Australians who have been critical of AUKUS have tended to focus on Australian problems with it – it’s too dear, we have neither a nuclear industry nor a nuclear workforce, etc.
But very recent events and reported remarks by US Defence official Elbridge Colby show how much of a problem it — or at least the nuclear submarine aspect of it — is for the US.
Pope Leo XIV said the Israeli military’s deadly attack on Gaza’s sole Catholic Church was “just one of the continuous military attacks against the civilian population and places of worship” in the Palestinian enclave.
As shown by the following chart from Justin Fabo from Antipodean Macro, Australia’s recent productivity growth has been among the worst in the advanced world. Australia’s labour productivity (GDP per hour worked) has experienced virtually zero growth since 2016. Reasons for the productivity decline: I attribute Australia’s poor productivity performance to four main factors. 1)
They lie… We lie and all is well…
…. We justify our existence with unbelievable beliefs… The main question is “are we the only species trying to make sense (nonsense) about what we are?”
“Are we the only species that can imagine the future beyond our next meal because of hunger or beyond the next session of nit-picking because we itch?”
Asian share markets are quite mixed in the first trading session of the week as concerns over the Trump regimes bullying of the EU in its “negotiations” over the looming August 1st trade deal are spilling over. The USD is losing ground against all the major currency pairs as a result with Yen also gapping
The post Macro Afternoon appeared first on MacroBusiness.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand released CPI inflation data today, which showed that New Zealand inflation lifted further in Q2 to 2.7%. Major bank ASB noted that while the result wasn’t a surprise, “it is an unwelcome development after NZ endured years of high interest rates to tame rampant inflation”. “The last thing New
The state of Victoria’s financial woes is well documented. In 2023-24, the state had the nation’s largest per capita net debt and the lowest credit rating (AA). Per capita state debt was only $3,600 in Labor’s first budget in 2015. It has since climbed to $21,900 and is projected over the budget forward estimates to
The post Welcome to Victoria: the insolvency state appeared first on MacroBusiness.
Last week, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released monthly data on permanent and long-term arrivals, which suggested that net overseas migration (NOM) may have surged back over the first half of 2025. The 245,900 net arrivals recorded over the first five months of 2025 were the highest on record, surpassing last year’s record of
Iieeeeuuuuuu… Why use an AI when you have the Aussie PM on his knees? The CCP propaganda arm, The Global Times, is cock-a-whoop. Two issues are particularly noteworthy during Albanese’s visit to China, as they have sent a message to the world that Australia is re-balancing its international relationships to assert its core national interests,
The bubble is back. The Market Ear. Basically buying UBS sees CTAs doubling their equity exposure, adding $60-70bln over the next 2 weeks. They are basically buyers in all scenarios, unless SPX turns below 6k. Source: UBS Retail buying UBS on retail buying (proxied by ETF action): 1. Retail investors sold US stocks from mid-April
The post The bubble inflates appeared first on MacroBusiness.
Having to deal with recent monumentally stupid management decisions in the organisation where I used to work and, until a few months ago, at which I used to volunteer, made me think about some of the stupidity I encountered from management in the past. One of these happened nearly three decades ago. Because of my particular palaeontological expertise, I was asked to be involved in a project with the Northern Territory Geological Survey (NTGS). They were about to begin remapping several 1:250,000 geological map sheets in the Georgina Basin.