The Productivity Commission is taking a rosy view of AI. AI will likely raise productivity, but there is ongoing debate about the magnitude of this effect. Studies suggest AI could increase multifactor factor productivity between 0.5% to 13% over the next decade (0.05 to 1.3 percentage points annually). After examining the assumptions underlying these studies,
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) released new car data for July, which reported the strongest monthly sales on record with a total of 103,097 vehicles delivered over the month. This was 3.6% higher than the same month last year. “We are now seeing confidence return to the market, supported by a recent interest
This is as predictable as it is awful to watch: Australia’s biggest corporate taxpayer, BHP, and the federal government’s productivity adviser are at loggerheads over a proposal to introduce a cash-flow tax on companies, undermining Jim Chalmers’ push to achieve consensus at his economic roundtable. Instead of tax, which will be the final topic discussed
ANZ-Indeed jobs ads are interesting. The ANZ-Indeed Australian Job Ads series edged lower from a revised 116.3 in June to 115.2 in July. The series remains within a tight 114–117 range and has largely been tracking sideways since mid-2024. The June labour force survey revealed some signs of labour market easing, with the unemployment rate
Since the pandemic, Queensland has been a magnet for residents of southern states, including Victoria. Over the five years to Q4 2024, 163,200 residents from other states relocated to Queensland. Many of these residents came from Victoria, which lost 82,130 net residents over the same period. The spike in net interstate migration into Queensland, along
Various narratives supporting and opposing the concept of working from home continue to propagate amidst the ongoing debate surrounding its benefits and politics. One of the most widely held ideas is that any job that can be done full-time, working from home, can also be done by a remote worker in another part of the
Ferrous is doing a merry dance as steel and iron ore trade places. One of the mysteries of this year’s ferrous markets has been why or how seaborne market production increases have been absorbed without too much price damage. The output increase has been relatively small so far, and the stock has been offset by
China (31.5% share in 2023) and India (8.1% share in 2023) have driven the increase in global carbon emissions this century. As illustrated below by US energy expert Robert Bryce, China and India’s combined share of the world’s carbon emissions rose from 18% in 2000 to 40% in 2023. While the developed world has decarbonised,
Another poor US domestic economic print – this time the latest ISM services survey – sent Wall Street lower amid reaction to a rambling interview by Trump overnight espousing new off the cuff tariffs for pharmaceuticals and others. Neither side of the Atlantic liked the newsflow although European stocks eked out a small gain while
The latest data from the Departments of Home Affairs and Education indicates that the Albanese government’s “crackdown” on the international education sector has had minimal impact. The Department of Home Affairs’ temporary visa data for Q2 2025 shows that there were 821,251 people residing in Australia on either a student or a graduate visa. This