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 tax question that doesnât matter Generation X is entering what is likely the most important financial decade of their lives. Many Gen X investors now have: Meaningful superannuation balances Investments outside super Peak earning power Less than 15 years until retirement Poor asset allocation Insufficient portfolio growth Inflation eroding purchasing power Living longer than expected
Most Millennials are asking the wrong question Millennials have spent much of the past decade navigating housing affordability, rising interest rates, higher living costs and shifting tax policy. Laborâs latest reforms add another layer of uncertainty, particularly around capital gains. The obvious question many investors are asking is: Will I pay more tax? It is
International Reading: Donald Trump set to unleash new ‘sweeping’ tariffs on 60 countries within hours – The Mirror Trump raises tariffs on 60 countries for forced labor but the Federal Minimum Wage hasnât changed since July 2009 – Washington Post âStarvation Wagesâ at Giant US Corporations Force Workers to Seek Taxpayer-Funded Aid | âNo one
The federal budget’s abolition of negative gearing and changes to capital gains tax (CGT) have stymied investor demand for residential property and sent the market into a broad-based correction. The property industry is clearly upset, with backlash still running strong 10 weeks after the budget changes were delivered. A survey of 265 industry professionals by
It’s time. Louise Crawford â convener of the highly influential Labor Environment Action Network (LEAN) â moved an amendment to ensure the Albanese governmentâs tax policies remove disincentives for orderly decarbonisation. âLabor will ensure that all policies, including taxation, work together to provide appropriate incentives and remove disincentives for orderly decarbonisation,â the amendment, passed unopposed
The taxation arrangements around electric vehicles (EVs) are a reverse Robin Hood arrangement that extracts taxes from ordinary Australians to distribute to the rich. A case in point is the EV fringe benefits tax (FBT) exemption, which was introduced in 2022 to make EVs more affordable for employees through salary packaging and novated leases. Treasury
It is a peculiarity of the Australian labour market that when under pressure, it tends to reduce hours rather than headcount. This is very different to the US, which slashes and burns, and is more like Europe, where unions and employers agree to reduce hours. In Germany in particular, this phenomenon is called Kurzarbeit. Having
This week’s housing market data from Cotality showed that buyer demand continues to fade, sending prices lower across the major capital cities. In the week ended 24 July, home values declined across all major capital city markets, including Perth, with the 5-city aggregate index falling by 0.2%. Over the first 24 days of July, values
DXY is on the verge of a safe-haven breakout. AUD is breaking down. JPY is hreaded for the seventh level of hell. The twins of good and evil are back. Don’t buy gold yet. It will get flushed if we get a VaR crash. Base metals were hit. I can’t see why big miners shouldn’t
In October 2025, housing minister Clare O’Neil proclaimed on Twitter (X) that “for the first time in a decade, new homes are being built faster”, that “the only way to make homes more affordable is to build more of them”, and “we’re doing exactly that”: However, the latest dwelling completions data from the Australian Bureau
TME with the charts. With the apparent end of the Trump TACO, which would already have been triggered by now under normal circumstances, equities face a new, starker reality: going long into an unprecedented oil shock and recession. Pressure Is Building The technical backdrop continues to deteriorate. While major indices have yet to break decisively
Israel is laughing all the way to the White House, which it pwns. Houthis intensify: After attacking two Saudi oil tankers and extending their blockade of Saudi shipping. Houthi sources also say Aramco oil facilities could become a future target if the blockade on Yemen is not lifted. Trump intensifies threats of a “massive attack”:
When the war in the Persian Gulf began back in February, it triggered a series of events that would be felt for decades to come, not only in the world of geopolitics but also in the balance of global energy consumption and manufacturing. By cutting off much of the supply of oil, gas, fertiliser and
Thursday’s labour force release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported a national unemployment rate of 4.4% in June, unchanged from May. The picture was far worse in Victoria, however, where the unemployment rate jumped by 0.2% to 5.1% in June, the highest in the nation and the state’s highest reading since October 2021
The Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) three interest rate hikes this year have pushed Australian mortgage rates to near record-high levels globally. As a result, mortgage stress has risen to its equal highest level since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), according to Roy Morgan Research. In the three months to June, Roy Morgan estimates that
Deutsche wraps us up. Strong El Niño Forecast: 81% probability of “very strong” event (â„1.5°C) by Q4 2026, ranking among most severe in modern history (US CPC), triggering multi-dimensional supply shocks. El Niño Supply Shock Impact: Directly elevates inflation via food/energy price spikes (food = ~1/3 consumer spending in EMs), exacerbating supply-chain stresses and risking
In this weekâs podcast, Nucleus Wealthâs Chief Investment Officer, Damien Klassen, examines why falling Australian property prices still aren’t translating into better housing affordability. We unpack the forces keeping home ownership out of reach for many Australians, why lower prices alone aren’t enough, and what this disconnect means for buyers, policymakers, and investors. Download presentation
Despite most leading indicators pointing to rising unemployment, today’s June labour force report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed no change in the nation’s unemployment rate, which remained at 4.4%. The internals were also strong. As illustrated below, the total number of people employed jumped by 76,300 (29,300 full-time), and the unemployment rate
The story never changes. When you see tearaway growth, a bubble, and super profits, it is always the same cause: debt. Hidden debt at U.S. tech giants swelled eightfold in roughly four years to an estimated $1.65 trillion as artificial intelligence investments ballooned, a Nikkei study shows, exceeding actual debt and making it tougher for
SA is what happens when you let gas robber barons wreck your energy transition. SA has excellent renewable assets, but, as with all renewables, they are intermittent, so you need a reliable source of backup power to make the system work efficiently. For SA, that is gas; and, ironically, it was Santos, the great South
Later this morning, we will receive the June labour force accounts from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which will be a key input into the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) decision-making matrix ahead of next month’s monetary policy meeting. With trimmed mean inflation remaining stubbornly high and the global oil price ticking higher amid
South Australia offers a glimpse into the energy future facing Australia. South Australia is the Australian mainland’s leader in renewable energy, with the highest penetration of wind and solar generation in the country. South Australia closed its last coal-fired power plant in 2016 and now generates more than three-quarters of its electricity from wind and
More bullshit today from a gas cartel that appears beaten. Australiaâs largest gas companies are preparing for a potential legal fight against Laborâs proposed east coast gas reservation scheme, with producers seeking advice ahead of the release of legislation. Industry sources say producers are examining whether the Albanese governmentâs reforms can be challenged on constitutional,
Trump’s war on the Gulf is going swimmingly. The 12th day of the renewed American campaign against Iran has begun. Iran starts a series of counterattacks. For each attack on shipping in Hormuz, President Donald Trump threatens to bomb a civilian target. Despite the lack of proof of nuclear enrichment, Trump claims the United States
Contained within the federal budget are forecasts that stretch for a decade, often providing a far rosier longer-term perspective on the trajectory of the nation’s fiscal balance than more near-term estimates. Within this year’s federal budget, there were a number of, shall we say, optimistic outlooks on which the eventual return to surplus in 2034-35 is
