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By Stephen Saunders Imagine a calmer and safer post-Bondi Australia. Immigration is low and less divisive. The government need not lie about it all the time or continually attack citizen-voters.  Albanese Labor is never going to be that government. It’s inconceivable, simply not in their elitist and globalist DNA. Canada and other prosperous nations prove
International Reading: Majority of voters say country is on wrong track, favor Democrats in 2026: Poll – The Hill Trump ready to ban diesel gas exports to lower costs at home – something his own energy secretary says could backfire – Independent Team Trump can’t keep its story straight on a proposed ban on ‌diesel
In this week’s podcast, Damien Klassen is joined by Martin North of Walk the World and DFA Live to uncover where Australia’s housing downturn is hitting hardest. We look beyond the national numbers to identify the suburbs and postcodes seeing the biggest price falls, what these areas have in common, and why some parts of
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has taken his attack on democracy global. Earlier this month we learned that the Albanese government is trying to censor debate via its Digital Duty of Care Bill, which would make the eSafety Commissioner the central regulator with significantly expanded powers to police what we say online. The Bill contains broad
Westpac has some useful charts that break down national trends. The jobs growth downtrend has paused. Hours worked still look sick. We all drive for Uber now. Jobless uptrend rock solid. Underutilisation too. Kids copping it. The RBA loves the smell of burning childern in the morning. The more the better. Bedpan breakdown? Female unemployment
Much of the discussion around interest rates revolves around Australian households, who are facing another two to three interest rate hikes from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), which would take the official cash rate to 4.85% or 5.10% – the highest level since 2008. Such rises would come at a time when mortgage servicing
Risk is coming out of EM, forex, and bonds. But stocks don’t care. How long can it last? TME. Bonds break. Stocks haven’t blinked The bond market is setting the pace. The 10-year has broken out of a three-year range, MOVE has surged, and small caps are feeling the pressure. Equities and VIX still look
We recently reported that Canada’s population has been declining because the centre-left Liberal government decided in late 2024 to slash immigration. In the March quarter of 2026, Statistics Canada reported that Canada’s population had declined by 234,500 from its peak in Q2 2025, driven by a 590,500 reduction in non-permanent residents (NPRs) from their peak
DXY is back. EUR is failing. Scott Bessent is going to need a bigger house. Gold woes continue as oil rips anew. No growth problem here, says copper. Big miners are not so sure. EM stocks will get flushed if SXY continues. Junk is clearing its throat for an almighty scream. The US curve is
War headlines today. Houthis hit two more Res Sea ships. China says US must return to MOU. Deal denied. Iran says it will expand the war to the Indian Ocean. Lite headlines, but not lite price action. Dated Brent tool off. Diesel cracks did a bit better. US-European diesel spreads priced in some risk of
As housing price falls continue to spread to more and more markets across the nation, it often feels like not a week goes by without a major bank or prominent analyst revising expected price falls upward. As of the latest data from Cotality, capital city housing prices (5 largest capitals) have dropped by 5.7%, with
The biggest economic story in Australia is data centres. Only a couple of years ago, energy demand in Australia was falling as large industrial energy users closed. However, today, data centres have completely flipped the script, threatening to massively increase energy demand. The 2026 Intergenerational Report, released on Monday, pinned Australia’s future productivity growth on
As reported earlier, Australia’s unemployment rate has jumped to 4.6% – the nation’s highest rate since October 2021. As illustrated below by Alex Joiner at IFM Investors, Australia’s unemployment rate is now significantly above the Reserve Bank’s expectations, raising some caution ahead of Tuesday’s monetary policy meeting: However, while the headline result was weak, the
Australian renters have been hit with a circa 50% increase in advertised rents since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Cotality, adding more than $12,500 to the annual cost of renting for the median Australian tenant. While the rental market is showing signs of easing, with vacancy rates rising and growth slowing, rents continue to rise
ABS just now. In seasonally adjusted terms, in August 2026: the employment-to-population ratio increased 0.1ppt to 63.9%. the unemployment rate increased 0.2ppt to 4.6%. In trend terms, in August 2026: the employment-to-population ratio remained at 63.9%. the unemployment rate increased marginally to 4.6%. Jobs rose 39500, but full-time fell 6000. Hours worked has gone nowhere all
TME investigates. Extreme in rates land The US 10-year yield is putting in an absolutely massive up candle post the disastrous 5Y auction. We are in pretty much uncharted territory for this cycle. RSI is very overbought, but the momentum behind this rates move is extreme. Source: LSEG Workspace When equities start to care The
The 2026 Intergenerational Report (IGR) forecasts that the federal budget will remain in deficit for the next 40 years: The IGR projects government payments to rise from 26.6% of GDP to 27.7% in 40 years but assumes tax receipts (which account for more than 90% of total receipts) do not exceed a historical high of
This country has dragged the anchor on energy. After years of politicking, rent-seeking and bad ideas, hysteria has replaced debate in energy planning. For years, all we needed to do to stabilise prices, keep the energy transition on track, and meet reliability goals was secure our own gas supplies. This basic national-interest notion is lost
After 20 years of mass immigration, which has seen Australia’s population grow at more than 2.5 the rate of the OECD, voters have had enough. The latest Newspoll shows a clear public shift: about two‑thirds of Australians want lower immigration, including large shares of Labor voters. This comes as both major parties face pressure from
DXY hit the afterburners after face-ripping US PMIs. AUD was pulverised. The carpet was torn out from under North Asian forex as well. The twins of doom aren’t happy. My gold vol play is working nicely against gold itself. Base metals are OK. Big miners are not. RIO has traced a massive head-and-shoulders top. EM
War headlines today: Hormuz ship struck by an unknown projectile and abandoned. Houthis fire missiles at two ships in Bab-Al-Mandeb. More talks between the US and Iran. The big deal today is the growing rumour of a US diesel export ban. The Madman threw his support behind the idea, but the Energy Secretary did the
As the debate surrounding the issue of the right level of migration for Australia unfolds in the halls of power in Canberra, commentary regarding the claimed negative impact of One Nation’s proposed 3 year period of net negative migration continue to propagate. In recent commentary to the Australian Financial Review (AFR), Australian National University Migration
If you genuinely care about the environment, you should support nuclear power generation, as it emits zero carbon, has the lowest environmental footprint, and uses the fewest resources. Nuclear power is also firm power, meaning it doesn’t depend on the weather, is available whenever it’s needed, and can run 24/7. Thus, nuclear power is the closest
Australia’s house price correction of -5.7% since mid-April 2026 has now gotten within 3% of the largest downturn in recorded history (40 years), which was -8.6% between October 2017 and May 2019. The correction has also spread to the mid-sized capitals of Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth, which are declining slightly faster than the two largest
No. Top-tier cities have better signs, but they’re only 10% of the market. Sales remain terrible. The exit remains jammed. Price woe persists. Inventory is better but still ugly. Completions are sagging, driving commodity demand down. Iron ore is flopping around the $88 mark, adjusted for the $17/t C5 shipping price. The roaches are still
