Blogotariat

What the present moment reveals, once again, is that Western aggression during the “Cold War” was never about destroying socialism, as such. It was about destroying movements and governments in the periphery that sought economic sovereignty. Why? Because economic sovereignty in the periphery threatens capital accumulation in the core.

Late last year, BetaShares’ chief economist, David Bassanese, questioned why Australia does not impose stricter limits on foreigners buying local homes: Bassanese alluded to an article that stated: Wealthy Chinese buyers are taking private jets to Melbourne to purchase mansions in Toorak – the city’s most expensive suburb – on the spot, says Toorak buyer’s

The post Chinese buyers pump up Aussie house prices appeared first on MacroBusiness.

The job of downsizing is an onerous one, and in our case has consisted of seven carloads of books to Lifeline, a charity which provides crisis support, suicide prevention services and mental health support. We also have taken eight carloads of stuff, we cannot bear to part with, to a storage facility, hopefully as an interim measure until we can find a place for it in our new unit. However, downsizing does have some bright spots. Wading through all the stuff in our house which we have accumulated over the 32 years since we bought it, is, as you would expect, like a trip back in time.

Jim Chalmers, the Federal Treasurer, has warned that global circumstances mean that the May Budget will lack the revenue growth of last year’s budget. Listen to Chalmers’ press conference (25m): Watch Chalmers’ press conference (25m):

Federal government grants $1.5 million to install three new community batteries in the suburbs of Canberra.

A four-hour battery project near the wheat belt town of Merredin gets planning approval as state prepares for a grid with no coal power.

Batteries become biggest supplier in California's evening peak for fourth time in a week, as renewables smash records with 156 pct of demand.

Rewiring Aotearoa study shows the rising cost of petrol and gas in New Zealand means electric homes and EVs are now more affordable than fossil fuel alternatives.

The latest ANZ CoreLogic Housing Affordability report notes the vast deterioration in the rental market. Rapid rental cost inflation means that the portion of income required to service rents has shifted to the 30% range from the mid-20% range for median income earners in most parts of the country. “The portion of median income required

The post High income earners drive poor out of rental market appeared first on MacroBusiness.

On Saturday, I was interviewed by Radio 2GB’s Luke Grant, where I dissected the Albanese government’s “Future Made” subsidies for low-emission manufacturing. This policy was announced shortly before the collapse of Australia’s last plastics and chemical manufacturer, Qenos, which blamed high gas costs for its demise. In the interview, I explain why the Albanese government’s

The post Albo manufactures disaster appeared first on MacroBusiness.

RBC makes the point I have been making for several months now. Gold has decoupled from DXY and real interest rates, its traditional price drivers: Gold prices have rallied further, and while the evidence doespoint to continued strong central bank interest, Chinese demand, and strong physical interest broadly, these are not usually the most price

The post Chinese behind gold rush appeared first on MacroBusiness.

As noted many times, when a commodity price crashes, the first thing that happens is that the aggressively anti-government mining sector turns to the government for a handout. Because it happens everywhere, it only achieves a race to the bottom for whatever commodity price it affects, as all governments cut costs to bet on the

The post Iron ore miners beg for aid before price death match appeared first on MacroBusiness.

Oh, Littlepenis: The Liberals and the Nationals are at odds over the selection of six sites for proposed nuclear facilities, delaying the release of the Coalition’s signature energy blueprint. Nationals MPs told this masthead that leader David Littleproud said at the most recent party room meeting he would not allow the Liberals to dictate the

The post Nats run scared from own nuclear NIMBYs appeared first on MacroBusiness.