Australia’s economy has become overly reliant on public sector spending (not to mention high immigration) to grow the economy. Consider the following facts. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, around 60% of Australia’s job growth has come from the non-market (effectively government-funded) sector of public administration and safety, education, healthcare, and social assistance. Over the past
Bloomberg has the scoop. The Trump administration is reviewing options for exerting more influence over the Federal Reserve’s 12 regional banks, potentially extending its reach beyond personnel appointments in Washington. The administration’s goal is to scrutinize how regional presidents are vetted and chosen, as they are not Senate-confirmed, and the Board of Governors is next
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released private capital expenditure (capex) data for Q2 2025, which remained incredibly soft. The seasonally adjusted estimate for total new capital expenditure rose by 0.2% in Q2. after the previous quarter’s contraction. The trend estimate for total new capital expenditure fell by 0.1%. The following table from Alex Joiner
The National Housing Accord is an Australian government initiative aimed at addressing housing supply and affordability by committing to building 1.2 million new homes over five years, starting from 1 July 2024. This target requires the construction of 240,000 homes annually, a level of construction that has never been achieved before in Australia. The greatest
Throughout her time as Australia’s Home Affairs Minister, Clare O’Neil boasted that Australia was in a “race for global talent” with other advanced nations, like Canada. O’Neil argued that immigration had been the “special sauce in our national story” and advocated for more. She stated that Australia needed to transition “away from a system which
The ferrous complex is kidding itself, its usual state of being. Trading right now is suspicious. During the day, prices fall due to market dynamics. At night, they spike in an illiquid market. Somebody is playing silly buggers. The mushrooming gap between steel and iron ore is going to close one way or another. That
The Market Ear explores. Déjà Vu? VIX specs are crowding into extreme short territory just as seasonality turns bullish for volatility. The last two times this happened, SPX corrected hard… Buy protection when you can Looks like the crowd is doing the total opposite… VIX net non commercials have crashed, and in very short territory.
In the years since the final benefits of the mining boom were felt throughout the economy, the relative size of the government’s role as a driver of economic growth has grown to unprecedented post-war heights. It is here that an important distinction needs to be made. The overall size of government spending as a proportion
Two things are happening today that show just how broken Australia is. First, the economic recovery has been underway since the RBA rate easing cycle was dealt a nasty blow by the gas cartel as electricity prices skyrocketed. This helped spike inflation far higher than the market expected. Although the broader monthly index was more
Risk markets were dominated by currency volatility and Treasury sales overnight with the impact of the Trump regime’s fiddling with the Fed (not kids this time) starting to have an impact. Although the USD finished flat against the majors its moving lower against the commodity currencies particularly Loonie and the Aussie while the Treasury yield