Blogotariat

Today, if we are to believe most polls, "Frexit" is supported neither by the majority of the population nor by the major parties. Is this because, ultimately, things are not so bad and there is therefore no need to try to improve the situation, or, as some claim, it would be apocalyptic if we did? On this fundamental question, there are numerous proposals, actions, and initiatives, as well as an abundant literature, all perfectly enlightening.

Federal green tick sought for underground connection to a new 2 GWh battery project planned by AGL in Queensland.

What can a nineteenth-century economist teach a twenty-first-century Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at one of the largest technology firms? More to the point, why is Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, quoting William Stanley Jevons? Jevons was a dominant figure in economic thought in Britain during the second half of the nineteenth century, but not today.

His work populates the earlier chapters of textbooks on the history of economic thought, where he is credited with being a pioneer in starting the Neoclassical School of Economics.

The NAB survey out yesterday was not very encouraging. The pent-up demand released by RBA rate cuts delivered a significant increase in consumer expenditure in the June quarter. However, business investment stayed low, indicating that companies were not inclined to make significant investments until they see more proof of a revival in domestic demand. Businesses

The Guardian’s Luca Ittimani asks why state and local government plans to convert empty office buildings into apartments to ease the housing crisis have not come to fruition: Momentum to create homes out of empty offices has faded even as office vacancies rise and housing shortages intensify. Developers have not submitted a single application to

The post Another housing gimmick fails appeared first on MacroBusiness.

For the life of me, I don’t know why anybody wants to be long iron ore here but hey, that’s how markets work sometimes. Steel prices continue to fall, though long products are falling faster than flat products, which is key to some market resilience, as it helps hold up blast furnace output over electric-arc

The post Iron ore wakes in fright appeared first on MacroBusiness.

While Japan welcomes almost 37 million visitors per year and is widely considered one of the safest places in the world, in quarters more focused on economics, the focus is often placed on its status as a cautionary tale. In some ways, this characterisation is entirely fair. Japan is the developed world’s poster child for

The post Australia vs Japan – The Lucky Country Loses appeared first on MacroBusiness.

Pricing carbon will make electricity more expensive than not pricing it. But it will give us something we value: lower emissions.

This month, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) decided to hold the official cash rate at 3.60%, citing resurgent inflation risks. The RBA’s statement alongside its decision noted that “the decline in underlying inflation has slowed”, with “recent data, while partial and volatile, suggest[ing] that inflation in the September quarter may be higher than expected

The post The case against RBA rate cuts strengthens appeared first on MacroBusiness.

Gas may be a short bridge to Australia’s clean energy future, but if we linger on it too long, we’ll pay the price in both dollars and emissions.

DXY is hovering. AUD dumped and pumped on tariff headlines. CNY has rolled. Gold to heaven, oil to hell. Metals turned casinos. RIO is breaking out of the big bear on the debasement trade. If it mined gold, I might agree. It doesn’t. EM dubious. Junk trying at the centre , not so much the

The post Australian dollar tariffied to death appeared first on MacroBusiness.

New research from investment bank Goldman Sachs affirms, as progressive advocates and economists warned, that US consumers are bearing the brunt of President Donald Trump’s trade wars.