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 massive rise in state debt has placed Victoria in a precarious financial position. When the state Labor government took office in 2014, Victoria had very low debt. Now it is the most indebted state government with the lowest credit rating. Victoria’s debt binge has been brought about by profligate spending on the public service,
Financial markets have recently lifted their expectations of another 25 bp rate hike from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). They now ascribe a near 100% probability of another rate hike by the end of the year, although they are not expecting the RBA to hike at next month’s meeting. The chances of another rate
Rupert Murdoch has always loved war. War makes his propaganda tools very valuable, which he can use in all sorts of ways to expand his empire. But his current support of the US/Israeli war on Iran is baffling. How does alienating the MAGA base he built for Trump serve his ends? How does destroying the
In March, India’s High Commissioner to Canada, Dinesh K. Patnaik, declared that Canada needs 100 million people and argued that India is the only realistic source of immigrants on the scale required. “You have things which we need, we have things which you need”, Patnaik told CBC Live. “With a 40 million population, you need
Iron ore continues to struggle despite the Brent tailwind. Mid-June steel output from CISA remains down 5-6%. MySteel indexes are catching down to CISA and NBS. Steel inventories are booming. Which is preventing iron ore port inventories from climbing for now. Anyone expecting a rebound in Chinese growth better check the oil chart. Stimmies are
When the state Labor government took office in 2014, Victoria had very low debt. However, after more than a decade of poor financial management and waste, Victorians are now the highest-taxed people in the nation, and the state is the most indebted, with the poorest credit rating. Victoria’s debt binge has been brought about by
LVO is back at the coalface this morning. The Northern Territory government is backing plans for a $40 billion data centre industry, with several ‘hyper-scale’ AI data centre campuses to be built on land around 30 kilometres from Darwin. These data centres would be powered by 3 GW of electricity generation, which in turn would
The Northern Territory government is backing plans for a $40 billion data centre industry, with several ‘hyper-scale’ AI data centre campuses to be built on land around 30 kilometres from Darwin. These data centres would be powered by 3 GW of electricity generation, which in turn would be powered by gas from the NT’s Betaloo
TME with the charts. Definitely maybe Maybe it was the 4 a.m. tequila. Maybe we’re simply conditioned to look for cracks. Or maybe the market is becoming just a little too comfortable. Either way, these were the ten most bearish charts we came across over the weekend. Mid-terms volatility S&P 500 volatility usually rises ahead
For two nights, Trump hasn’t bombed Iran. The question is why, beyond the obvious, the whole war lacks planning or reason. Some strategist has quantified the TACO using such measures as the 10-year yield, oil price, and stock market movements. It says this past weekend is TACO time! There are lots of reasons why we
When SQM Research released its auction data for the week of the 19th of July, it held one of the weakest results since its records began. In Sydney, the market produced the weakest result of this cycle (excluding public holiday-impacted results and the Christmas market hibernation period), with a clearance rate of just 29.4%, a
With the nation’s auction market in the doldrums and clearance rates tracking below 50% for two consecutive months, leading Sydney auctioneer Tom Panos gave his most pessimistic assessment yet, claiming Saturday’s auctions in Sydney were the worst in his career, which has spanned 30 years. “Today was the worst auction day of my real estate
Leading into this weekend, the national final auction clearance rate had been stuck below 50% for eight consecutive weeks â the worst auction conditions since the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic. This weekend’s preliminary auction results from Cotality have continued that trend, with the national preliminary clearance rate rising to only 52.4%, up 2.4 percentage
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”:
