charts from TME. Both skew and volatility are suggesting bearish pressure on stocks. Skew is especially bearish. Yet we refuse to fall. It’s the same for NDX. CDX, which is an index of credit default swaps, is also showing plenty of pressure. This is not bearish. Bond volatility is likewise beginning to MOVE, another bearish
A recent review of freedom of information (FOI) requests called into doubt the Albanese government’s commitment to transparency. The Centre for Public Integrity, an independent research agency, reported that 24% of FOI requests were denied during Labor’s first term in office. In comparison, the proportion of applications refused ranged from 10% to 18% over the
Yesterday’s job ads data made for confused reading for the RBA. Job ads are rebounding strongly. After a robust 5.2% m/m increase in January, Indeed Australian Job Ads increased 3.2% m/m in February. The series has reached its greatest level since October 2024, with monthly gains since then. This increase in Job Ads occurs at
The recent housing finance data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed that over the December quarter of 2025, $19.310 billion in mortgages was lent to first-home buyers. This was an increase of 16% over the prior quarter and the highest value since the first quarter of 2021: The average size of first-home buyer
Perhaps the worst publication in Australia (and that’s saying something), Crikey, today lauds the arrival of Canadian PM Mark Carney. “Prime Minister Carney’s visit is an opportunity to further strengthen cooperation on investment, economic security and critical minerals, defence, and links between our institutions and communities,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said last month. Carney’s visit comes
Ross Elliott of The Pulse wrote an outstanding article about the administrative bloat that has enveloped Australia’s planning industry. Elliott notes that lawyers he has spoken with told him “they didn’t really know how many [planning-related] pages of rules and regulations were now in force—just that it would be so many as to be impossible
DXY is rising faster than an Iranian SAM. And why not. The Iran war is bad for all energy importers, including Europe, Japan, and China. It is good for US shale. AUD held up, but for how long? Oil and gold to the moon. AI metals not so much. Mining parabolas intact. EM not so
Apparently, it takes at least two debilitating energy wars to convince the Albanese government to do something about the East Coast gas export cartel. Perhaps the number is infinite. Let us recall that MB contacted the incoming Albanese government in its first week in office and told it straight up that if it did not
Since U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran kicked off on Saturday, the focus of the world has once again turned to the Middle East, as concerns continue to build over how this chapter of the region’s history will draw to a close. While there is a great deal of uncertainty about the road ahead for
Over the COVID-19 pandemic and the years immediately following, there was a strong migration from Victoria to Queensland. According to the most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) population figures, Victoria had experienced two consecutive quarters of net inward migration from other states—the first inflows since the pandemic began. While the net inflow was small—only