Blogotariat

No Chinese city appears on the annual lists of the most liveable cities in the world. Is this due to ignorance or to a pervasive anti-China bias?

What does one look for in a liveable city? According to three main annual global city surveys, factors include stability, culture and the environment, infrastructure, education standards and healthcare.

Australian house prices are already at their highest level in history and are beginning to surge higher. According to Cotality, last week’s combined final auction clearance rate rose to 71.6%, which was the capital cities’ highest result since early June 2023 (73.1%). It was also the third time in five weeks that the final clearance

The post Australian house prices ascend into the bubble realm appeared first on MacroBusiness.

The Pentagon issued an urgent, highly unusual directive calling hundreds of generals and admirals (1–4 star officers and their senior enlisted advisers) to assemble in Virginia; many senior officers reportedly don’t know the reason for the meeting.

Commentators describe the order as extraordinary because such large in-person gatherings of top commanders are rare and could signal something significant beyond routine video conferences.

Anna Skarbek from Climateworks Centre on Australia's emissions mission, and the new China targets, while AGL's Jane Butler talks vehicle to grid. Plus: Wind and battery deals.

Recently, AMP Chief Economist Shane Oliver posted the chart below on Twitter (also known as X) detailing the path of rental vacancy rates and asking rents since the early 1980s. As I have somewhat crudely illustrated in the chart below, with the three blue circles, there have been three major surges in asking rents over

The post Surging rents and immigration, the history appeared first on MacroBusiness.

Consumer groups are not convinced that new rules requiring energy retailers to make "better offers" more visible will make bills any less confusing.

Australia’s draconian social media ban for under-16s has won praise from European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at the United Nations, who labelled it “plain common sense”. Australia held an overnight event on the fringes of the UN General Assembly in New York to explain the rationale for the ban and build global support

The post Commissar Albo takes eKaren global appeared first on MacroBusiness.

BMI—A Fitch Solutions Company—has published an analysis of the federal budget, which forecasts that Australia’s budget balance will fall into deficit in FY2025 (July to June) as “the government increases spending in response to the persistent cost-of-living crisis”. BMI forecasts a deficit of 1.0% and 0.5% in FY2025 and FY2026, respectively. “For FY2025, we forecast

South Australia is regarded as the nation’s leader in renewable energy, with the highest penetration of wind and solar generation in the country. South Australia closed its last coal-fired power plant in 2016 and now generates more than three-quarters of its electricity from wind and solar. However, the shutdown of its baseload coal power plants

The post Energy reality smacks South Australia in the face appeared first on MacroBusiness.

Forrest announces deals with BYD, Longi and Envision to advance his plans to reach "real zero" at his giant Pilbara iron ore operations by the end of the decade.

It is essential to understand Australia’s immigration policy within its historical context. During the first 60 years following World War II, Australia’s net overseas migration (NOM) averaged 90,000 per year, with only two years exceeding 150,000. In the 15 years of ‘Big Australia’ immigration preceding the pandemic, NOM averaged 220,000 per year, a 145% increase

The Clean Energy Council says online mis- and dis-information campaigns are behind rising hostility and intimidation of landowners who host renewables.

The Ukrainian crisis was orchestrated by the West as a war on Russia, waged by Kiev, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

The top diplomat made the remarks on Thursday during a G20 ministerial meeting held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.