Independent economist Chris Richardson published the following chart on Twitter (X) showing that Australia has experienced one of the poorest increases in living standards over the past decade among advanced OECD nations. “The good news is that Australia’s average has improved since my last update”, Richardson wrote. “The bad news is we still have a
By Lucinda Jerogin, Associate Economist at CBA It was a relatively quiet week locally. Consumer sentiment lifted to a 3½ year high, providing further evidence the household consumption recovery is gaining momentum. The Economic Reform Roundtable was held in Canberra from Tuesday to Thursday. Offshore, geopolitical events dominated headlines. Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks tookcentre stage, but no
I was forced to work with a workplace psychopath for a decade or so. Most of the time, it had little effect, because my day-to-day work was something he knew little about and I was largely left to my own devices. However, there were a few times when we interacted. We edited a book some years ago, and as I was an experienced editor, I did most of the work compiling the volume. He wrote the two page foreword.
The latest Westpac consumer sentiment survey showed that Australians have become bullish on house prices. House price expectations hit a cyclical high, whereas the ‘time to buy a dwelling’ sub-index also shot higher. The improving sentiment has also been reflected in the auction market, where the national clearance rate has climbed to its highest level
Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, who is seeking a pardon from Donald Trump, told top Justice Department officials during an interview last month that she never witnessed the president “in any inappropriate setting” with girls introduced to him by disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The German economy is experiencing a “structural crisis” rather than just temporary “weakness,” Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said, admitting that steering the country’s economy back on track has proven harder than he had anticipated.
France has summoned Italy’s ambassador following “unacceptable”remarks made by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini about President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to send troops from EU members to Ukraine, French media has reported, citing a diplomatic source.
Salvini suggested on Wednesday that the French leader should go himself.
I have entered the age of incomprehension
Possibly because of the infernal confusion
Up there in my old lofty pigeon
Due to a blow from a truncheon
Not even wearing an hearing aid
Would sort this inner devil afraid
Did she say a bunch of arseholes
Or announced the next batch of households
Should I say I am too old for this piss
As Donald trumpets talks of peace
This is no longer about partisan politics, wag-the-dog distractions from the Epstein debacle, or even genuine national security concerns.
This is martial law disguised as law-and-order—the oldest trick in the authoritarian playbook.
We have been traveling this slippery slope toward a police state for some time, but under Trump 2.0, the descent towards outright tyranny is accelerating.