Wall Street had another tipsy session overnight as the latest US initial jobless claims came in slightly lower than expected with the Trump tariff shotgun approach still weighing on risk markets, let alone the bluster about invading Canada and Greenland. Bond markets settled down somewhat but remain volatile while the USD continues to come back
Wednesday’s monthly inflation data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) suggested that underlying (trimmed mean) inflation is falling faster than projected by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). The Q3 national accounts, released last month by the ABS, reported annual GDP growth of 0.8%, also well below the RBA’s forecasts. The Q3 wage price
CBA economist Harry Ottley published the following chart showing the massive disconnect between dwelling approvals and the Albanese government’s 240,000 annual housing target. As you can see, annual approvals in the year to November (175,270) were around 25% below the 240,000 target. “The number of dwellings being approved clearly remains well below what is required
Asian stocks are generally lower due to individual local conditions and not the overall macro view although the slump on Wall Street overnight is not helping risk markets overall. Chinese shares are reeling with some regulatory changes on trade while Japanese equities are treading water on rate hike speculation. Local shares are going the other
The AFR reports that global supply of liquified natural gas (LNG) is expected to ramp up in 2025, which is likely to weigh on local producers and the federal government’s revenue. The increase in production, mostly from North America, had been slated to occur in 2024, but delays to a number of LNG projects resulted
Australian tenants have just endured the worst rental inflation in history, with asking rents soaring by more than 40% since the pandemic. According to Domain, median house rents soared by $220, or 51%, from $430 to $650 between December 2019 and September 2024. Median unit rents rose by $180 or 40%, over the same period,
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released the monthly inflation gauge for November, which recorded headline CPI inflation of 2.3% year-on-year, slightly above expectations of a 2.2% rise. ABS head of prices statistics, Michelle Marquardt, noted: “Annual CPI inflation has risen since last month, in part due to the timing of electricity rebates. In
The ABC published the following disturbing chart showing the disturbing lack of social and public housing in Victoria. As you can see, social housing comprised only 3% of households in Victoria in 2023, well below the national average of 4%, which is considered low by global standards. “More than a third of Australians who are
In 2013, Labor Resources Minister Gary Grey made the unfortunate decision to allow the Gladstone liquified natural gas (LNG) terminals to be developed without the need to reserve gas for domestic users. “Let me say very clearly, a reservation policy could not lead to lower gas prices or more gas”, Grey told reporters at the
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the public sector pay bill rose by 8% nationally in 2023-24 to $232 billion. The federal government’s wage bill rose by 10% to $37.3 billion in 2023-24, while the number of federal public servants grew by more than 4% to 365,400. Last financial year, only the ACT