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
Australian tenants are facing deteriorating conditions, with Cotality’s results for May showing accelerated rental growth and vacancy rates returning to record lows. Annual advertised rental growth in Australia rose to 5.9% in May, the largest annual increase since September 2024. The increase in advertised rents comes as the national rental vacancy rate fell to a
According to Cotality’s daily dwelling values index, Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide have so far avoided the house price corrections taking place in Sydney and Melbourne. PropTrack’s dwelling value results for May also show that these three cities have avoided falling, although growth has slowed significantly across each market. The question arises: can Perth, Brisbane and
LVO noted the latest Newspoll this morning, which, I note, still refuses to include a TPP of ALP vs ON. Some of the moronic responses from the major parties this morning show why and how PM Pauline is becoming a fait accompli. First, Albo the coward. “Some of the personal ways in which mainstream media,
The Westpac consumer sentiment index collapsed by 2.9% to 80.6 in June, with Australians showing deep pessimism across finances, the economy, housing, and savings behaviour. The survey is back near the weakest levels in its 50-year history, with pessimists outnumbering optimists by nearly 20%. Household finances have deteriorated, with finances versus a year ago falling 7.5%
A year or so ago, I had an experience that many of you will struggle to comprehend. For a decade, a mental health nurse with a fixation on my wife had stalked my family. My wife is a senior forensic psychologist, so you can imagine the kind of jealousies involved. The obsession comprised the usual
At 48, I am officially part of Australia’s “sandwich generation”, busy caring for both teenage children and elderly parents. While I am earning more than I did in my 30s, my family’s expenses have also never been higher, as has my tax bill. Analysis by Taylor Fry for the Actuaries Institute, presented in The Australian
TME with the charts. The Bounce Trap Friday’s selloff exposed a market built on momentum, leverage, and a belief that the AI trade only goes one way. History suggests the bounce may not be as safe as it looks. Forced sellers According to Goldman, SOX entered Friday at its most extended level since the dot-com
Amid the rise of One Nation to the top of the list for the primary vote, according to the most recent aggregate polling data, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged to continue reducing migration over the years ahead. “We will reduce that overseas migration over next couple of years down to 225,000 and we think
Yes, the gas cartel has discovered extra volumes, but only through a miracle that coincidentally matched the timing of the gas reservation and the debate! The price has cratered locally. This has wiped out the usual winter demand shock for electricity. Even as Asian gas prices roar 400% higher due to the Iran War. Isn’t
It’s been a night of war. Israel has rejected Iran’s warning not to attack Lebanon, though aerial operations appear paused. Israeli officials say strikes on Iran being halted at President Trump’s request to ‘stop shooting’. Netanyahu confirms attacks halted ‘for now’. Iran FM accuses US of cooperating with Washington: “No one believes that the Zionist regime would carry
A historic Newspoll shows One Nation surging to first place in primary vote support, overtaking Labor and the Coalition for the first time, amid collapsing approval for Anthony Albanese and overwhelming public demand for a major political shake‑up. One Nation’s primary support has jumped to 31%, ahead of Labor on 30% and the Coalition on 18% (matching
Australia’s immigration system is broken. The fastest-growing category of temporary migrants has been bridging visas, which have been ruthlessly abused. There were 432,000 people in Australia on bridging visas in the March quarter of 2026, up from an average of only 96,000 between 2012 and 2016: The Department of Home Affairs generally issues bridging visas
The past decade has been a basket case for Australian households According to the March quarter national accounts, released last week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), real per capita household disposable income—arguably the strongest indication of material living standards—declined by 0.6% over the quarter to be tracking 3.6% lower than the COVID-19 peak:
Last week, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released two sets of data illustrating the extent to which Australia’s economy and labour market have been driven by government spending since the pandemic. The March quarter national accounts, presented below by CBA, showed that government spending as a share of the economy was 28.8% in the
Iron ore has fallen 10% in recent weeks. CISA output is still -6% yoy. Inventory is up yoy. Port iron ore inventory is rising much earlier than usual this year. MySteel indexes are getting flushed. This market is only being held up by the war, and it is starting to crack anyway as the Pilbara
DXT is threatening to break out. AUD still has CNY support, but JPY is down the dunny. Gold is breaking. This may be a leading indicator that oil is going to take off. Or it’s the DXY. Actually, the entire Crap Complex is bracing for a strong DXY. Dirt: Fugly double tops on miners. EM
In October 2025, housing minister Clare O’Neil lied on Twitter (X) claiming 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
Sydney and Melbourne are currently experiencing housing corrections, with both markets recording price falls of more than 2% over the past quarter. The price declines are reflected in both cities’ auction markets, where clearance rates have fallen to their lowest levels in years. Sydney’s final auction clearance rate in May fell to 49%, the lowest
Last week saw a truly historic drawdown in oil product inventories in Singapore, with total stocks dropping by over 6.1 million barrels, or 13%, in just one week. While there was a drop across the range of grades of oil products, the largest drops occurred in light distillates (gasoline, naphtha, LPG etc) and middle distillates
Belief in Australian ‘elites’ has left the building In contemporary Australia, almost everyone can identify a festering economic grievance. House prices are certainly insane and need to come down. But those who own them or hold them in fief for a bank and bought them on the way up are terrified of house prices going
International Reading: Poll: 81% of young Americans say economy is bad – MS.now A Boomer Is Astonished That Younger Generations Spend Half Their Income On Rent And Housing. ‘We Would Be Up In Arms!’ – Yahoo Deadly Screwworm Parasite Found in US Threatens Cattle Herd – Bloomberg US restaurants add mandatory tips to bills before
Cotality’s dwelling values results for May confirmed that Sydney and Melbourne are experiencing price corrections, with values declining by more than 2% over the quarter: The latest auction results were abysmal for both markets, with Sydney’s average monthly clearance rate plunging to 49% in May to its lowest level since April 2020: Melbourne’s auction clearance
The March quarter national accounts, released on Wednesday, showed that investment in data centres is booming and driving economic activity. Data centre investment rocketed by $6 billion in the March quarter of 2026, offsetting a small decline in other business investment. Treasurer “Spin” Jim Chalmers was quick to claim credit, even though the federal government
The problem with a vibrant immigration-led economy is that the bourgeoisie constantly mistakes their tasty Pad Thai for a fair and equitable labour market. This is a complete misrepresentation of the truth. Australia has a rich and glorious history of slavery. From the early days of convicts and ‘coolies’, to the near ceaseless exploitation of
The latest Australian interest rate futures pricing suggests that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will increase the official cash rate once more this year, taking it to a terminal peak of 3.60%. However, Australia’s largest bank and mortgage lender, CBA, differs from this view, now forecasting that the RBA will remain on hold at
