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Articles from MacroBusiness

Tech wreck 2.0 just getting started?

February 18, 2026 - 10:30 -- Admin

Charts from TME. NDX is flirting with serious support levels while tech volatility trends higher.. Sag 7 in trouble. It’s pretty clear the market wants less capex spending. Apple is showing the way. Concentration is falling. NDX skew is nasty. Lot’s of bears here. Diffusion is extraordinary as the market gyrates wildly through winners and

Property investing in Australia: costs beyond the deposit

February 18, 2026 - 10:00 -- Admin

There’s no escaping the fact that buying a property in Australia will naturally entail high costs. This is especially true in populated regions near major cities like Sydney and Melbourne—places where demand for housing is steadily and sharply rising well beyond the $1 million barrier. The good news is that prospective homeowners don’t have to

Why Aussie electricity bills will continue to rise

February 18, 2026 - 10:00 -- Admin

The Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) July 2023 Transmission Cost Report, which was released alongside updates to the 2022 Integrated System Plan (ISP), stated that estimated costs for some major transmission projects had increased by up to 100% compared with 2022 ISP estimates. AEMO also said that “we recognise that higher costs for network development

Trump risks opening door to Chinese cars

February 18, 2026 - 08:00 -- Admin

Over the decades of America’s post-war history, few sectors have been as strongly protected as car manufacturers, with everything from bailouts to favourable regulations helping them survive in an increasingly competitive automotive landscape. Over the years, a well-trodden path for manufacturers seeking access to the American market with minimal to no trade barriers has been

Baby boomer spending helps drive up inflation

February 18, 2026 - 00:01 -- Admin

The media release accompanying the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) recent interest rate decision noted that “growth in private demand has strengthened substantially more than expected, driven by both household spending and investment”. The RBA’s Statement of Monetary Policy (SoMP) also noted that “the pick-up in consumer durables inflation was stronger than expected in the

One Nation is pro-immigration

February 17, 2026 - 13:30 -- Admin

There is an immigration cult in Canberra. It has nothing to do with national interest and everything to do with self-interest. Because population growth adds to GDP, pollies don’t need to pursue reform to drive growth. And it lifts their property portfolios. Too easy! They can just lie that the economy is growing for you,

New Zealand’s housing crash restores affordability

February 17, 2026 - 13:00 -- Admin

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has reduced the official cash rate (OCR) by 3.25% since mid-2024, which has driven a sharp decline in mortgage rates to around pre-pandemic levels and a significant improvement in mortgage affordability: Normally, such a sharp reduction in mortgage rates would deliver a strong rebound in home values. However, no

It’s per capita emissions that matter

February 17, 2026 - 12:30 -- Admin

My friend and colleague, LVO,  has done an excellent job of outlining how China and India have been commissioning large amounts of coal power. What he has not done, however, is examine the underpinnings of multilateral agreements to cut emissions over time. International agreements on carbon emissions acknowledge the historical right of poorer countries to

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