The RBA is going to look pretty bloody stupid: An unexpected decline in government spending means Labor started the financial year in a better budget position than expected just months ago, giving it flexibility for more cost-of-living support in the mid-year budget update. Ahead of an election campaign expected to start as early as March,
Newspoll suggests Labor is finished as a standalone political entity: TPP is a dead heat. Poll Bludger is even more clear: The trend suggests Labor will lose the May election. Still, if we get a Labor/Greens minority government what will it be like? If the example of the RBA is anything to go by, the
The Albanese government will be pleased: Struggling Australians on income support are now either completely priced out of, or navigating severe rental stress across all capital cities and major regional centres across Australia due to rising prices, with one advocacy group calling for urgent action. Defining rental stress as situations where more than 30 per
Analysis of data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that the number of employees in the construction industry rose by just 2,772 to 1.22 million in the two years to June. In contrast, the number of workers in the so-called ‘care economy’, which includes social assistance and healthcare services, has ballooned by more
Taiwan knows a pathetic hypocrite when it sees it: Taiwan has urged Penny Wong to throw Australia’s support behind the self-governed territory’s bid for UN membership after the Albanese government backed Palestine’s admission to the global body. Taiwan’s top diplomat in Australia, Douglas Hsu, said Palestine’s recently upgraded UN status underscored the injustice of Taiwan’s
Last week, Victoria’s bureaucrat responsible for implementing the government’s housing agenda, Jeroen Weimar, warned that Melbourne’s population is projected to balloon to more than 8 million people in only 25 years, meaning that Melbourne would “look fundamentally different in 25 years’ time”. “Melbourne will be the size of London from a population point of view
Scott Rubner is worth listening to. The Market Ear. Medium term bearish When Scott Rubner speaks, you listen: “There are 32 trading days until the US election on November 5th (and 35 trading days until the next FOMC meeting on November 7th). I am cautious on risk pre-election and see investors reducing 1 delta and
China wants to be Germany, not the US. Instead, it will be Japan. There’s so much more property downside to come it takes the breath away: Mid-Autumn festival was a total bust for property. Golden Week is dead ahead. Or is that poo-brown week? Developers still starved of debt: LGFV bonds racing to meet quotas:
SHFE and SGX are still pretending everything is OK: But Mad Dalian broke down completely Friday and Friday night and is at new closing lows: Coking coal also rolled: It’s not clear what the trigger was. Maybe more shrinkulus: China is considering removing some of the largest remaining restrictions on home purchases after previous measures
Judo Bank PMI sags again. Flash Australia Composite PMI Output Index: 49.8 (Aug: 51.7), 8-month low Flash Australia Services PMI Business Activity Index: 50.6 (Aug: 52.5), 2-month low Flash Australia Manufacturing PMI Output Index: 44.2 (Aug: 46.0), 52-month low Flash Australia Manufacturing PMI: 46.7 (Aug: 48.5), 52-month low The divergence in sector performance was likewise