The Westpac–Melbourne Institute Leading Index has been released, showing that Australia’s forward-looking economic momentum has slowed, with the six‑month annualised growth rate easing to +0.16% in November from +0.32% in October. While still positive, the index signals subdued growth over the next 3–9 months, reflecting share market volatility, weaker consumer expectations, and softening labour market
The taxation arrangements around electric vehicles (EVs) are a reverse Robin Hood arrangement that extracts taxes from ordinary Australians to distribute to the rich. A case in point is the EV fringe benefits tax (FBT) exemption, which was introduced in 2022 to make EVs more affordable for employees through salary packaging and novated leases. Treasury
Overnight we saw the release of both the October and November US jobs reports which at first glance looked nominal but in reality show a worsening employment situations as jobs growth slows even as immigration goes into nearly reverse. A new 4 year high in the unemployment rate at 4.6% plus downward revisions on all
Recently, a social media follower shared the chart below showing housing starts versus population in the United States and asked what it would look like for Australia. To provide an easily accessible comparison, the numbers were converted into housing starts (i.e., housing commencements in Australia) per 100,000 people over the last 40 years. The analysis
Australia’s rental market is in crisis, with record-low vacancy rates and strong rental growth. As a result, the share of household income required to meet repayments on the median advertised rent was a record high in the September quarter: While the primary driver of Australia’s recent extreme rental inflation has been historically high net overseas
Following the tragic shootings at Bondi Beach, which at the time of this article have claimed the lives of 15 victims and injured a further 40, the Albanese government and various state leaders tabled a proposal to tighten Australia’s already extremely tight gun control legislation. However, are gun homicides with registered firearms a major problem?
Fertility rates have dropped sharply across advanced economies and increasingly in developing nations. As illustrated below by Joseph Chamie, a consulting demographer and former director of the United Nations Population Division, most OECD countries are well below the benchmark for population stability of 2.1 children per woman, with some (like South Korea) at 0.7–0.8. Drivers
Wall Street was almost unphased overnight by the dual NFP release as US unemployment jumped to a four year high, triggering a rally in US bonds, while the latest UK unemployment figures weren’t rosy either with speculation the BOE may move to easing its rates this week. The USD remains under duress against most of
Nothing seems able to temper Australians’ love affair with property. Despite home values being the most expensive on record relative to incomes and with no further rate cuts expected, Australians remain hyper-bullish on house prices. The latest Westpac consumer sentiment survey, released on Tuesday, showed that the “Time to buy a dwelling” sub-index fell sharply
By the Market Ear: AI changes DB’s chart of the day tracks 23 AI-related stocks, comparing year-to-date performance up to 29 October with returns over the roughly six weeks since. Before 29 October, just one stock was down on the year and the group had posted an average unweighted gain of +70%; since then, the