Thursday, October 7, 2010

After 27 years, the Australian Dollar has achieved a record high by equating to 98.73 U.S. cents. The previous record was set in 1983, when the currency was floated by foreign exchange markets — since then the last peak that it experienced was in July 2008, when it was worth 98.49 U.S. cents. Local economists believe this is a clear indication that interest rates will rise in the near future.

The Australian Minister for Jobs, Chris Evans, has attributed the spike in the Australian dollar to government stimulus rolled out at the crux of the global financial crisis of the last several years, from which Australia exited relatively unscathed.

The news comes as the Australian Bureau of Statistics released a report stating Australian unemployment was set a 5.1 per cent after additional jobs were gained in previous months. American magazine Forbes magazine recently named Australian businessperson and CEO of Westpac Gail Kelly as the eighth most powerful woman in the world.