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
The gas goons are on the run. Reuters. At a conference in Sydney, Australian executives of Shell (SHEL.L), opens new tab , ExxonMobil and Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab pushed back on the coalition’s proposal, arguing more government intervention would hamper the development of gas supply. These people are like a broken record. They will do as they are
Last year, an Instagram video of a migration agent instructing rejected student visa holders how to appeal their decisions to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) went viral. The video was deleted after a public backlash, but not before I transcribed its contents. Below is what the migration agent said via video: “What I have heard
The jaws are back as steel falls while iron ore rises. MySteel sparked the rally. “A further increase in the hot metal output at Chinese steelmakers lent some support to the prices of imported iron ore last week,” said Chinese consultancy Mysteel. Hot metal production in March continued to increase by 10,200 tons to 2.3728
The Q4 2024 national accounts from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that Australian households remained trapped in recession. As illustrated by the blue bars below, real per capita household consumption declined for an eighth consecutive quarter in Q4. The decline in per capita household consumption followed an even steeper decline in incomes. As
The Australian Made Campaign has welcomed additional funding of $20 million in last week’s federal budget. Amongst other things, this funding will allow the organisation to launch a new campaign to encourage more Australians to buy locally made products, and assist more local manufacturers and producers to obtain Australian Made certification. “This level of support
Volatility was relatively low on risk markets overnight as traders await the real April Fool’s Day as the Trump Regime’s “Worldwide Shoot Ourselves in the Feet” tariff deadline draws near. Wall Street filled some short positions and rebounded alongside European stocks but it was relatively modest while the USD held against Euro, Yen and Pound
DXY is holding on as Liberation Day passes. AUD firmed. Lead boots are heavier. Oil and gold stalled. Base metals are pointing at a hard landing. Big miners, big bears, plod on. EM meh. Junk funk not funky enough. But bonds bid. Aiding stocks, which rose moderately. US JOLTS were Goldilocks without showing much harm
Regardless of which party wins the upcoming federal election, a match will be lit under Australian house prices. Labor Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced in February that Australia’s financial regulators will be required to loosen home lending rules for millions of Australians with student loans. The changes will mean that a borrower’s student debts will be
Asian stock markets are doing somewhat better in response to the late rebound on Wall Street overnight but a big air of caution remains as the new month gets underway and the world awaits the onslaught of the new tariffs from the Trump regime tomorrow on April 2nd. The USD is pushing back against most
As was widely expected, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) chose to keep the official cash rate on hold at 4.10% at Tuesday’s monetary policy meeting. However, the decision could be considered a dovish hold and suggests that the RBA has laid the groundwork for a rate cut at the next meeting in mid-May, pending
Electric vehicles have been heavily subsidised in Australia. A recent analysis by the Institute of Public Accountants estimated that the federal budget has lost approximately $564 million annually in tax revenue due to the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) exemption for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). More than 100,000 novated leases for
The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) launched a campaign on Monday, calling on Labor and the Coalition to lower the company tax rate from 25% to 20% for the 2.6 million businesses with an annual turnover of less than $20 million. Research undertaken by Insightfully for COSBOA found that 69% of voters support
Not that he didn’t hit it earlier, but he is still giving it a pounding. Albert Edwards of SociĂ©tĂ© GĂ©nĂ©rale. The equity market is at a critical level. So too is the wealthier US consumer! Before we kick off, I wanted to highlight what was, from my perspective, the most surprising quote of the week.
Chinese PMIs are meh. Manufacturing is barely growing. Services likewise. All those government bonds are doing something, but it isn’t much. Why? Bloomberg. The property crisis that hobbled China’s economy and created a nearly $160 billion pile of distressed debt — the world’s largest — is getting worse. Signs of trouble are now popping
Via ABS. The February 2025 seasonally adjusted estimate: Rose 0.2% month-on-month. Rose 3.6% compared with February 2024. Is that a trend reversal developing from weak improvement to failing improvement? Barely running at the pace of inflation and adjusted for population growth going backwards in February.Â
CoreLogic’s March housing results show that rental values are at record highs, having increased a further 0.6% in March. Dwelling rents rose across every capital city in March, led by a 1.2% lift in Hobart, while Melbourne recorded the smallest monthly rent rise, up just 0.3%. The good news is that annual rental growth has
JPM kicks us off. Country-Level:Â we look at Australia, Japan, and the UK as being relative safety havens. China may work, too, given the potential to add fiscal stimulus but that is a lower conviction long. US Sector Level:Â Energy and Utilities (ex-AI plays) are the two best longs and look for Lower-Income Discretionary and higher beta
After his recent botching of the Chinese maritime missile tour of Australia’s major cities, Albo is again trumped by the appearance of another hostile Chinese vessel. The Australian. Defence has handed responsibility for the monitoring of a suspected Chinese spy ship to the Australian Border Force despite Anthony Albanese’s claim that the ADF is on
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) does not mince words. GPG plays a critical function in supporting the reliable and secure operation of the power system. When coal generation and/or renewable generation output is low, it is often the role of gas-powered facilities to increase output to firm available electricity supplies. Analysis from the 2024
The ferrous complex continues to struggle. At issue are steel output cuts. Beijing said it intends to curb steel production in the country due to overcapacity. While there is no official release yet, some steelmakers have voluntarily reduced production in anticipation of the formal announcement, therefore curbing demand for iron ore. Furthermore, worries over demand
Last week’s softer-than-expected monthly inflation gauge from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) was matched by the Melbourne Institute’s (MI) trimmed mean inflation gauge for March. As illustrated below by Justin Fabo from Antipodean Macro, the seasonally adjusted trimmed mean inflation fell to its lowest level since 2020 on a 3-month average basis. The following
As the April 2 deadline looms for the Fanta Fuhrer’s Tariff Tirade, Wall Street had to react to the weekend newsflow and did so with volatility plus, falling sharply before a late rebound while currency markets were more sanguine, waiting for actual results. The USD held against Euro and Pound Sterling while the Australian dollar
DXY was firm last night. AUD was not. Lead boots are holding on. Gold parabola. Trump needs to shut up about Iran, or he’ll derail the Bessent Plan via oil. Another copper bubble goes “pop”. Big Miner’s big bear is still hungry. EM meh. Junk stressy but not enough. Every time it falls, stocks party,
In late 2021, the Labor Party released its Powering Australia Plan, which promised to reduce NEM wholesale electricity costs by $11 per MWh, from $62 to $51, by 2025. Labor claimed that its Powering Australia Plan would save Australians $275 on their residential power bills by 2025 and an additional $103 by 2030. On dozens of
A sea of red across Asian stock markets in response to the poor finish to the trading week on Friday night on Wall Street with Japanese bourses falling sharply as exporters worry about the next round of Trump tariffs. The USD is losing ground against most of the major currency pairs although the appreciation in
