Blogotariat

Emmanuel Macron announced an increase in military spending on Wednesday evening, specifying that it would not be financed by tax increases and by preparing the French for further budget cuts. Mobilizing savings is reportedly under consideration. For its part, the left is arguing, on the contrary, for the wealthiest to contribute.

Financing Future Military Spending: A New Political Confrontation Ahead

Deloitte Access Economics has forecast that the federal budget will spend $99 billion off-budget over the next four years, with off-budget spending referring to when governments label spending as an investment rather than an expense. Deloitte Access Economics’ prediction represents a $10 billion increase on the December Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO), due to

The post Labor hides federal budget deficits appeared first on MacroBusiness.

Plans to install up to 6GW of wind and solar to produce green ammonia in W.A. have had a nip and tuck, and won massive federal government production incentives.

Last week, NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey pushed back against caps on international students, claiming such students are “economic assets to be treasured, not as a problem to be capped”. Mookhey’s comments came as his state grapples with an unprecedented rental crisis. Sydney’s rents have exploded since the international border was reopened in late 2021, which

The post NSW Treasurer insults the homeless appeared first on MacroBusiness.

Steel prices are in free fall as tariffs mount. The iron ore jaws are wide. Macquarie has thrown in the towel now. Macquarie, a global financial services group, predicted the seaborne iron ore market will be in surplus by about 50 million tons this year as China is likely to cut steel production. If steel

The post Iron ore buckling appeared first on MacroBusiness.

I sent a manuscript off yesterday, which was good, and I would’ve liked to have swung into another one today. Probably the edits on the last of the Cruel Stars novels. But I have an army of tradesmen heading my way. Some of it is cyclone-related. Guys coming out to do insurance work. And some of it is just kitchen maintenance. We’re replacing the oven after 20 years and the dishwasher after 5 or 6, which seems to be about as long as a dishwasher lasts these days. So I'm in my office downstairs, but I've got one ear trained on the front gate. And I don't think this is going to be my most productive day ever.

Australian housing affordability is at an all-time low. At the end of 2024, the percentage of income necessary to satisfy median-sized mortgage repayments reached a record high of 50.6%. Rental affordability also dropped to a new low, making it tougher for first-time buyers to save a deposit. Prior to last month’s 0.25% interest rate reduction

The post Australian homebuyers embrace ‘forever mortgages’ appeared first on MacroBusiness.

DXY and EUR stable. AUD downish. Lead boots are made for walking. Gold has entered some kind of new up smash. Copper doom is here thanks to Goldman. Meh everything else. Big miners meh. EM maybe. Credit surged. Oh dear. Yields down. Stocks up. Is it a sort of Fed put? UBS. Dare anyone say

The post Australian dollar enjoys Fed put appeared first on MacroBusiness.

We are now less than two months away from the last possible date for the 2025 Australian federal election, so it seemed to be about time to take down the paywall around my federal election guide. But I am also launching another election guide behind the paywall, my first for 2026.

A fracking executive, a former Liberal politician and a lobbyist are behind a new gas advocacy group claiming to represent “households, industries and producers."

Households quitting gas to go electric, or minimising use of the costly fossil fuel, have helped push out forecast gas shortfalls by three years, AEMO says.

Last month, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the Q4 2024 wage price index, which increased 0.7% for the quarter and 3.2% year on year. The 0.7% quarterly increase was the equal-lowest growth rate since Q1 2022, while the 3.2% annual increase was the lowest since Q3 2022. Real wages deflated by headline CPI

The post Wage inflation eases as job market fades appeared first on MacroBusiness.

Let’s restore the trust in China that we once enjoyed. This was the key message I presented to an online forum titled Does China Threaten Australia’s Peace and Security hosted by the Australian Peace and Security Forum on 18 March. Following is a condensed version of my talk.