Proponents of high levels of immigration typically argue that it lifts productivity and living standards because migrants tend to be better educated and more highly skilled than the average Australian. They generally cite spurious modelling to support their claims, ignoring the actual empirical evidence showing that Australia’s labour productivity and per capita GDP growth slowed
The world is falling apart, but the jaws are back. According to scuttlebutt, the proximate causes are: China’s state-run iron ore buyer told several traders this week to buy fewer seaborne cargoes of BHP’s flagship products, including Mac fines and Newman fines, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, as a months-long contract dispute
Goldman reckons oil is going higher. The analysis highlights rapidly rising upside risks to oil prices from a severe disruption to oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. The base case forecast previously assumed Brent crude in the low $80s in March and the high $70s in the second quarter, based on the expectation that
The global gas shock is building and is going much higher this week unless the TACO comes. If the TACO doesn’t arrive, the gas price will skyrocket by the following week. But so far, the reaction at home has been completely different from the reaction to the Ukraine War. The local gas spot price is
Since the latest round of conflict in the Middle East kicked off on the 28th of February, the cost of a barrel of oil (WTI) has risen by $23.98 compared with the final close of markets prior to the war, representing a rise in oil prices of 35.6%. Taking a longer view, the current level
President Donald J. Trump oversees Operation Epic Fury at Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, FL, Feb. 28, 2026. (White House photo by Daniel Torok) We have become spectators in the demolition of an era. We are now, more than ever, bit players in what is unfolding, so we are detached. We can’t take our eyes off the
International Reading: Susie Wiles at center of ‘screaming’ panic inside Trump’s White House as Iran war sends gas soaring – Daily Mail Documents Reveal a Web of Financial Ties Between Trump Officials and the Industries They Help Regulate – Pro Publica Democrats Are Very Skeptical About Funding For Trump’s Iran War – Huff Post A
New Zealand is slowly recovering from its sharpest economic downturn since the Global Financial Crisis. As illustrated below by Justin Fabo from Antipodean Macro, real GDP and income per capita have fallen sharply from their recent peak: New Zealand’s decline in real GDP per capita is among the sharpest in the advanced world: New Zealand’s
Wednesday’s national accounts release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that government spending continued to be a key driver of GDP growth in 2025, continuing the strong growth experienced since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic: The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a key driver of the growth in public spending, alongside
Charts from TME. So far, oil is manageable. But oil volatility is through the roof. Europe does not like it. Investor enthusiasm for Europe could worsen. Ouch. EM bust. ROW equity stress is intense. Goldman reckons that, although many investors saw the news as somewhat misleading, markets recovered yesterday thanks to headlines indicating progress in