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Oz Blog News Commentary

Movie matinee

December 14, 2025 - 16:53 -- Admin

We have just been to a movie matinee put on by some friends of ours. The movie was Frank Capra’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’1, which I haven’t seen for a few decades. While the movie was made in 1946, it has many resonances with the modern world. 

It is set in small-town America (of course), and the brief blurb on the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB) encapsulates it as follows: “An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman see the value of his own life”1.

Sydney’s housing market stalls as affordability bites

December 14, 2025 - 10:44 -- Admin

Cotality’s preliminary auction results show that buyer demand continues to wilt in Sydney, where the preliminary clearance rate has fallen to a 12-month low of just 58.1%. “While the reduction in volume is following the typical seasonal pattern, the gradual easing in auction clearance rates, which has been evident since mid-September, has more to do

The economic week ahead

December 14, 2025 - 09:47 -- Admin

By Lucinda Jerogin, Associate Economist at CBA The RBA left the cash rate on hold in a unanimous decision that was widely expected. The Statement took a step in the hawkish direction, but it was the Governor’s post meeting press conference that cemented the end of the easing cycle and warned of potential hikes. The

Zeroing in on zero

December 13, 2025 - 17:01 -- Admin

The current US Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr) was involved in litigation against Merck over its Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, Gardasil, alleging marketing fraud and undisclosed side effects, and stood to earn significant referral fees from the lawsuit, which raised ethics concerns as he was considered for his current government role.