The US share markets were mixed on Wednesday after data showed the US economy contracted in the March quarter for the first time in three years. The decrease underscored concerns about the impact of US tariffs and the global trade war on growth. The Dow Jones index rose by 142 points, or 0.4%, and the
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The latest US GDP print for Q1 came in worse than expected, sending Wall Street down 2% at one stage before the hopium set in as markets recovered towards the close on reports of a possible Canadian deal with the new PM. The USD was mixed against the majors with some return to strength against
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When I first heard that there was to be a shadow cabinet reshuffle from the leader of the Liberal Party, Peter Dutton, I was not particularly interested given that most of the shadow cabinet are inept or corrupt. However, when I heard that Gina Rinehart had said on January 22, 2025, that “if we are sensible, we should set up a DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency] immediately, reduce government waste, government [red] tape and regulations, I was unsurprised, being as she is a big Trump supporter, and even travelled to the US to kiss his ring at his inauguration1.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Q1 CPI release revealed that housing inflation is slowing rapidly, contributing to lower trimmed mean inflation. CPI rental inflation rose by 1.2% in Q1 but moderated to 5.5% growth annually. The annual rate of growth was down from the peak of 7.8% in Q1 2024. The following chart from
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Australia’s productivity growth has averaged just 0.2% a year over the last decade. Labor’s first budget in 2022 included the assumption that productivity growth would average 1.2% over the long-term. The Coalition contends that annual GDP would be about $250 billion higher if productivity had grown at this pace, while annual tax revenue would have
Some interesting local and Chinese reports were absorbed by markets in Asia today, with all eyes really on Friday’s US non farm payroll print and of course, any more waffles coming from the Oval Office about “deals” around Trump’s tariffs. The latest Chinese manufacturing PMI prints weren’t grim as expected but still so a sharp
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Elderly parent visas are Australia’s most costly and should be abolished. Around 8,500 permanent parent visas are issued every year. The 2023 Migration Review from the Australian Treasury estimated that each parent visa costs Australian taxpayers $393,000: The Treasury has estimated that each parent permanent migrant costs $393,000 over their remaining lifetime in Australia. Older