Last year, an Instagram video of a migration agent instructing rejected student visa holders how to appeal their decisions to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) went viral. The video was deleted after a public backlash, but not before I transcribed its contents. Below is what the migration agent said via video: “What I have heard
The jaws are back as steel falls while iron ore rises. MySteel sparked the rally. “A further increase in the hot metal output at Chinese steelmakers lent some support to the prices of imported iron ore last week,” said Chinese consultancy Mysteel. Hot metal production in March continued to increase by 10,200 tons to 2.3728
The Q4 2024 national accounts from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that Australian households remained trapped in recession. As illustrated by the blue bars below, real per capita household consumption declined for an eighth consecutive quarter in Q4. The decline in per capita household consumption followed an even steeper decline in incomes. As
The Australian Made Campaign has welcomed additional funding of $20 million in last week’s federal budget. Amongst other things, this funding will allow the organisation to launch a new campaign to encourage more Australians to buy locally made products, and assist more local manufacturers and producers to obtain Australian Made certification. “This level of support
Volatility was relatively low on risk markets overnight as traders await the real April Fool’s Day as the Trump Regime’s “Worldwide Shoot Ourselves in the Feet” tariff deadline draws near. Wall Street filled some short positions and rebounded alongside European stocks but it was relatively modest while the USD held against Euro, Yen and Pound
DXY is holding on as Liberation Day passes. AUD firmed. Lead boots are heavier. Oil and gold stalled. Base metals are pointing at a hard landing. Big miners, big bears, plod on. EM meh. Junk funk not funky enough. But bonds bid. Aiding stocks, which rose moderately. US JOLTS were Goldilocks without showing much harm
Regardless of which party wins the upcoming federal election, a match will be lit under Australian house prices. Labor Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced in February that Australia’s financial regulators will be required to loosen home lending rules for millions of Australians with student loans. The changes will mean that a borrower’s student debts will be
Asian stock markets are doing somewhat better in response to the late rebound on Wall Street overnight but a big air of caution remains as the new month gets underway and the world awaits the onslaught of the new tariffs from the Trump regime tomorrow on April 2nd. The USD is pushing back against most
As was widely expected, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) chose to keep the official cash rate on hold at 4.10% at Tuesday’s monetary policy meeting. However, the decision could be considered a dovish hold and suggests that the RBA has laid the groundwork for a rate cut at the next meeting in mid-May, pending
Electric vehicles have been heavily subsidised in Australia. A recent analysis by the Institute of Public Accountants estimated that the federal budget has lost approximately $564 million annually in tax revenue due to the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) exemption for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). More than 100,000 novated leases for