Research by Super Consumers Australia has found that the typical single retiree paying rent needs $659,000 in superannuation to enjoy a financially secure future, more than twice the $322,000 required by a homeowner. Couples face a similar gap: $786,000 for renters versus $432,000 for homeowners. Renters are three times more likely to struggle financially in
All eyes on the RBA in its last meeting of the year today with a hawkish hold the expected outcome which gave the Aussie dollar a small boost but stocks didn’t like the result. Other Asian share markets are on the back foot due to a listless Wall Street as we head into the final
As expected, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has unanimously chosen to keep the official cash rate on hold at 3.60%. In its media release accompanying the decision, the RBA suggested that “temporary factors” are behind much of the recent rise in inflation, but also admitted that it is unsure of the extent: While inflation
From the Market Ear Two weeks of “agony” Two weeks ago, positioning was falling, HFs were net sellers, hedging was picking up, CTAs were cutting exposure, and Retail flow was fading. Shorts were working, and HF alpha held up. Now everything has flipped, buying has surged across cohorts, the 1-week change in JPM’s US Tactical
Financial markets are now tipping that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will deliver a 25 bp increase in the official cash rate in 2026, most likely in the second half of the year. This view is based on the acceleration of trimmed mean inflation, as well as recent solid domestic demand reported in the
Australia’s Treasurer of propaganda was back at it again, boasting on Twitter (X) that Labor has delivered a big rise in housing supply since being elected in mid-2022: The actual data on net dwelling additions (i.e., dwelling completions minus demolitions) from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) paints a far less rosy picture. It shows
In recent weeks, various polls have revealed a Coalition, but more particularly a Liberal party well and truly entrenched in an existential crisis. In the history of Australian federal politics in the postwar era, a major party facing a disastrous defeat at the ballot box generally had time to lick its wounds and reflect on
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has revealed that the federal government’s energy bill subsidies will not be extended next year. The $75 a quarter reduction for all households, which began in mid-2023 but was twice extended to alleviate cost-of-living pressures, will expire in December as scheduled. The bill subsidies have cost taxpayers almost $7 billion. “This was
Of all the nations in the world, Australia has one of the strangest sets of geopolitical relationships. On one hand, Australia has been a key U.S. ally since the American entry into World War 2, with the key battles of the Coral Sea and Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands) fought to secure shipping lanes to Australia within
The AFR’s Luke Kinsella is the latest commentator to warn about Australian real wages, which have collapsed back to 2011 levels and face a painfully slow recovery amid sluggish productivity growth. Kinsella notes that ordinary Australians are struggling with higher costs for essentials like housing, food, and energy. As a result, rising living costs are