Nearly a decade ago, in 2016, then Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Chairman, Rod Sims, delivered a speech on the growing concentration of Australian industry. New research undertaken by Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) economists has concluded that increased market concentration in some sectors of the economy has weighed on productivity. The RBA economists found
Earlier this year, Matt Bell of The Australian wrote an article based on the Hays 2025 Skills Report, saying that Australia was experiencing a skills crisis, with businesses struggling to recruit staff with the necessary abilities. Similar views have been expressed throughout the lead-up to the federal government’s productivity summit, even though Jobs and Skills
According to a 2022 survey conducted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Indian migrants much prefer Labor to the Coalition. The survey suggested that in the 2022 federal election, Indian migrants voted 58:34 for Labor over the Coalition. Chinese-Australians also appear to prefer Labor. The Tally Room discovered that in the 2022 federal election,
The Market Ear with more. The bull is on ketamine Here are the craziest charts from the week that truly make us believe that bull is on serious drugs. OH MAN! (MSFT + AAPL + NVDA) Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple now make up over 21% of the S&P 500, the highest weighting for any three
In the fast-evolving Communist self-censorship public forum of Australia, a man has broken ranks with the enforced media consensus. His name is Salvatore Babones, an American sociologist based at the University of Sydney. If being an American was not enough to invoke cancellation Article One, his arguments certainly are. Buried deep in an ashamed AFR is
Last week, we witnessed the seemingly extraordinary when the East Coast gas export cartel suddenly turned on itself, demanding the domestic reservation of Aussie gas. But was this really what it appeared to be? Or was it just more of the same corruption that has robbed Australians blind for over a decade? I will let
I have some good news and bad news for you, if you’re an Aussie. First, the good news. Your biggest export, iron ore, is managing to hold up despite a crash in Chinese property of cosmic proportions. The bad news? It is killing the planet at record speed. You’ve probably read lots of headlines about
Friday night saw the release of the latest US retail sales numbers with import prices spiking and consumer inflation expectations rising again, getting traders further worried on Wall Street. The USD was on the ropes against all the majors, with oil prices also pushed slightly lower after stalling all week while Treasuries where sold off
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) claims that international education is Australia’s fourth largest export, earning the country $51 billion in 2023–24. The ABS calculates this fantastical education “export” figure by summing expenditure by student visa holders on tuition fees and goods and services. In 2024-25, the ABS estimated that $30.2 billion was spent by
By Lucinda Jerogin, Associate Economist at CBA The RBA cut the cash rate by 25bp to 3.60% in a unanimous decision and was widely expected. The Wage Price Index printed broadly in line with expectations, rising by 0.8%/qtr in Q2 25 to be 3.4% higher annually. The unemployment rate retreated to 4.2% in July. The