This week’s Q1 national accounts release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed that real per capita household consumption has been negative for seven consecutive quarters on an annual basis, down 2.4% from its peak. The decline in household consumption came despite a rebound in real per capita household incomes, which jumped by 1.8%
The Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) 25 bp rate cut last month had an immediate effect on the housing market. The final auction clearance rate across the combined capital cities soared to its highest level since early July 2024, despite the second-highest auction volumes (2,918) of the year. According to Cotality, 66.2% of auctions resulted
The lifeless ferrous market refuses to die. The mix of growth is not changing. From Goldman: Taking stock of the current state of the economy, we have not seen a meaningful rotation in growth drivers from external to domestic demand. Export volume increased 13% yoy in April despite notably higher US tariffs. Retail sales growth
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Stock markets were quite mixed in the Asian session today without a solid lead from Wall Street as concerns over rare earth metal supply held back Japanese equities while currency markets are awaiting tonight’s ECB meeting. Most of the undollar’s remain in a strong position vs the almost dethroned King Dollar with the Aussie about
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I found myself home alone last night, and with my new Neff oven finally installed, I figured it was time to check out some features.
Earlier in the day, I’d picked up a small rolled pork loin, and I spent some time reading about the oven’s built-in meat thermometer and steamer function. I couldn’t quite figure out how to use the steamer and still crisp the pork crackling at the same time, so I put that aside for a future cook.
I try to replicate my more substantial posts on Substack here, but forgot this from a few weeks ago. So I’m now making amends.
When it comes to Magna Carta clause 39 is the one hanging in the foyer.
Keir Starmer’s attack on our planning system is an almost-perfect repeat of Boris Johnson’s disaster. Why can’t he see that?
By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 15th May 2025
The precedent is uncanny, and the failure to learn from it downright mystifying. Keir Starmer is rushing gladly towards the catastrophe Boris Johnson inflicted on himself in 2020. Had he set out to stymie Labour’s chances of re-election, he couldn’t be doing it better.
Dartmoor National Park is not dying; it is being killed, and these are the killers.
By George Monbiot, adapted from a Bluesky thread, 11th May 2025.
This is Piles Copse, the largest remaining fragment of high-ground temperate rainforest on Dartmoor. It’s a tiny speck of green in a dismal, human-made desert. Prepare yourselves for a story of breathtaking perversity.
The cottagecore, romantic path to starvation and environmental breakdown.
By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 7th May 2025