A storm of criticism no less: Jim Chalmers’ hand-picked chair of the Productivity Commission has warned Labor’s Future Made in Australia plan would divert investment from more productive parts of the economy and lead to higher-than-necessary costs for taxpayers. Danielle Wood – the former Grattan Institute chief executive who the Treasurer tasked with shifting the
The December quarter national accounts from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that real per capita household consumption declined by 2.5% in 2023, which was the weakest result outside the pandemic since the Global Financial Crisis in 2008: The February Household Spending Indicator (HSI) from the ABS revealed that, in nominal terms, household spending
The latest population data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that Melbourne’s population soared by 1.7 million people (49%) between 2001 and 2023, driven by net overseas migration. Official forecasts from the Victorian government project that Melbourne’s population will swell to 9.0 million people by 2056: If this projection came to fruition, Melbourne’s
Think Tank CEO Ed Cavanough believes the Greens will hold the balance of power in the next federal parliament because of its strong advocacy for renters: “Right now there’s a gaping emotional void in the housing debate that only the Greens are filling”, Cavanough wrote in The AFR. “They have become the only party effectively
The AFR’s Michael Read reported that Australian insurers lost more than $650 million on home insurance policies over the past four years despite soaring premiums. As illustrated in the next chart, insurance premiums soared by 16.2% last year—the fastest rate of growth since HIH Insurance collapsed in 2000: The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) explained
Shanghai rebar futures were flat yesterday and are going nowhere fast. SGX popped a litte: Dalian iron ore appears to be rolling over steadily after another rally yesterday was greeted with more overnight selling: The FE rally needs a new spur. It is unlikely to come from the economy. Sagging inflation tells the tale. Goldman:
Wall Street rebounded later in the session overnight while the USD firmed even more as the ECB held fire at its latest interest rate meeting. With the inflation genie nowhere near back in the bottle, bond yields are still spiking and the USD holding down undollars although some peripheral currencies like the Australian dollar which
DXY remained firm: AUD managed to undo a some damage: No help from North Asia: Oil is awaiting a new shock. New gold shows no sign of paying attention to old drivers like DXY or real interest rates: Dirt fell: Miners too: EM still poised: But junk is risk off: As yields pile it on:
Last week, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released data showing that only 12,400 homes were approved for construction in trend terms in February, the lowest monthly reading since April 2012. On that run rate, Australia would only build 149,000 homes a year, 91,000 below the Albanese government’s construction target of 240,000 homes a year. Data
A very mixed trading session across stock markets in Asia today due to the fallout of the overnight US CPI print which came in much hotter than expected which spiked the USD but more importantly is seeing bond markets selloff across the world. The Australian dollar went down over 100 pips overnight to the 65