Asian share markets are reeling again as King Trump goes full swagger with his tariff threats, shooting the US consumer in both feet with confirmed tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China. The retaliations have been swift, so we’re off to a trade war! This has seen confidence evaporate in the USD just as we ramp
Wages should be firm according to the latest Indeed job ad index. ANZ-Indeed Australian Job Ads declined 1.4% m/m in February, but this follows an upwardly revised 1.3% m/m rise in January. In trend terms, the series was down 0.3% m/m. ANZ-Indeed Australian Job Ads is down 9.2% annually. The series is just 0.9% higher
Last month’s interest rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) was about as hawkish as possible. The RBA’s statement explicitly noted that the decision to cut the official cash rate by 0.25% was ‘line-ball’ with upside risks to inflation remaining: “However, upside risks remain. Some recent labour market data have been unexpectedly strong,
Why wouldn’t they be, living through a depression that cannot be named? Goldman. Slightly more sanguine on China macro and market outlooks, but more concerned on the US growth outlook Thanks to the latest DeepSeek and Artificial Intelligence (AI) related developments, some green shoots in the property sector (e.g., home sales and prices in large
The latest quarterly retail sales data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed that real per capita sales increased by 0.4% in Q4 2024, the highest growth rate since Q1 2022. January’s retail sales data have been released, which rose by 0.3% over the month, in line with economists’ expectations. Over the year, retail
What do you do when the food sector gets together to tell the truth about the government’s failures? Fix the problems? No! Pay them off. The Australian. The food sector has united to accuse the Albanese government of failing to act on rising prices despite a growing number of working Australians going hungry, warning that
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Monday released the Q4 2024 Business Indicators, which showed that non-mining company profits have never been higher (excluding the pandemic spike). Despite the stellar profits, Australian Industry Group (AIG) CEO, Innes Willox, attacked what he labelled a “wages blowout”, which is placing “mounting pressure on business balance sheets”:
Gerard Minack stating the obvious with his usual savoir-faire. Australia returns to mediocre growth Australia is recovering from a year when policy tightening snuffed out private sector growth. The recovery will likely be uneven reflecting still-tight monetary policy. Trend per capita growth will remain mediocre because low investment and high population growth unsurprisingly lead to
Iron ore was clubbed below $100 yesterday but bounced a bit overnight. The China steel PMI is weak, especially new orders. The NPC is weighing as well. Iron ore slumped below $100 a ton for the first time since mid-January as some steel mills curbed production to ensure blue skies during the government’s upcoming policy
ANZ CEO Shayne Elliot described Victoria as “one of the toughest” places to do business. It is easy to see why. The Victorian government introduced a payroll tax surcharge in the 2021-22 State Budget as part of a mental health and wellness levy, but only for businesses with a payroll of $10 million or more.