By Lucinda Jerogin, associate economist at CBA: Real GDP surprised to the downside at 0.2%/qtr. The annual rate held steady at 1.3%. The current account deficit narrowed to $14.7 bn in Q1 25, driven by a $2.2 bn fall in the net income deficit. Home prices across the eight capital cities rose by 0.5% in
International Reading: ‘There’s no fraud’: Steve Bannon says Elon Musk’s DOGE cuts are a huge failure – Raw Story Trump calls for scrapping debt limit – The Hill Economists Raise Questions About Quality of U.S. Inflation Data – WSJ President Stagflation: US economic activity declines as tariffs pressure prices, Fed says – Yahoo House GOP
As the two most powerful but petulant men in the world stand off at 10 yards with handbags swinging, risk markets didn’t know quite to make out here in the Asian session today as the focus remains on the latest US jobs report tonight, with the initial jobless claims preview from last night not looking
Following one of the largest booms in the developed world during the pandemic, New Zealand’s house prices experienced a significant decline. As illustrated above by Justin Fabo from Antipodean Macro, New Zealand’s real inflation-adjusted house price has returned to its pre-pandemic level, according to the REINZ house price index. Separate data released this week by
Westpac states the obvious. Soft GDP data for Q1 has again raised questions of whether the RBA is behind the curve and has left policy too tight for too long. As we have been highlighting for some time, underlying growth in Australia remains weak and sensitive to pauses in the expansion in the care economy.
The Market Ear on the nature of the rally. Range mania continues SPX remains stuck inside the 5800/6000 range (futures). Source: LSEG Workspace NASDAQ technicals Rising wedge like formation and the huge resistance area slightly higher. Source: LSEG Workspace Surprise, surprise The gap between SPX and Citi US economic surprises should make you a bit
This week’s Q1 national accounts release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed that real per capita household consumption has been negative for seven consecutive quarters on an annual basis, down 2.4% from its peak. The decline in household consumption came despite a rebound in real per capita household incomes, which jumped by 1.8%
The Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) 25 bp rate cut last month had an immediate effect on the housing market. The final auction clearance rate across the combined capital cities soared to its highest level since early July 2024, despite the second-highest auction volumes (2,918) of the year. According to Cotality, 66.2% of auctions resulted
I’ve long argued that water is the ‘elephant in the room’ of the immigration debate, something policymakers and pro-Big Australia supporters never acknowledge. A series of reports has warned that Australia faces chronic water shortages and rising water bills as its population grows by millions due to persistently high immigration volumes. For example, a 2021
Victoria’s finances are in dire straits, carrying the nation’s highest debt and lowest credit rating. Victoria’s net debt was only $22.3 billion when the Labor government delivered its inaugural state budget in 2015. However, according to budget projections, net debt will reach $194 billion by 2028-29, up from $155.5 billion today. Victorian net debt per