Business confidence at 14 year high

at reports:

Businesses are the most cheerful they have been since 1999, a good sign for growth and employment but a potential harbinger of higher and interest rates.

ANZ's monthly outlook survey found 56 per cent of respondents expected the business situation to improve in the next 12 months while only 2 per cent expected it to get worse.

The net 54 per cent optimistic, up from a net 48 per cent in August, is the highest that indicator has been for 13 years.

Firms are also extremely upbeat about their own prospects, a net 45 per cent expecting a lift in activity, up two points on August.

Hopefully this will lead to growth over 3% in the next year.