The most recent national accounts from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that GDP per capita fell by 1.0% in 2023 following four consecutive quarters of decline: The household sector has driven the recession, with Australia’s real per capita household final consumption declining by 2.5% in 2023: This sharp decline in real per capita
A slow start to the new trading week with local markets putting in scratch sessions as the forthcoming Federal Budget looms large on risk taking. The USD is still in a weak phase although both the Euro and Pound Sterling are trying to lift going into the London open. The Australian dollar is failing to
New Zealand’s economy and labour market continue to deteriorate. Overall GDP growth is declining, while per capita outcomes have collapsed amid a 2.7% increase in New Zealand’s population in 2023. New Zealand’s unemployment rate rose more than expected in Q1 to 4.3% (up 1.1ppts from the trough). The labour underutilisation rate also jumped: The lift
A new survey of 607 senior HR professionals and decision-makers from the Australian Human Resources Institute shows that employers anticipate that pay rises will average just 3% in the next year, down from 3.7%. “The mean basic pay increase in organisations (excluding bonuses) is expected to be 3% in the 12 months to April 2025,
Online property listings company REA Group posted revenue of $334 million for the March quarter, which is 24% higher than previously. EBITDA rose by 30% to $177 million, while revenue rose by 20% year-on-year in first nine months of 2023-24. CEO Owen Wilson remarked that Australia’s property market remained strong in the March quarter, noting
Treasurer Jim “Chicken” Chalmers is selling the Budget. Tuesday’s budget release is expected to predict that, thanks to a new round of cost of living support and slower growth in the upcoming fiscal year, inflation may return to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) target range of 2% to 3% by Christmas. The RBA’s previous
Goldman with the note. The price of gold reached an all time high in April despite higher US rates. We show that central banks drive the increase in gold demand since mid-2022, and that new geopolitical or financial shocks may push gold prices significantly higher. EM central banks drive the gold rush. Global central bank
From the recent SoMP. Recent liaison discussions suggest that demand conditions have been little changed since the end of 2023, and economic activity is not expected to grow much in the period ahead. Given the current high-cost environment, some firms have scaled back their investment plans, though the outlook for investment in infrastructure remains strong.
The federal government has already provided one bailout to Victoria by delivering the state $3.8 billion in additional GST revenue, while New South Wales lost $188 million: Victoria’s North-East Link project, which is being built between the Eastern Freeway and the M80 Ring Road in Greensborough, was initially estimated to cost $15.8 billion but is
We’re still only in shoulder season, with National Energy Market (NEM) demand subdued: Yet the spot gas price that feeds electricity prices is already comfortably above the $12Gj contract price cap, roughly breaking even with import netback prices: The high gas price is filtering through to the NEM: This week, we had the convenient spectacle