For many it’s something we have known for some time, but for the broader community the evidence became crystal clear this week with the release of the latest private investment data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The March quarter showed that new capital expenditure fell by 4.4% (5.3% for the year to March 2015). It also showed that investment in buildings fell, along with investment in equipment, mining and manufacturing.

What makes it worse is that expected future expenditure on capital, on building, on equipment, plant and machinery is lower than that indicated by firms for 2014-15, in some cases by as much as 27%.

Read more at: The Australian Independent Media Network