I also participated in the launching of Westpac’s MoneyGram® Worldwide Money Transfer Service in October 2006. A lot has happened since then. This evening, we are celebrating the new partnership between Westpac and American Express. I congratulate Westpac and American Express on this initiative and wish you all the best with this new facility.
Second, higher real interest rates make investments other than stocks, such as bonds, more attractive, raising the required return on stocks and reducing what investors are willing to pay for them. Under either interpretation, expectations of higher real interest rates are bad news for stocks.