Australias economy is not out of the woods yet, with new figures suggesting business conditions will remain hard across the country for some time yet.

While a number of recent reports have warned that the recent floods seen in Queensland will hit everyday consumers hard, with banks tipped to put up rates on debit cards or home loans in order to compensate for their losses, figures show that this may have been the case even without the natural disaster hitting.

Indeed, according to the National Australia Bank (NAB), business conditions were weakening at a steady rate towards the end of 2010, with its business conditions index dropping markedly several weeks before the first of the floods hit.

Notably, several of the sectors most likely to impact upon the lives of ordinary Australians, such as utilities, finance and agribusiness were all seen to suffer at the end of the year, with conditions found to be tough in the state of Victoria as well as Queensland.

Meanwhile, shares in some of Australias biggest banks have taken a hit in the wake of the Christchurch earthquake.

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The average VantageScore credit score fell to 748 in August (latest month available), as measured by credit bureau Experian.

However, it has only dipped eight points since 2007, just before the housing boom turned to housing bust.

The average credit score was 755 in August 2008 and 750 in August 2009.

Despite all the recent turmoil in the credit markets, which you think would have lowered credit scores even more, consumers have taken an active role in reducing debt, resulting in an improvement in their credit scores.

This has countered some of the negative effects related to foreclosures, short sales, and other derogatory events of late.

Meanwhile, the latest data from Fico (October 2008), the creator of the Fico score, revealed that the average Fico score is 713.

Unfortunately, this data isn’t very up-to-date, so it’s hard to say what impact the financial crisis has had on Fico scores.

Either way, you would have to assume that both the VantageScore and Fico score algorithms will be updated as a result of the latest crisis.

Though the updates are unknown, I would guess that because of all the foreclosures and related negative actions in recent years, credit scores for those who avoided all the problems will rise, while those who made missteps won’t be punished as badly as they may have been in the past.

One of the main difficulties associated with managing multiple credit cards is attempting to synchronize repayments and keep account balances organized efficiently. In fact, some credit card holders have difficulties synchronizing a single credit card payment due date with their salary payments and their regular monthly bills. One aspect of budgeting which is often overlooked by novice cardholders is timing, as bills need to be paid on their due date to avoid fees and interest charges being incurred. For individuals who are having trouble synchronizing their salary/pay checks with credit card repayments, changing the payment due date may be the best solution.

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Bankwest has announced a range of new initiatives geared towards offering support to communities hit by the natural disasters that have recently rocked Australia.

Outlining its main areas of support, the bank has explained how it was quick to step in and offer support to the victims of the Queensland floods, with $50,000 donated to the Disaster Relief Appeal and consumers across the state seeing fees both at Bankwest ATMs and those in a number of stores lifted.

Additionally, those customers living in areas affected by the floods or by Cyclone Nasri, including those with credit card debt with the bank, are also being given the chance to benefit from Bankwests financial relief package.

Elsewhere in the country, the bank has also donated $100,000 to the Lord Mayors Distress Relief Fund for those affected by the recent Western Australia bushfires, while in Carnarvon, customers whose livelihoods have been affected by the floods seen there are able to make use of a range of hardship options.

The summary of Bankwests support packages has been published just days after the bank celebrated the launch of its Super Start Home Loan, designed to offer consumers in the market for home loans the chance to enjoy a low introductory rate and a lack of maintenance and exit fees.

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A new report by finance price comparison website moneysupermarket.com has revealed that over eight million people in the UK failed to pay their regular monthly bills during 2010. Read full article…