Blogotariat

Former Treasurer Peter Costello lashed the Albanese government’s financial management, claiming that the failure to control spending had put upward pressure on inflation and interest rates, worsened the cost of living crisis, and eroded the economy’s competitiveness and productivity. “What’s happening in Australia is that tax per capita is rising and spending per capita is

Late last month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its annual review of Australia, which lectured Australia about major housing reform. The IMF claims that Australia needs a major policy package to deal with the nation’s unaffordable housing, saying everything from tax to the supply of new land should be on the table. “A comprehensive

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) begins 2025 with a confusing economic picture that complicates monetary policy settings. The key factor preventing the RBA from cutting rates is the stronger than expected labour market, driven by the boom in non-market (government-funded) jobs. As a result, Australia’s official unemployment rate (3.9%) is tracking well below the

The post Two-speed economic data confuses RBA appeared first on MacroBusiness.

The world's richest man, Elon Musk, has sparked speculation after changing his name on his social media platform X to "Kekius Maximus". 

I dropped Thomas off at work yesterday. He’s banging the pans together at some burger place/cocktail bar on the other side of the river. It was a hot day, and the ferries were running slow and overcrowded because of New Year’s Eve.

As is his way, he casually dropped a hand grenade into the conversation, completely out of nowhere. He said, “There should totally be national service, but not for the military. Everybody should be forced to work for one year in a commercial kitchen.”

King Charles III has delivered his annual Christmas Day message by thanking medical staff who have cared for him and his daughter-in-law Princess Kate, after they both underwent treatment for cancer this year.

US President-elect Donald Trump has endorsed Representative Mike Johnson to continue on in the role of House Speaker, just days before lawmakers are set to decide on who will hold the position. 

The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on a Speaker on Friday, during the first day of the 119th congressional session. 

Vids         Oz New transparency law aims to deter multinational tax avoidance – ABC 2024 was the Great Divergence as young people copped an economic whack – ABC The biggest corporate scandals of 2024 were about power and control – ABC The Australian dollar could be heading to a 20-year low, on

The post New Years Eve Links and Vids: 31 December 2024 appeared first on MacroBusiness.

As geopolitical tensions escalate, the U.S. wields its most formidable weapon—not military might, but a sophisticated network of political and informational control that reshapes nations and regions to serve its interests.

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I’ve avoided post-mortems on the US election disaster for two reasons.

First, they are useless as a guide to the future. The next US election, if there is one [1], will be a referendum on the Trump regime. Campaign strategies that might have gained the Democrats a few percentage points in November 2024 won’t be at all relevant in 2026 or 2028, let alone in the aftermath of a regime collapse further in the future.

The mainstream media and almost all of the American political elite class refuse to acknowledge reality: The crisis in Gaza did not begin on October 7, 2023.

I can't remember when I stopped caring about New Year's Eve, but the fact that I can’t remember tells me it must have been years ago. The last party I vividly recall was on the roof of our apartment in Bondi. I insisted on making frozen margaritas for everyone, and it turned out to be a great night. I remember it fondly, but that was before the kids were born—so, we’re talking a couple of decades ago.