Blogotariat

The weird, uncanny consistencies of far right politics.

By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian  6th September 2024

On Tuesday, the last US ambassador to the Soviet Union, Jack Matlock, said that the United States was engaged in an undeclared war with Russia and warned of the danger inherent in that. "It seems to me that it is extremely dangerous to attempt what is, in effect, an undeclared war against a nuclear armed power," Matlock warned.

Asian share markets didn’t reflect the somewhat positive mood on Wall Street overnight as bond market volatility overshadowed, as all eyes look to tonight’s US CPI print. The USD remains very strong against all the majors except Yen, which had another sharp appreciation this afternoon, hurting Japanese stocks while the  Australian dollar continues its inability

The post Macro Afternoon appeared first on MacroBusiness.

European Energy Australia is buying up two solar projects from Swede OX2, as the ex-Shell assets continue to move through the market.

There’s something wrong with Herr Shikeltuber “Every instinct in this bloke’s body, every calculation, is about how he can divide the country. It shows this bloke’s not fit to run a bath, let alone Australia” (Jason Clare, Minister for Education). In a Trumpian world of normalised grotesqueries the Overton Window has skewed significantly rightward making…

The post I do not like him, Yam-He-Am appeared first on The AIM Network.

By Gareth Aird, head of Australian economics at CBA: Key Points: Real consumer spending contracted in Q2 24 to be just 0.5% higher through the year (comfortably below the RBA’s forecast of 1.1%/yr). Real consumer spending per capita has fallen over the past eighteen months, primarily driven by a decline in discretionary spending. Private surveys

The post Household recession is driving inflation down appeared first on MacroBusiness.

Labor is all about cronies all of the time: Mining giant BHP has entered the political war between the resources sector and the Albanese government, defending its role in the Australian economy and claiming the amount of tax it paid last financial year was equal to half the entire annual funding of the public hospital

The post Labor picks wrong resources fight appeared first on MacroBusiness.

Last week, Vladimir Putin was speaking at the Russian-led Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok in Russia's Far East. He took part in a panel discussion with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Chinese Vice President Han Zheng. During the panel, he also spoke about Europe’s irrational decision to decouple from Russian energy and that he’d be willing at any time to negotiate sending again gas through the one remaining Nord Stream pipeline that is still functional.

The hostility the Grattan Institute has shown VIC on energy policy bespeaks a deep hatred of the state. First, back in 2013, Grattan recommended that QLD be allowed to export all of its gas without domestic reservation. This was always going to be worst for VIC, given it is cold and needs heating, and we

The post Victoria should burn the Grattan Institute for warmth appeared first on MacroBusiness.

Super Members Council Media Release The Coalition’s support for paying super on Commonwealth Parental Leave Pay is very welcome – but its bid to make it optional undermines the whole policy intent of boosting the retirement savings of new mums and is a concerning departure from bipartisan principles of universality and compulsion. The cash-out proposal…

I have warned repeatedly that the Grattan Institute’s immigration “research” and work program is funded by the pro-Big Australia Scanlon Foundation, which was founded by real estate entrepreneur and rich lister Peter Scanlon: As John Masanauskas from the Herald-Sun explained in 2009 (link no longer active): MAJOR investor and former Elders executive Peter Scanlon hardly

The RBA really should give up trying to predict the future. It doesn’t have the brain power for it.  After weeks of the central bank telling us on every occasion it will not cut rates this year, along comes an oil crash: For Australia, this has the bonus of pressuring the gas cartel at the

The post Oil mugs RBA forward guidance appeared first on MacroBusiness.