Region. 'Recession is inevitable

Associate Professor Steve Keen, from the UWS School of Economics and Finance, an economist and expert on debt, said the one percent fall in retail sales, in June, seemed to be “the first swallow of the recession we can't avoid. A recession is inevitable, because the boom times of the last 15 years were almost entirely driven by spending borrowed money. Anyone can look rich while spending borrowed money. But when the borrowing stops, spending collapses - and that's what appears to be finally happening now.” Despite this, Associate Professor Keen did not expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to drop the official interest rate at its board meeting tomorrow.

Region. Industrial leasing muted

Leasing activity was muted during the first six months of 2008, with less than 200,000 square metres of space leased across Sydney. The Outer West and the South West dominated Sydney’s leasing profile in terms of volume, whereas the south saw the largest number of deals transacted, according to Knight Frank’s Sydney Industrial Market Overview – July 2008.

Region. Economic profile in October

The Parramatta-based Greater Western Sydney Economic Development Board expects to publish the “2008 Western Sydney Regional Economic Profile and Summary” in October, at a cost of $10,500, according to Barbara Perry, Minister for Western Sydney. The publication will cover the 14 local government areas in the region.