Hi all, A quick note to offer guidance on the new website. As well as the layout changes that make it easier to access content for new readers, it comes with a dramatically improved sign-up and resubscription process, greatly enhanced speed, and a much better mobile experience (since 95% of traffic is now phone!). The
Former Treasurer Peter Costello has told an e61 Institute event in Sydney that the federal government should consider reintroducing the baby bonus. Costello’s 2002 budget introduced it, giving parents $3,000, but it was wound back about a decade ago. Australia’s fertility rate is now at a near-record low of 1.48 births per woman, with the
By Trent Saunders, Senior Economist at CBA The Q3 25 GDP figures pointed to an economy on a much more solid footing when compared to the last few years. GDP improved to be 2.1% higher over the year, up from a low of 0.8%/yr in Q3 24. The October Monthly Household Spending Indicator (MHSI) rose
Cotality’s September housing affordability report showed that Sydney’s housing market was easily the most expensive in the nation, with a dwelling price-to-income ratio of 10.0. The percentage of median household income needed to service a mortgage on the median-priced Sydney home was also tracking at a historically high 54.5% in the September quarter, making Sydney
International Reading: Trump Official Panics as Brutal Jobs Report Blames Trump’s Tariffs – New Republic Donald Trump Jr-backed start-up scores $600mn US federal government deal – FT Trump says national debt is ‘peanuts’ and his tariff income will pay everyone a $2,000 dividend too—but the math doesn’t add up – AZ Express Main Street reels
According to Cotality’s Pain & Gain Report for the September quarter, 94.8% of sellers across Australia achieved a record-high median profit of $315,000, up from $305,000 in the previous quarter. Since then, dwelling values posted two strong rises in October and November, increasing capital gains for holders of Australian property. The situation across the pond
In October, the nation’s housing market saw the strongest growth since June 2023. It also marked the strongest growth in credit to property investors in a decade on an annualised basis. October was also notable due to the introduction of the Albanese government’s significantly expanded 5% deposit scheme for first home buyers. Under the previous
Victoria has legislated a target to source 95% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2035. This is one of the most ambitious renewable energy targets in Australia and globally, designed to accelerate the state’s transition away from cheap brown coal and toward cleaner energy sources, such as wind, solar, and storage. The target is
Some WEF boffins are making no sense. Australia could double its iron export revenues to AUD250 billion ($162 billion) a year by shifting to low-emissions green iron. The country must accelerate two or more commercial-scale green iron ‘lighthouse’ projects by 2027 to secure first-mover advantage. A shift to green iron could help Australia cut up
In September, Frank Chung at News.com.au reported that “international students are overwhelming Australia’s asylum system with bogus refugee applications, as the country’s deportation backlog surges towards 100,000”. Abul Rizvi told Chung that “there’s an increasing number of student visa holders applying for asylum”, adding that there are likely to be around 50,000 migrants who have
The Market Ear on some growing crosscurrents for stocks. Trying The 10 year holding “stubbornly” around that big 4.1% level. A close slightly higher and things could get a bit squeezy. Note the negative trend line from May as well as the 50 day around these levels. Source: LSEG Workspace The Jaws gap Japanese vs.
The Coalition will shortly discuss the ‘principles’ on which its immigration policy will be based. However, there are differing opinions within the Coalition’s ranks on the issue, with some expressing concern about using the term “mass migration”. South Australian backbencher, Liberal senator Andrew McLachlan, has criticised Coalition colleagues who use the phrase, contending that linking
The 2025 iron ore bust was a bust. Long live the iron ore bust of 2026! The jaws are still a problem. More of a problem than I was thinking. Goldman. While the market remained tighter than we expected in Q1-Q3 due to resilient Chinese hot metal production, and improving China growth expectations alongside the
This week’s September quarter national accounts release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) was mixed. On the one hand, overall GDP growth was soft at 0.4% for the quarter and slightly negative in per capita terms. On the other hand, annual GDP growth accelerated to 2.1% through the year, in part owing to upward
Some academic claims we know what will be in Albo’s new gas reservation policy. While full details are yet to be announced, we know there will be three main elements: a mandatory reservation volume, a gas security incentive, and competitive domestic pricing. The mandatory reservation will require gas producers to reserve a portion of their
Wall Street had another slow session overnight with an unclear picture of the US labour market weighing on high expectations that the Fed will cut in next week’s FOMC meeting. Bond markets sold off while the USD was relatively steady after an initial drop on the jobless claims print with the Australian dollar holding just
The past five years have witnessed arguably the worst rental crisis in modern Australian history. According to Cotality, nationally advertised rents soared by 43.8% in the five years to Q3 2025. This meant that the typical tenant household seeking to rent the median advertised home would need to spend $10,600 more annually than they would
Risk markets here in Asia are pivoting more on BOJ rate hike speculation amid near certainty that the Fed’s upcoming December meeting next week will result in a cut, with tonight’s US initial jobless print in the balance given the very poor ADP private numbers recently. The Australian dollar is still building above the 66
Last week, I reported on The Australian Youth Barometer 2025, which painted a bleak picture of the financial challenges facing younger Australians. The report notes that 85% of young people report financial difficulties, while 18% face food insecurity. Housing affordability is a major concern, with only 30% believing they’ll be able to afford a comfortable
This seems to have passed the forex market by. Goldman. The PBOC’s Pledged Supplementary Lending (PSL) program resumed expansion in November by a net increase of RMB25.4bn, ending its contraction since March 2024. This implies that the central bank may have approved a full-year quota for 2025 (as it did in late 2023), although the
As late as the final months of October, the Sydney auction market was still riding high, with its 4-week moving average clearance rate still sitting significantly higher than the same time last year. But in the weeks since, it has fallen back to earth, now sitting just 1.6% higher than at the same point last
Wednesday’s Q3 national accounts release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported fairly modest real per capita household consumption growth of only 0.1% for the quarter and 1.0% annually. The national accounts also reported a lift in the household savings rate to 6.4%: Viewed in isolation, this data would have soothed RBA concerns that
In this week’s podcast, Nucleus Wealth’s Chief Investment Officer, Damien Klassen, examines the latest crypto price crash — assessing where digital assets now fit within an investment portfolio, what’s really driving the volatility, and whether Larry Fink’s push for a tokenisation boom offers any meaningful upside from here. Download Presentation Slides Here Take us
The Market Ear on Santa or bust. Well ahead Russell well ahead of NDX over the past 6 months. Source: LSEG Workspace Small cap tech as well Small cap tech beating NDX by a huge margin over the past 10 days. Source: LSEG Workspace That’s new Trannies leaving tech behind…Chart 2 shows the two since
Australia’s unemployment rate is currently at a historically low 4.3%, and the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) most recent Statement of Monetary Policy predicts that it will continue around this level until the end of 2027. The fundamental reason for Australia’s low unemployment rate is that government spending has resulted in a record increase in
The ferrous complex is stronger in the last week as steel inventory rundowns are finally boosting prices. At least keeping pace with iron ore. Vale is playing games. Brazilian mining company Vale has lowered its forecast for iron ore production in 2026 to 335-345 million tons, according to a company statement. The previous forecast was 340-360
