RBA

Liquidity is an important measure of health and stability in financial markets. This article assesses liquidity in markets that trade Australian fixed income securities by analysing market turnover using data for the period 2015–17, which was one of relative calm. We find heterogeneity across these markets. Australian and State Government bonds…

Dr HC Coombs was Governor of Australia’s central bank for nearly 20 years. His appointment followed significant roles in Australia’s war-time administration and post-war reconstruction, where he was an architect of Australia’s international full employment policy, known as the ‘Positive Approach’. When appointed Governor of the central bank in 1949,…

One of the core objectives of the Reserve Bank’s public education program is to improve economic literacy. While the social benefits of economic literacy are well established, defining what is meant by this term is not straightforward and has been the subject of debate over many decades. This article explores…

The Australian tourism industry is gradually recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic that brought global travel to an unprecedented standstill. International tourism fell sharply in early 2020 and has only slowly recovered since restrictions were lifted in the first half of this year. By contrast, domestic tourism spending bounced back quickly…

Household and business financial stress has significant implications for financial stability and monetary policy. However, high-frequency and timely indicators of emerging signs of financial stress are not readily available. To address this information gap, the Reserve Bank has developed novel measures of financial stress based on news, search and social…

Stablecoins – a type of crypto-asset designed to maintain a stable value – have grown in popularity over recent years. Market developments, however, have highlighted the risks stablecoins can pose to investors, particularly if they are not fully backed by high-quality liquid assets. Stablecoins currently pose limited risks to the…

Australian Government Securities (AGS) play an important role in the transmission of monetary policy given that yields on these securities provide a benchmark for other interest rates across the economy. The Bank has a large amount of AGS and ‘semi-government’ bonds issued by state and territory borrowing authorities (semis) on…