Australia’s inflation is falling. CBA forecasts that trimmed mean inflation will fall to 2.8% in January, within the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) 2% to 3% inflation target. However, this does not mean that the cost-of-living crisis is over. As independent economist Tarric Brooker illustrated, since Q42020, cumulative Australian inflation has increased by 19%. That
When RBA kiss-arses like old Rossco turn, you know your central bank has lost its credibility. With the labour market so “tight”, surely wages could take off at any moment, halting the fall in inflation – or worse, sending it back up. What’s unnerving them is an old ’70s-model NAIRU machine in the corner, with
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Asian share markets are generally doing well after a big drop on Wall Street from Friday night, but have absorbed the volatility out of the German election result from the weekend. Local shares are still flopping around due to the latest rate cut that wasn’t really a rate cut from the RBA while the Australian
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Late last week, I was interviewed by Tom Elliott from Radio 3AW Melbourne regarding the dire financial situation facing the state. Tom wanted to know what was driving Victoria’s ballooning debt. And, more importantly, the measures the state government could take to resolve the situation. Below is a summary of the themes discussed in the
Australian housing affordability has never been worse. The percentage of income required to meet repayments on the median-sized mortgage hit a record high of 50.6% at the end of 2024. Rental affordability also reached a new low, making it difficult for first-time buyers to save a deposit. Prior to last week’s 0.25% interest rate cut
Westpac’s credit card tracker for the two weeks prior to the rate cut. The Westpac-DataX Card Tracker Index* barely budged over the past fortnight, with the latest print coming in at 136.6, up a mere 0.1pts. After a rollercoaster few months, spending patterns appear to be normalising somewhat. So far, February’s reads have been on
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