The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) national accounts showed that Australia’s manufacturing sector comprised a record low share of GDP. In Q1 2025, manufacturing’s percentage of GDP decreased to 5.1%, down from 8.9% two decades ago and 15% in the mid-1970s. Australia has the smallest manufacturing share in the OECD, making it one of
The ACTU has used its submission to the federal government’s upcoming economic roundtable to call for negative gearing and the 50% capital gains tax (CGT) concession to be restricted to a single property. The ACTU also wants a 25% “energy levy” to be imposed on LNG exports, for millionaires and family trusts to pay at
Canada experienced a boom in temporary migrants over recent years, which helped drive up rental inflation to astonishing levels. As a result, temporary migrants hit a record 7% share of Canada’s population in mid-2024, which the government has promised to reduce to 5% by the end of 2027. Now spare a thought for Australia, whose
When the RBA released its forecasts for the economy in May, their expectation was that unemployment would rise to 4.3% by the end of 2025 and remain there until mid-2027, the conclusion of the forecast period. With the release of the latest labour force data for June, the nation’s unemployment rate arrived at 4.3% quite
Bear season starts with a bang. The Market Ear. Average August angst Nasdaq closing below its 20 day moving average for the first time since April. The last time the Nasdaq 100 QQQ fell 2%+ on the first trading day of August was… last year. The QQQs actually fell 2%+ on each of the first
S&P Global has advised the Victorian government that its credit rating will not be downgraded from ‘AA’, as it has been assured by the government that it will “control operating costs ahead of the 2026 election, deliver promised cost savings, and slow growth in debt”. However, S&P noted that the Victorian government’s financial management has
While most of Labor is lost on Planet Gaza, Jenny George is focused on what matters. From The Australian: The government’s review of gas markets is timely as the interaction of our domestic and export markets is dysfunctional. LNG is exported without regard for our domestic needs. We’re the second-largest exporter of LNG, yet facing domestic gas
Goldman with the note. For much of the week, our Dollar views were on the wrong side of market moves, but the substantial revisions to the employment situation should, in turn, revise the emerging narrative that the FX reaction to tariffs has changed again. On the tariff narrative, we see three key aspects to our
Well that was an interesting Friday night with the much anticipated non-farm payroll AKA US unemployment print shocking to the downside, with further revisions to prior month prints finally revealing the impact of the Trump regime’s tariff on the domestic economy. Coupled with the passing of the August 1st tariff “deadline” and King Trump spitting
At the end of 2024, CoreLogic (now Cotality) reported that Australia’s housing affordability—both to purchase and rent—was the worst on record, as illustrated by the graphic below. Home prices relative to incomes, the percentage of income required to service a mortgage, the number of years taken to save a deposit, and the percentage of income