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Articles from MacroBusiness

Labor ignored regulator warnings about high LVR mortgages

October 8, 2025 - 10:30 -- Admin

The Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) has consistently flagged high loan-to-valuation ratio (LVR) mortgage lending as a risk area. For example, in December 2014, the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) released guidance stating that “ADIs should not undertake large volumes of, or increase their share of, higher-risk lending. This included lending at very high LVRs”:

Australia’s battered regions get a raw deal

October 8, 2025 - 10:00 -- Admin

In the popular imagination, Australia is often viewed as a sophisticated 21st-century economy, comparable to any number of advanced developed economies. Yet when one examines the balance of the nation’s exports, it’s largely about resources, as the chart below of quarterly export volumes from CBA illustrates. And this is assuming one takes the nation’s education

Snowy Hydro 2.0 is symptomatic of broader renewable problems

October 8, 2025 - 08:00 -- Admin

Former Prime Minister and architect of the Snowy Hydro 2.0 pumped hydro scheme, Malcolm Turnbull, has hit back at critics following a 900% blowout in the mega project’s costs. The government-owned Snowy Hydro confirmed on Friday that the project’s costs would easily exceed its $12 billion budget, which was already six times higher than the

Aussie house price expectations strongest in 15 years

October 8, 2025 - 00:05 -- Admin

Cotality’s daily dwelling values index shows that capital city value growth is tracking at around the fastest pace in two years. This follows a commensurate rise in auction clearance rates, which are also tracking at around a two-year high. Westpac’s latest consumer sentiment survey showed that house price expectations hit a fresh 15-year high in

Victoria’s worst criminals reoffend every 2.7 minutes

October 7, 2025 - 13:00 -- Admin

When the Crime Statistics Agency recently released Victoria’s crime statistics for 2024-25, it revealed that the state saw a record high number of criminal incidents, with over 483,000 incidents over the course of the financial year. But going through the numbers, one stat really jumped out at readers: Victoria Police reported that just 5,400 repeat

Aussie consumer hopium crashes back to earth

October 7, 2025 - 12:10 -- Admin

After a months-long rebound, Westpac’s monthly consumer sentiment index crashed back to a 6-month low in September as hopes of deep interest rate cuts faded. Westpac’s Head of Australian Macro-Forecasting, Matthew Hassan, explains the results below. Key Points: Westpac Consumer Sentiment Index declines 3.5% to 92.1 in October. Optimism about outlook for family finances fades.

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