New Zealand’s economy is sliding into a deepening recession. Overall GDP growth is falling, while per capita outcomes are collapsing amid a 2.7% surge in New Zealand’s population in 2023. Per capita retail spending in New Zealand has collapsed, while forward-looking growth indicators point to further falls over the first quarter of 2024: New Zealand’s
Australian rental inflation remains hot, according to CoreLogic’s rental index for April. Nationally, rents rose by 0.8% in April, which was a slightly lower rate of growth relative to February and March when the national rental index rose 0.9% and 1.0% respectively. Most cities’ quarterly rent growth remains above 2.0%, with Perth leading the pack
The Future Made in Australia Act, a key element of the government’s budget centrepiece, will see changes designed to attract foreign capital and boost economic prosperity. The Act will also allow foreign investors to buy established build-to-rent properties to drive demand and construction. Treasurer Jim Chalmers will reveal the changes on Wednesday as part of
Shortly before resigning as Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews announced a 10-year goal of building 800,000 homes across the state, which equates to 80,000 dwellings each year. Victoria has never built more than 70,730 new homes in a calendar year, so meeting the 80,000 target will necessitate a major increase in construction activity. However, the figures
Victoria is the country’s most indebted state, with the lowest credit rating. S&P Global expects Victoria’s debt to rise to $247.2 billion by 2027, up from $55.2 billion in 2019, making it Australia’s worst-performing state. Victoria’s poor budgetary position is based on waste. Victoria’s “Big Build” infrastructure projects are running over schedule and over budget.
DXY sure looks like it is about to break out: AUD was pulverised: JPY still looks troubled: Oil and gold are warning on DXY: Metals too: And miners: EM backed off: Junk looks very nervous: Yields firmed: Stocks tanked: The US Employment Cost Index spooked markets: Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 1.2 percent, seasonally
The Albanese government is reportedly avoiding a hard cap on foreign student numbers to avoid long-term damage to education exports. International students are the largest contributor to the politically sensitive net overseas migration number and are contributing to the rental crisis. However, the government is also concerned about harming what it claims is the country’s
After last week’s higher-than-expected inflation numbers for the March quarter, talk shifted to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) potentially hiking interest rates further this year. Warren Hogan, the chief economic adviser for Judo Bank, led the hawkish sentiment by suggesting that the RBA could increase the official cash rate three times this year to
Fear over what could or could not happen at tonight’s FOMC meeting combined with end of month window dressing sent Wall Street into a spin overnight, with stocks losing between 1-2%, taking out European shares as well. Asian futures don’t look good for today’s session as a result. The USD pushed back against most of
Rebar and SGX futures are stalled: Dalian iron ore is similar: And coking coal: The Steel PMI was reasonable but also indicative of what is immediately ahead: Ports are stocked. Mills are stocked. Steel is stocked. May/June is the weakest period in the calendar for the FE complex as the heat takes its toll on