Australia is on track for its steepest tightening of monetary policy in a generation, raising the risk of an economic slowdown as the housing market shifts into reverse and consumers pull back on spending. The Reserve Bank of Australia will lift its key interest rate by 50 basis points for a third consecutive month on Tuesday to 1.85%, according to all but one of 23 economists surveyed. That will take its combined tightening since May to 175 basis-points, the biggest increase inside six months since 1994. “The RBA is behind the pack,” said Andrew Ticehurst, senior economist and rates strategist at Nomura Holdings ... (full story)