Westpac with the note. Leading Index growth rate drops to 0.03% in June. Main drag coming from commodity prices, sentiment and hours worked. Detail suggests some near-term fragility if recent supports from financial markets, interest rate expectations and US growth fall away.. The recovery that was gaining traction through the second half of 2024 has
Later this year will be the 28th anniversary of the signing of the Kyoto Protocol, which saw an agreement struck to pursue emissions reductions and stabilisations. In the almost three decades since, the decline of thermal coal demand has been forecast repeatedly, only for demand to surge to new heights, largely driven by dramatic increases
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has released a participants list for its upcoming Economic Reform Roundtable, which “is all about building consensus on long term economic reform, with a focus on resilience, productivity and budget sustainability”. The list comprises around 28 groups representing the business, industry, and academic sectors, as well as government representatives. The list is
The ferrous rocket flamed out yesterday. Miners are gapping into madness as the Pilbara killer cometh. At these prices, which will trigger a gusher of supply from India, iron ore needs more demand fuel from the Politburo. Colour me skeptical. Goldman. Ahead of the latest Central Urban Work Conference(CUWC), chaired by President Xi and attended
Victoria has had the cheapest energy on the East Coast for many years. The VIC government likes to crow about it. But there is a problem. This is not renewable energy. VIC has had cheap energy thanks to abundant gas and brown coal resources, which still comprise 60% of output. Even worse, it is only
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) shocked economists by holding the official cash rate (OCR) at 3.85% at its latest monetary policy meeting. The decision caught financial markets off guard, which had assigned a near 100% probability of a rate cut. The decision was a close call, with the board voting 6-3 in favour of
DXY is getting pounded again. AUD is up. Lead boots too. Gold surged. Oil caput. Metals mania! Even gave life to mining dogs. EM faded. Junk up. Yields down. Stocks paused. Instead of Trump mania, we got Bessent calm. Bloomberg. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered support for Jerome Powell amid regular attacks from Trump administration officials, saying he sees
Last night saw risk markets unable to make headway again, although European stocks sold off across the calendar as the lack of any progress on any trade deals with the Trump regime continues to weigh. Wall Street tried to eke out more record highs but were pulled back in selloffs in tech stocks as more
The mix of Australia’s international student enrolments has shifted dramatically during the last two decades. In the January-April period of 2005, 288,579 overseas students were studying in Australia, according to the Department of Education. China (63,635) led enrolments, with India (24,642) coming in a distant second. The Department of Education did not even mention Nepal. A
Cotality’s latest Housing Chart Pack valued Australia’s total residential housing stock at $11.5 trillion as of June 2025, comprising 11.3 million dwellings. This means that the average value of an Australian home was $1,018,000 in June 2025, a remarkable figure that ranks Australian housing among the most expensive in the world. Aussie YouTuber Biko Konstantinos