A poor trading session across stock markets in Asia to finish the trading week in the red, despite a late bounce on Wall Street overnight. The continued strength of the USD due to the fallout of the recent US hot CPI print is still being felt via spikes in bond yields across the world. The
The latest insolvency data from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) shows that 522 businesses in the retail sector have gone into administration so far in 2023-24, compared with just 197 during the same period in 2021-22: The insolvencies have come amid stiff financial headwinds afflicting consumers, including soaring mortgage and rent payments and
By Ross Elliott from The Pulse: In 2005, a UK policy group “The Policy Exchange” published “Bigger, Better, Faster, More: Why Some Countries Plan Better than Others” It surveyed four countries with similar demand side pressures to the UK, to explore what was being done well, and what wasn’t. Australia was one of them. “Britain’s
The latest temporary visa data from the Department of Home Affairs shows that there were a record 713,144 international students in Australia at the end of February 2024: According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), higher education providers earned $14.5 billion in tuition fees from international students in 2022-23. Despite the boom, universities are
A storm of criticism no less: Jim Chalmers’ hand-picked chair of the Productivity Commission has warned Labor’s Future Made in Australia plan would divert investment from more productive parts of the economy and lead to higher-than-necessary costs for taxpayers. Danielle Wood – the former Grattan Institute chief executive who the Treasurer tasked with shifting the
The December quarter national accounts from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that real per capita household consumption declined by 2.5% in 2023, which was the weakest result outside the pandemic since the Global Financial Crisis in 2008: The February Household Spending Indicator (HSI) from the ABS revealed that, in nominal terms, household spending
The latest population data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that Melbourne’s population soared by 1.7 million people (49%) between 2001 and 2023, driven by net overseas migration. Official forecasts from the Victorian government project that Melbourne’s population will swell to 9.0 million people by 2056: If this projection came to fruition, Melbourne’s
Think Tank CEO Ed Cavanough believes the Greens will hold the balance of power in the next federal parliament because of its strong advocacy for renters: “Right now there’s a gaping emotional void in the housing debate that only the Greens are filling”, Cavanough wrote in The AFR. “They have become the only party effectively
The AFR’s Michael Read reported that Australian insurers lost more than $650 million on home insurance policies over the past four years despite soaring premiums. As illustrated in the next chart, insurance premiums soared by 16.2% last year—the fastest rate of growth since HIH Insurance collapsed in 2000: The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) explained
Shanghai rebar futures were flat yesterday and are going nowhere fast. SGX popped a litte: Dalian iron ore appears to be rolling over steadily after another rally yesterday was greeted with more overnight selling: The FE rally needs a new spur. It is unlikely to come from the economy. Sagging inflation tells the tale. Goldman: