disappointing some industry commentators who had hoped it would be extended.