The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has cut the official cash rate (OCR) by 2.50% from its July 2024 peak of 5.50%: The decline in the OCR has delivered a sharp reduction in mortgage rates: Typically, such a significant reduction in mortgage rates would be associated with a sharp appreciation of home values, given improved
Last week, the Business Council of Australia (BCA) warned of the potential economic consequences of the Victorian government’s proposal to introduce a legislated right to work from home for at least two days a week. The BCA has used its submission to an inquiry into the proposal to contend that employers are likely to respond
In the years since China began its meteoric rise to become the world’s unrivalled manufacturing hyperpower, Beijing has increasingly used trade as a tool to exert pressure on companies or governments. By weaponising Chinese demand for everything from overseas holidays to agricultural produce, Beijing has been able to extract concessions from nations reliant on China
With the release of the latest ABS Building Approvals data for August, it was revealed that dwelling approvals had fallen by 6.0% on a month-on-month basis but were still up 3.0% year-on-year. However, looking at a chart of trend approvals shows they had rolled over recently. This provides a concerning sign that there may not
Michael Read at The AFR posted the following chart showing that tax receipts as a share of GDP hit their highest level in 38 years at 25.9% of GDP. The rise in tax receipts have been driven by personal and corporate tax receipts, which has more than offset by declines in tobacco and fuel excise
Upon the arrival of the pandemic in Australia in early 2020, the consumer confidence of the nation’s households experienced a sharp decline and has remained turbulent. By mid-2021, consumer confidence within ANZ-Roy Morgan index had returned to pre-Covid levels. Then, with the 2021 round of lockdowns and pandemic-driven restrictions, it began to tumble again. While
I reported this week on Jobs & Skills Australia’s (JSA) latest study on the international education sector, which admitted that the primary motivation for international students to choose Australia is to obtain work rights and permanent residency. Nearly 70% of international higher education students reported migration as a key factor in their decision to study
The BHP dispute is capturing the headlines, but it’s the steel glut that is driving ferrous market pricing. Even after another accident at Simandou yesterday, costing three lives, the market could not find a bid. The problem is that there is far too much steel, so prices keep falling. This is the perverse fruit of
The Market Ear on a bull gone mad. Most shorted mania Most shorted needs a bigger chart soon. Note that we are in overbought territory, but RSI is actually slightly lower than what we saw during the latter part of September. Source: LSEG Workspace MOVE chilling Bond volatility remains “depressed”. Noteworthy is that VIX has
This week, we received data on dwelling approvals from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which showed that the Albanese government’s target of building 1.2 million homes over five years (i.e., 240,000 dwellings a year) is falling badly behind. In the first 14 months of the National Housing Accord, 218,306 dwellings were approved, 61,694 (22%)