The federal government has told a meeting of major bankers that they must support small business during the economic slowdown.

Small Business Minister Craig Emerson said credit was the “lifeblood” of small business, and the banks had a responsibility to provide adequate credit flows to the small business sector.

“I told the banks that they have a vital part to play in keeping small business trading,” Dr Emerson said in a statement on Thursday.
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More than two million homes will qualify for free ceiling insulation in a federal government plan to stimulate the economy by creating green jobs.

As part of a commonwealth stimulus package expected to be announced on Tuesday, 2.2 million owner-occupiers will be eligible for the free insulation, News Limited and Fairfax newspapers reported.

The subsidy for owners of 500,000 rental properties will also jump from $500 to $1000.
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The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is universally tipped to slash the official interest rate next week to 1960s levels as it continues to try to mitigate the impact of worsening global economic conditions.

All 17 economists surveyed by AAP expected the central bank to slash the cash rate next Tuesday to stimulate a domestic economy facing its first recession in 18 years.

Nine economists, a majority, expect the cash interest rate to be cut by 100 basis points, following the RBA’s February 3 board meeting, which would take the cash rate to a 45-year low of 3.25 per cent - its lowest since 1964 when regulators set it at 3.18 per cent.
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