The Australian dollar has rallied strongly against the US dollar after hitting a two-year low following the announcement of President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs. The Australian dollar has rebounded to 0.64 US cents, effectively returning to its pre-tariff announcement level. The rebound partly reflects weakness in the US dollar against all currencies as the Greenback
Risk sentiment is now rolling over again as stock market volatility lifts higher mainly due to potential earning slumps on tech stocks aka NVIDIA due to the Trump regime’s tariff madness. The latest US retail sales figures (pre-tariff numbers) came in as expected and Fed Chair Powell tried to provide some hope through it all
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released quarterly data on dwelling commencements and completions, which badly missed the Albanese government’s housing targets. Only 41,900 dwellings commenced construction in Q4 2024, 18,100 (30%) fewer than Labor’s target, which requires 60,000 homes to be built every quarter. Only 168,050 dwellings commenced construction during the year to Q4
Last week, the Queensland government announced that it would repeal the state’s legislated renewable energy targets. They were set at 50% by 2030, rising to 80% by 2035. Energy Minister David Janetzki stated that the renewable energy targets were “always unachievable”. He added that the government is also likely to amend the state’s existing 2035
Volatility in equity markets is ramping up after another round of Trump tariff nonsense against China while a miss or two amongst US tech stocks is not helping risk sentiment with S&P and Eurostoxx futures sharply down going into tonight’s session. The latest Chinese GDP figures helped stabilised mainland markets however moves are afoot in
According to SQM Research, Sydney’s median asking price for houses crossed over $2 million for the first time last week, hitting $2,012,000 on 15 April. SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher confirmed on Twitter (X) that the median asking price incorporates Greater Sydney, including the Blue Mountains and Central Coast. SQM Research’s methodology paper notes
This report from Crikey, which has no idea about international relations, is so alarming that all Australians need to take pause. The story led in places such as The Australian Financial Review and the ABC overnight after Defence Minister Richard Marles came out and said he’d spoken to Indonesia’s defence minister, who rejected the reports. “I have spoken to my counterpart, Sjafrie
At the end of 2024, Australians required a record share of household income to make mortgage repayments on a median-priced home. Based on the latest opinion polls, Labor looks certain to win the upcoming election. When Labor is reelected, it is committed to leveraging Australian taxpayers into the housing bubble. Consider the following policy announcements
Roy Morgan unemployment is a better measure than the doctored ABS version. “Despite the record employment growth over the last three years, there are still a significant number of people who have joined the workforce without finding employment – a total of 435,000 since the last Federal Election. This influx of people into the workforce
CoreLogic data showed that the median household spent a record share of their incomes on rent at the end of 2024. PropTrack’s rental report also showed that the share of rental homes that were affordable to tenants hit a record low at the end of 2024. CoreLogic has released its quarterly rental report, which noted