We’ve reached the blowoff profits phase of the COVID commodity mania. The AFR is on its knees sucking the proverbial: The biggest contributor to Australia’s record trade surplus, BHP, has vowed to be disciplined as it pursues growth in “future facing” commodities after reporting its biggest profit in Australian dollar terms, record dividends worth $23.2
No change in the status of Australia’s energy crisis today. The gas price is still sitting around $18Gj and power prices bounced: I repeat, even these prices are still enough to double utility bills over the next year. The RBA warned about it again in the minutes: Headline inflation was 1.7 per cent (seasonally adjusted)
I was wrong about Australia’s union movement. Yesterday I attacked them for seemingly folding “like a cheap deck of cards” to the Albanese Government’s ‘Big Australia’ immigration policy. Now I have egg on my face, with the ACTU releasing a brilliant submission to the upcoming Jobs & Skills Summit, making their support for expanding the
Wall Street stumbled slightly overnight on the latest US industrial production numbers while European markets continued to rally. The USD remained strong but unchanged overnight as the Euro halted its recent crash with the Australian dollar stabilising just above the 70 cent level. Bond markets saw roundtripping of yields with 10 year Treasuries eventually finishing
DXY held its gain last night: AUD held its losses: Oil is not well: Metals did a bit better: Mining popped. Meh: EM stocks are trying: But junk has stalled: The US curve pancaked: And stocks paused: Westpac has the wrap: Event Wrap US industrial production in July was stronger than expected, up 0.6%m/m, with manufacturing
There is an exceptional documentary running on Foxtel and/or AppelTV at the moment called Blood Money: Inside the Nazi Economy. It chronicles the rise of rise of Nazism from the macroeconomic angle, from the issuance of MEFO bonds and rearmament, through to the necessity of invasion and occupation as the economic output of the militarised
The Canberra Times’ Crispin Hull has called on the Teal independents to “connect the big policy dots” and end the destructive ‘Big Australia’ immigration policy endorsed by the three major parties: The Government refuses to abandon the Stage 3 tax cuts and adds to the misery by yet again kow-towing to business by signalling a
Australia’s house price bust has well and truly broadened beyond Sydney and Melbourne, with Brisbane now joining in the rout. As shown in the next chart, Brisbane’s daily dwelling values index has now fallen 1.8% from its mid-June peak, with prices down 0.7% so far in August: The rate of price growth across Brisbane plummeted
Global Macro / Markets / Investing: It gets hotter every year, and a new study shows how much climate change is already costing the global economy – Yahoo Tesla has built 3 million vehicles, a third of those in China, Elon Musk says – Market Watch Oil Prices Fall as China Cuts Policy Rates by
Another relatively mixed session for Asian stocks with Chinese bourses unstable with only the ASX200 lifting substantially as the Australian dollar continues to falter as it hovers at the 70 cent level while Euro flops around after a very poor start to the week. Meanwhile oil prices are also slipping, with Brent crude retracing further