Business investment was stronger than expected in the June quarter, giving weight to Reserve Bank of Australia assumptions for second-quarter gross domestic product growth of about 0.4 per cent. However, spending on equipment, plant and machinery disappointed, forcing a series of gross domestic product downgrades among economists. The Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday that seasonally-adjusted total new capital expenditure for the three months to end-June was ahead 1.1 per cent compared with the March quarter, to $37.6 billion. Year-on-year, there was a fall of 4 per cent, reflecting the end of the ... (full story)