A KPMG survey of 320 C-suite executives and board directors about their major challenges over the short and medium term cited high house prices and skyrocketing rents as the top areas of concern affecting the economy. “Forty-eight per cent of business leaders named “meeting the challenges of housing availability and affordability” as the top social
The latest data from the Department of Education shows there were a record 1,018,799 enrolments in the year to September 2024, up 128,447 from the prior year. As illustrated in the following table, universities (higher education) experienced annual enrolment growth of 64,217, whereas VET enrolments grew by 63,876. Growth in enrolments since 2019 was highest in
A surge in European stocks overshadowed what was looking like a good night for Wall Street with only tech stocks lifting higher as the broader indicies keep absorbing the latest USD machinations and speculation around the incoming Trump Circus with the direction of tariffs in particular. The hard time for Chinese equity markets continued in
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) reported new car sales for December, which showed a sharp deceleration of sales over the second half of 2024. There were 95,895 new car sales in the year to December, down 19.9% from the June 2024 peak of 119,659 sales. FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber was downbeat, noting
Australian housing values unexpectedly rose over the past two years despite 4.25% of interest rate hikes by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). The rise in prices combined with higher mortgage repayments meant that Australian housing affordability collapsed to an all-time low. “Housing affordability is currently at its worst level since 2008, with 47% of
The first trading session of the week is all about the weekend reaction to what should be strong USD moves but instead King Dollar is rolling over against the undollars except gold with the Canadian Loonie pushing higher on speculation Governor Trudeau (sic) is about to resign. Chinese stocks remain under stress despite promises of
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has cut the official cash rate by 1.25% over the past three monetary policy meetings. Despite the cuts, CoreLogic reported that New Zealand dwelling values continued to fall in December. Home values nationally declined by 0.2% in December, marking the ninth drop in the past 10 months, according to
Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government in Canada is facing an election wipeout, winning as few as 21 seats in the 338-seat parliament at this year’s election. Separate polling by the Angus Reid Institute showed that only 16% of decided voters expressed an intention to vote Liberal in the next election. The figure “represents a low in
Following the Q3 national accounts release last month, Pradeep Philip, head of Deloitte Access Economics, noted that the private sector was being “clobbered” and the economy was “stuck in the mud and spinning its wheels”. Innes Willox, CEO of the Australian Industry Group (AIG), shared a similar opinion, pointing out that the private sector is
In December, Infrastructure Australia warned that Australia’s construction sector will suffer persistent ‘skills shortages and cost escalations’ in the years ahead. “Construction materials on average cost around 30% more than they did three years ago and with ongoing skills shortages we simply don’t have the people power we need to get the job done on time”,