Author Archives: Gene Tunny

RBA should leave fiscal policy advice to the Treasury

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Gene Tunny

RBA Governor Glenn Stevens gave an odd speech in Brisbane yesterday, in which he more-or-less suggested the federal Government should try to offset the demand shock from the end of the mining boom with expanded infrastructure investment, and that now … Continue reading →

Posted in Macroeconomy | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

QCA finds multiple policy failures associated with billions in industry assistance in Qld

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Gene Tunny

It appears that the QCA’s draft report on Industry Assistance in Queensland was released last Friday, a Friday before a long weekend, traditionally a good time to release reports that governments would rather be ignored and forgotten. But this report … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Qld Treasury’s forecasting record has improved in last few years, but big test to come

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Gene Tunny

In the Mid-Year Fiscal and Economic Review at the end of 2014, Queensland Treasury downgraded its economic growth forecast for Queensland in 2014-15 from 3% to 2.5%, to reflect the weaker economic outlook. After Queensland’s technical recession in the last … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Macroeconomy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Victoria threatens to overtake Qld in international visitors

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Gene Tunny

In a recent post, regarding new ABS data on the State or Territory in which short-term (i.e. for less than one year) international visitors to Australia spent the most time, Mark Beath asks: “Surely Victoria can’t really be about to … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Tourism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Strategy is about asking the right questions

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Gene Tunny

There is something alluring about the number seven. According to Miles Davis, there are seven steps to heaven, and, according to Harvard Business School Professor Robert Simons, there are seven important strategy questions for businesses to ask themselves. Professor Simons … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Qld economy enduring shock from end of mining boom as well as could be expected

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Gene Tunny

The March quarter National Accounts data released yesterday surprised on the upside with quarterly growth at 0.9 per cent, but as some commentators have noted there remains a downside risk over the next 12-24 months from much lower capital expenditure … Continue reading →

Posted in Macroeconomy, Mining | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Brisbane City Council made right decision on Toowong towers

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Gene Tunny

Brisbane City Council deserves credit for ignoring its own City Plan and approving the development of three new high-rise apartment towers at the old ABC site at Toowong (see Toowong towers nine storeys too high: Labor lord mayoral candidate). I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Upcoming Young Economists Coffee Connections to discuss negative gearing & capital gains tax treatment

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Gene Tunny

I await with interest the Hansard transcript of Treasury Secretary John Fraser’s testimony before Senate Estimates in Canberra yesterday, because in his reported comments he appears to be saying that any housing price bubble that may exist in Australia isn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Tax | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Business confidence in Queensland – the most reliable estimate (Westpac-CCIQ) is the most worrying

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Gene Tunny

There is currently a large disparity among business confidence survey results for Queensland. The Sensis and Westpac Group-CCIQ reports for the March quarter suggest business confidence is relatively low, but the NAB report for the month of April, which the … Continue reading →

Posted in Macroeconomy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mining leads fall in private sector capital expenditure – Qld technical recession may extend into 2015

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Gene Tunny

The technical recession Queensland experienced in late 2014 may extend into early 2015 based on new ABS data showing the large drop in mining investment from its extraordinarily high levels has continued into the March quarter of 2015 (see chart … Continue reading →

Posted in Macroeconomy, Mining | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment