The Q1 national accounts from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) were released on Wednesday, which revealed that per capita GDP fell back into negative territory following a brief respite in Q4 2024. Real per capita GDP declined by 0.2% in Q1. This represented the ninth quarterly decline in the past 11 quarters, with per
Its still all about the art of the deal as the Trump regime struggles to find anyone wanting to come to the table with more tit for tat accusations between China still not yet upsetting risk markets. Currencies are in a holding pattern, digesting a lot of macro events and geopolitics with tonight’s Canadian central
There goes the hope for curing all of the East Coast’s energy problems. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has praised Western Australia’s domestic gas reservation scheme and says his government already has the power to force producers to sell to the local market on the east coast. …Albanese on Tuesday sought to distance any arrangement Labor
On Tuesday, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) decided to lift the national minimum wage and award wages by 3.5% from 1 July this year. The key justification given for the decision was to provide some real wage catch-up. Business groups met the decision with their usual backlash, claiming that higher minimum and award wages would
Today’s Q1 national accounts from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed that Australians lurched back into recession, with per capita GDP growth declining by 0.2% over the quarter: Per capita GDP has declined in nine of the last 11 quarters, down a total of 1.7% over that period. The overall economy also grew by
The Market Ear on the hated rally. …to start talking about all time highs? NASDAQ trading right on those huge levels. Source: LSEG Workspace Stopped in “Net leverage for the full PB book rose more than +8 pts in May, the largest monthly increase on our record, driven by large global net buying and mark-to-market“.
NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman has accused Premier Chris Minns of blaming federal tobacco taxes for the fact that the illegal tobacco trade in the state is “out of control”. Minns has suggested that cutting tobacco taxes would lead to a reduction in black market tobacco activity, leaving NSW Police with more resources to combat
It’s goodbye, Chinese steel prices. No good news. Despite the tariff reduction after the US-China trade talks in Geneva, the headline Caixin manufacturing PMI fell notably to 48.3 in May from 50.4 in April, contrary to market expectations of an uptick. Among the major sub-indexes, the output sub-index decreased the most, followed by the new
Australia recorded a tiny 0.05% rise in carbon emissions in 2024, which has the usual suspects whining. As reported by the Guardian: Emissions last year were estimated to be 446.4m tonnes of carbon dioxide, 0.2m tonnes higher than in 2023. The increase is largely due to pollution from electricity generation rising by 2.2%, reversing a
Victoria’s finances are in a dire state. Victoria’s net debt was only $22.3 billion when the Labor government presented its first state budget in 2015. It has now risen to $155.5 billion and is expected to reach $194 billion by 2028-29, according to budget projections. Victorian net debt per capita was under $3,600 in Labor’s