There were so many ways to take the news, momentous as it was. Just imagine being that journo with a cameraman in tow, defying shrapnel bullets and stray rounds with a desperate dash down a shattered street into the remains of a building with a microphone ready to thrust towards the mouths of the occupants
International Reads: It turns out a lot of return-to-office mandates were meant to make workers quit – QZ Elon Musk warns ‘America is going bankrupt’ as interest payments on US debt ate up 76% of June’s income tax revenue – Yahoo These are America’s 10 worst states for quality of life in 2024 – CNBC
A minor taste of stability returned to risk markets here in Asia, although most share markets are still taking it tough after the mid week slump on Wall Street. Chinese shares remain depressed while local issues rallied hard into the weekend. The USD lost some ground against the majors after holding the high ground all
Independent economist Tony Alexander has published a detailed report on New Zealand’s economy and labour market, which is based in part on his latest business survey. Barely any jobs are being created at the same time as New Zealand’s population is growing strongly via immigration. And gauges of labour market plans and concerns show a
Data from property group Domain shows that the median house price in Brisbane has risen by 4% in the last three months to a record high of $976,464. Domain expects Brisbane’s median house price to reach $1 million within three months. The firm had forecast in April that the $1 million median price milestone would
Last month, Michael Fotheringham, a major immigration propagandist and managing director of the Australian Housing and Research Institute, touted group housing as a solution to Australia’s housing crisis. “We are consuming more houses for the number of people we have… The number of people per household is decreasing. Australia is increasingly becoming a nation of
I have criticised Bloomberg commodities analysis before. But today’s effort goes from bad to disastrous. Stock-market routs like Wednesday’s highlight the importance of portfolio diversification. While not suitable for all investors, commodities are looking increasingly cheap and uncorrelated to the equity market. Unlike stocks — which experience their worst drawdowns in a recession — commodities rally
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported that Melbourne’s population increased by 1.7 million people (49%) between 2001 and 2023, primarily due to net overseas migration. The Victorian government predicts that Melbourne’s population will reach 9.0 million by 2056. If this objection came true, Melbourne’s population would have increased by 5.5 million in just 55
Earlier this year, the Australian Population Research Institute (Tapri) released a comprehensive poll demonstrating that Australian voters strongly oppose excessive immigration and a Big Australia. Tapri’s December 2023 national survey of 3000 voters (released in April 2024) reveals a sizable and expanding voting base concerned about immigration levels. 74% of respondents desired lower net overseas
The US is powering along despite a similar wind drought to the recent Australian experience. Why? Gas. U.S. natural gas-fired power generation jumped this week amid the lowest wind power output in 33 months seen on Monday while demand for cooling is rising in the summer. The US coal-to-gas switching strategy, which has converted rather