Blogotariat

I don't know what I was thinking. I should know better. But I made the mistake of checking the news this morning. It's been a couple of months since I've done that. I guess I was thinking that at some point I’d have to go back to writing columns about stuff happening in the world rather than stuff happening inside my head. But honestly, the stuff inside my head is nicer to think about than the stuff happening out in the world.

Developer Quinbrook Infrastructure starts the year with the biggest ever funding deal for a battery in Australia, with $722 million for the huge Supernode BESS.

The Market Ear with more.  The power of the hammer candle Last Monday we pointed out the powerful hammer candle in SPX. We wrote: “Watch these type of candles post sell offs, as they can be the first signal of markets about to bounce. We saw a similar candle set up in early November.” Fast forward

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Westpac with the note. Leading Index growth rate dips back to 0.25% but still slightly positive. Growth set to improve in 2025 but remain lacklustre. Modest lifts in commodities, consumer, equities and dwelling approvals. While the growth signal is still not particularly strong, it has shown a clear improvement on the persistently negative, below-trend reads

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The Chinese steel rally is petering out, stalling iron ore. BHP is spewing iron ore. WAIO 128 Mt 1% | 145 Mt (100% basis) Production increased as a result of continued strong supply chain performance with record volumes delivered from the Central Pilbara hub (South Flank and Mining Area C) following the completion of the

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With an official unemployment rate of only 4.0%, you would be forgiven for thinking that Australia’s labour market is booming and incredibly tight. However, new data from Seek, NAB, and Jobs & Skills Australia contradict this view. Seek’s employment report for December revealed that the number of job ads fell by 3.0% over the month,

The post Australia’s labour market is weaker than it appears appeared first on MacroBusiness.

Wall Street returned from its long weekend and rallied across the board, not helped by more tariff talk although most of that looks like the typical hot air so far, with the USD still remaining in a weak short term cycle against the major currency pairs. European shares were flat as the lift in Euro

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Asian stock markets are generally in a positive mood although mainland Chinese shares can’t find a bid as they worry about the incoming Washington Circus as tariff threats still linger like a full Depends pullup. Meanwhile FX volatility was centered around Yen again as other undollars continue to probe the USD while the Australian dollar

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PM says Australia has an enormous opportunity to speed up clean energy investment as the newly inaugurated Trump winds back action on climate, renewables.

Ausgrid switches on its sixth community battery to be awarded federal funding under the Community Batteries for Household Solar program.

Peter Dutton has described federal Labor's green aluminium production credit scheme as a "$2 billion con job." But it is the leader of the opposition's nuclear ruse that is on full display.

So says the CBA’s excellent Gareth Aird. We forecast GDP growth to have been 1.1%/yr at Q4 24 and to accelerate through 2025 to be 2.2%/yr in Q4 25. The unemployment rate is expected to edge higher in H1 25 and we anticipate it will end the year at 4.3% (the peak in this cycle).

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