As shown by the following chart from Justin Fabo from Antipodean Macro, Australia’s recent productivity growth has been among the worst in the advanced world. Australia’s labour productivity (GDP per hour worked) has experienced virtually zero growth since 2016. Reasons for the productivity decline: I attribute Australia’s poor productivity performance to four main factors. 1)
Asian share markets are quite mixed in the first trading session of the week as concerns over the Trump regimes bullying of the EU in its “negotiations” over the looming August 1st trade deal are spilling over. The USD is losing ground against all the major currency pairs as a result with Yen also gapping
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand released CPI inflation data today, which showed that New Zealand inflation lifted further in Q2 to 2.7%. Major bank ASB noted that while the result wasn’t a surprise, “it is an unwelcome development after NZ endured years of high interest rates to tame rampant inflation”. “The last thing New
The state of Victoria’s financial woes is well documented. In 2023-24, the state had the nation’s largest per capita net debt and the lowest credit rating (AA). Per capita state debt was only $3,600 in Labor’s first budget in 2015. It has since climbed to $21,900 and is projected over the budget forward estimates to
Last week, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released monthly data on permanent and long-term arrivals, which suggested that net overseas migration (NOM) may have surged back over the first half of 2025. The 245,900 net arrivals recorded over the first five months of 2025 were the highest on record, surpassing last year’s record of
Iieeeeuuuuuu… Why use an AI when you have the Aussie PM on his knees? The CCP propaganda arm, The Global Times, is cock-a-whoop. Two issues are particularly noteworthy during Albanese’s visit to China, as they have sent a message to the world that Australia is re-balancing its international relationships to assert its core national interests,
The bubble is back. The Market Ear. Basically buying UBS sees CTAs doubling their equity exposure, adding $60-70bln over the next 2 weeks. They are basically buyers in all scenarios, unless SPX turns below 6k. Source: UBS Retail buying UBS on retail buying (proxied by ETF action): 1. Retail investors sold US stocks from mid-April
China is not signalling imminent breakout stimulus. Bloomberg. China’s trade with the world is within reasonable bounds and the nation isn’t out to dominate global markets, a senior official said, pointing to figures showing domestic consumption is driving economic growth. “Most of China’s production is intended to meet domestic demand,” Vice Finance Minister Liao Min said in
The housing crisis persists in a significant portion of the nation, and neither the Albanese government nor state governments appear to be making the necessary policy changes to tackle the housing deficit effectively. According to figures from the Albanese government’s National Housing Supply and Affordability Council (NHSAC), the housing deficit is projected to increase annually
South African fashion retailer The Foschini Group has 563 stores across Australia, and its brands include Tarocash, Connor, and Johnny Bigg. Foschini’s financial accounts show that its Australian sales fell by nearly 3% to $745 million in the year to 31 March 2025. The company told investors and analysts that its Australian division is being