I have argued repeatedly that rising unemployment is the key condition that must be met for the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to deliver another interest rate cut. As illustrated below by Alex Joiner from IFM Investors, the latest Statement of Monetary Policy (SoMP) from the RBA forecasts that the headline unemployment rate will remain
In the first poll after his inauguration, from YouGov, U.S. President Trump held a surprisingly strong level of net approval among Americans aged 18 to 29. Of all the age demographics assessed, 18 to 29, 30 to 44, 45 to 64 and 65+, Trump held his second-highest net approval rating in the 18 to 29
The great Chinese property crash is, once again, worsening. It’s another banner year for lost hope. Sentiment disappears. Far-flung cities are the most troubled. Completions are going the way of all flesh. The Chinese consumer is deleveraging. Talk of rebalancing towards consumption at this point is a joke.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released the wage price index for the September quarter of 2025, which reported a quarterly increase of 0.8% and an annual increase of 3.4%: The outcome aligned with the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) and market expectations, posing no significant policy implications. The following chart shows that public
Victoria has legislated a target to source 95% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2035. This is one of the most ambitious renewable energy goals in Australia and globally, designed to accelerate the state’s transition away from cheap brown coal and toward cleaner energy sources, such as wind, solar, and storage. The target is
Who would want to be a traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ retailer in Australia? Not only are they facing an explosion of shoplifting and theft, especially in Victoria, as well as soaring rental and energy costs, but they are also facing surging competition from online behemoths that offer unparalleled prices and convenience, rapidly stealing market share.
The ferrous jaws are still yawning wide. In the news, that other African mine is now complete. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, during the Council of Ministers meeting he presided over on Sunday, ordered the launch of the exploitation of iron ore extracted from the Gara Djebilet mine starting in the first quarter of 2026. The
There was a time when I thought more women in power would make a positive difference. After all, they are the caring sex, and it was my thought that that might be expressed through greater concentration on the long-term collective benefit. The naivety of this thinking is more than idle. It is a window into
The Market Ear has more. Not calm VVIX at 125 and VIX at 25 is not calm markets. Noteworthy is that the VVIX/VIX gap stays wide. Source: LSEG Workspace Put love is back Put call ratio exploding to the upside as the crowd never buys protection when they can, but when they must… Source: Tradingview
The Susan Ley-led opposition has promised that a future Coalition government would run a ‘smaller’ immigration program that is around 100,000 below current extreme levels and basically the same as excessive pre-pandemic levels: The Coalition will position the cut as a way to ease the pressure on housing, infrastructure, schools and health care, as some