Blogotariat

Another very mixed session across Asian stock markets reflecting the growing unease over the weekend as the April 2 “tariff letter” deadline starts to come into focus. While Wall Street managed a positive return on Friday night it was marginal at best with Chinese markets now pulling back while local stocks also treaded water. The

The post Macro Afternoon appeared first on MacroBusiness.

New estimate for Marinus Link comes from the Australia Energy Regulator, which is adding in the cost of linking the subsea cable to Tasmanian infrastructure.

Zen Energy will co-develop around 695 MW of multi-hour big batteries and 100 MW of solar across three Australian states with Taiwan partner.

Construction to start on a new Tesla big battery in New England after its developer claimed the first debt package for a "merchant" battery in the state.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has been notoriously poor at forecasting Australian wage growth. For the past 15 years, the RBA’s Statement of Monetary Policy (SoMP) has consistently forecast higher wage growth than realised. The RBA looks to be making the same mistakes, with Australian wage growth now falling despite Australia’s low unemployment rate

The post RBA dead wrong on full employment and wages appeared first on MacroBusiness.

Big batteries are playing an increasingly prominent role in serving the evening peaks, and responding to solar disruptions caused by passing thunderstorms.

Goldman with the argument. USD: Diminished, not finished. We downgraded our Dollar forecasts last week but still expect some Dollar strength from current levels. …we think the market has rapidly repriced the shift in the growth outlook, and ran ahead of the forecast changes our teams have made for 2025. In the case of the

The post Australian dollar to boom or bust with Europe? appeared first on MacroBusiness.

Former Treasury Secretary Dr Martin Parkinson, who led the federal government’s 2023 Migration Review, admitted that Australia’s mass immigration policy has failed to provide the nation with the skills it needs and has contributed to poor productivity growth. As part of a campaign entitled ­Activate Australia’s Skills, Dr Parkinson called for a nationally cohesive approach

In late 2023, newly appointed Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan ignored expert advice and signed the tunnelling contract to build the first stage of the $200 billion Suburban Rail Loop (SRL). “We are full steam ahead with the Suburban Rail Loop – by 2026, tunnel boring machines will be in the ground and Victorians will be

The post Victorians sucked into infrastructure black hole appeared first on MacroBusiness.

AT WHICH POINT OF TECHNOLOGICAL EVOLUTION DOES THE NEEDS TO HAVE GREATER ORGANISATION OF SOCIETIES BEYOND SIMPLE MUTUAL AID? 

IS THERE A NEED TO MAKE PROFITS IN ORDER TO EVOLVE TO THE NEXT STEP OF WHAT WE WANT, BEYOND WHAT WE NEED? DO WE NEED WARS?

DO WE UNDERSTAND THE IMPLICATION OF DEBT? IS DEBT NECESSARY ON A GREATER SCALE TO SUPPLY PROFITS FOR CORPORATIONS AND WAGES TO THE PEOPLE? IS DEBT A BURDEN ON THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT?

Slightly better and going nowhere fast. Flash Australia PMI Composite Output Index(1): 51.3 (Feb: 50.6). 7-month high. Flash Australia Services PMI Business Activity Index(2): 51.2 (Feb: 50.8). 2-month high. Flash Australia Manufacturing Output Index(3): 51.9 (Feb: 49.7). 29-month high. Flash Australia Manufacturing PMI(4): 52.6 (Feb: 50.4). 29-month high. There’s enough for Warren Hogan to have

The post Aussie flash PMI crawls appeared first on MacroBusiness.

Oh dear. The Australian. Jim Chalmers will extend energy bill rebates for another six months in Tuesday’s budget, adding an extra $1.8bn to the pre-election spending splurge with an aim of setting up a cost-of-living fight with Peter Dutton. Despite energy bills being set to increase by up to 9 per cent next financial year,

The post Labor embraces Gasmageddon appeared first on MacroBusiness.

In the last year, prices for solar PV and battery storage have plunged between 20 and 47 per cent. Australia needs to seize the moment.