The panic begins: Falling iron ore prices and China’s struggling steel business could result in a $3 billion dent in the Australian economy, Treasurer Jim Chalmers warns. With iron ore prices closing at US$81.80/tonne on Thursday, the Treasury’s glide path estimate puts the global commodity below what it forecast it would be at the time
Awesome: Australia has become “the central base of operations” for America’s military to deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific, the chair of the US House of Representatives’ powerful foreign affairs committee has declared. Republican congressman Michael McCaul told The Weekend Australian a recently announced boost to US bomber deployments to Australia’s Top End bases would
Westpac’s credit card tracker is registering a meek rebound. ― The Westpac Card Tracker Index* showed a little more life over the first two weeks of August, rising 1.5pts to 136.9. While that puts the index on a par with the high seen late last year, trend growth remains disappointing, barely tracking a small positive.
Last week in politics was a spectacle for all the wrong reasons. As usual, instead of debating anything of merit, the Australian Parliament descended into a kindergarten of asinine name-calling. Notably, everybody couldn’t wait to label everybody else “racist”. Some examples: Senator DAVID POCOCK (Australian Capital Territory) (18:10): I rise in support of this disallowance motion
If you read the AFR, your mind will die: Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock has softened the bank’s previous warning that government spending is contributing to inflation and instead pointed to consumer spending, in a messaging shift that will help shore up relations with Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Ms Bullock reiterated on Friday that
The Albanese government’s target to build 1.2 million homes over five years is looking increasingly delusional. The latest dwelling construction indicators from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that approvals, commencements and completions are tracking at around decade lows: In the year to March 2024, 171,700 homes were completed in Australia, 68,300 fewer than
The Market Ear on the rebound. Goldilocks is back The combination of benign inflation data and strong consumer data points were enough to reassure markets this week. Nasdaq has traded green for 7 consecutive days – the best run of 2024. Goldman on Goldilocks: “Importantly, the data mix hit a sweet spot between recession fears
These charts are from the National Bureau of Statistics. From peak, sales are down about half, starts are down about three-quarters, and completions are down about a quarter: Year-to-date numbers are well below the most bearish cases, except mine! Prices are down, down: There is no end in sight.
Qindao iron ore is trading at $90.63 this morning. SHFE futures enjoyed a slight reprieve Friday as SGX iron ore kept falling: Global scrap prices are breaking down under the relentless Chiese steel assault: Dalian is still falling as well: Coking coal is trying: Scuttlebutt is poor: Analysts at Macquarie said in a note that
Friday night saw big moves in currency markets following a boisterous share market session in Asia that was not repeated across both sides of the Atlantic, although Wall Street still advanced. The latest US consumer sentiment figures came in better than expected but the USD remained very weak against all the majors except Yen, with