Blogotariat

Steel prices are in free fall as tariffs mount. The iron ore jaws are wide. Macquarie has thrown in the towel now. Macquarie, a global financial services group, predicted the seaborne iron ore market will be in surplus by about 50 million tons this year as China is likely to cut steel production. If steel

The post Iron ore buckling appeared first on MacroBusiness.

I sent a manuscript off yesterday, which was good, and I would’ve liked to have swung into another one today. Probably the edits on the last of the Cruel Stars novels. But I have an army of tradesmen heading my way. Some of it is cyclone-related. Guys coming out to do insurance work. And some of it is just kitchen maintenance. We’re replacing the oven after 20 years and the dishwasher after 5 or 6, which seems to be about as long as a dishwasher lasts these days. So I'm in my office downstairs, but I've got one ear trained on the front gate. And I don't think this is going to be my most productive day ever.

Australian housing affordability is at an all-time low. At the end of 2024, the percentage of income necessary to satisfy median-sized mortgage repayments reached a record high of 50.6%. Rental affordability also dropped to a new low, making it tougher for first-time buyers to save a deposit. Prior to last month’s 0.25% interest rate reduction

The post Australian homebuyers embrace ‘forever mortgages’ appeared first on MacroBusiness.

DXY and EUR stable. AUD downish. Lead boots are made for walking. Gold has entered some kind of new up smash. Copper doom is here thanks to Goldman. Meh everything else. Big miners meh. EM maybe. Credit surged. Oh dear. Yields down. Stocks up. Is it a sort of Fed put? UBS. Dare anyone say

The post Australian dollar enjoys Fed put appeared first on MacroBusiness.

We are now less than two months away from the last possible date for the 2025 Australian federal election, so it seemed to be about time to take down the paywall around my federal election guide. But I am also launching another election guide behind the paywall, my first for 2026.

A fracking executive, a former Liberal politician and a lobbyist are behind a new gas advocacy group claiming to represent “households, industries and producers."

Households quitting gas to go electric, or minimising use of the costly fossil fuel, have helped push out forecast gas shortfalls by three years, AEMO says.

Last month, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the Q4 2024 wage price index, which increased 0.7% for the quarter and 3.2% year on year. The 0.7% quarterly increase was the equal-lowest growth rate since Q1 2022, while the 3.2% annual increase was the lowest since Q3 2022. Real wages deflated by headline CPI

The post Wage inflation eases as job market fades appeared first on MacroBusiness.

Let’s restore the trust in China that we once enjoyed. This was the key message I presented to an online forum titled Does China Threaten Australia’s Peace and Security hosted by the Australian Peace and Security Forum on 18 March. Following is a condensed version of my talk.

A Senate inquiry into university governance has heard claims that the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) is failing to monitor the standard of university degrees. The assertion has been made by a group of more than 200 ‘old-school’ academics known as Public Universities Australia, with the group claiming that universities are “soft marking”

Neoen, Australia's most successful battery storage developer, has encountered delays and added costs as it seeks to bring its latest big project online.

Developer says its plan to run a 265km HVDC cable underground from outer Melbourne would be cheaper, faster, more robust – and friendlier to farmers.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s 1.75% reduction in the official cash rate has finally stimulated an upswing in New Zealand house prices. The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand’s (REINZ) House Price Index jumped by 1.4% in February to be 0.5% higher over the quarter. Over the year, New Zealand home prices were down

The post Reserve Bank drives house price rebound appeared first on MacroBusiness.