Alan Oster Weaker Quotations

Businesses continue to look at the future with some skepticism. Companies again report weaker employment outcomes in December, while capital spending also weakened somewhat. The official cash rate is even more firmly on hold for the foreseeable future.

Confidence has been getting weaker for some months and trading conditions have weakened a bit in the latest survey. They could weaken more in the short term, but when you look at the medium term, companies are still quite optimistic.