Posts tagged "creditorwatch"

Australia's business failure rate is only set to rise over the next year, analytics firm CreditorWatch states, as persistently high interest rates and lower consumption squeeze enterprises struggling to maintain profitability.

Australia's small businesses can expect tough times ahead even if local economic conditions do not mirror New Zealand's recessionary downturn, according to NAB group chief economist Alan Oster.

Rising interest rates, winding-up applications and court recoveries by the ATO all key indicators of tricky times for the SME sector.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has declared it will increase the cash rate target for a fifth time by 50 basis points to 2.35%, following its monthly meeting this afternoon.

Recent findings suggest the average outstanding invoice is now repaid in 38 days, compared to 31 days in January.

Extremely low insolvency rates through the COVID-19 pandemic mean there is now a "backlog", Creditorwatch CEO Patrick Coghlan says.

Mainstream economists and the big banks are largely convinced the Reserve Bank of Australia will lift the cash rate for the first time in more than a decade.

Inflation is climbing at an annual rate of 5.1%, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI), up substantially from December's figure of 3.5%, as housing and fuel costs surge.

Zombie business — a term used to describe any company so debt laden it can only afford to pay interest on its loans. 

Court actions against Australian companies have risen sharply over the past quarter, with CreditorWatch warning business insolvencies will increase this year. 

What is not baked into the MYEFO outlook is the uncertainty created by the Omicron variant, writes CreditorWatch chief economist Harley Dale.

Small businesses are recovering from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis but some industries are lagging well behind others.