Author Archives: Gene Tunny

Newman Government to cut stamp duty and weaken ULDA

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Gene Tunny

A change in Government in Queensland now appears inevitable. Opposition Leader Campbell Newman is treated almost everywhere he goes as if he is the Premier-in-waiting, with business and community leaders listening intently to him, to discern how Newman Government policies … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Tax | 1 Comment

Recommended reading – Time Bomb: Work, rest and play in Australia today

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Gene Tunny

While my free market bias means I don’t share all the policy views of the authors, I still think Time Bomb: Work, rest and play in Australia today is a terrific book with lots of interesting facts about the work-life … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market | 1 Comment

Bond traders bet on US recovery – great news for world economy

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Gene Tunny

Despite all the anxiety over the global economy, including from the World Bank earlier this week, I remain optimistic, and recent news out of the US gives hope for a much better 2012 than originally expected. Bloomberg Businessweek reports: Treasuries … Continue reading →

Posted in Macroeconomy | Leave a comment

Two-speed sharemarket – Qld companies winning

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Gene Tunny

A very interesting finding from Deloitte, reported by the Brisbane Times (Resources skew Queensland Growth): On average last year Queensland’s 213 ASX listed companies increased their market capitalisation by 14.7 per cent. By comparison the ASX All Ordinaries [which lists … Continue reading →

Posted in Mining | Leave a comment

Employment data no cause for concern – although Bligh’s jobs target harder to hit

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Gene Tunny

Given the high degree of volatility from month-to-month in the ABS’s employment estimates, I tend not to worry too much about unfavourable monthly movements, as I outlined in my previous post Media over-reacts to jobs data. Of course, the media … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market | Leave a comment

Newman’s jobs pledge – checking the arithmetic

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Gene Tunny

Queensland Opposition Leader Campbell Newman has made a bold jobs pledge today which has drawn strong criticism from Treasurer Andrew Fraser. The Brisbane Times reports: Queensland’s Liberal National Party is vowing to create 420,000 jobs over the next six years … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market | Leave a comment

Tender for coal exploration permits a good way to help repair budget

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Gene Tunny

The new Henry-Review-inspired tender system for coal exploration permits, announced by Treasurer Fraser on Friday, is a clever, low cost way to raise much needed revenue to help fix the Queensland budget. The Mid Year Fiscal and Economic Review has … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Mining, Tax | Leave a comment

Boom town on the Range

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Gene Tunny

Anyone who has traveled through Toowoomba on the congested Warrego Highway in  recent times would agree that the city is booming, with signs of activity everywhere. The town is a major service centre for the Surat Basin, being the base … Continue reading →

Posted in Toowoomba | Leave a comment

Rebound in building approvals, but still at low levels

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Gene Tunny

Building approvals are a useful leading indicator of economic activity so it was good to see the rebound in the ABS’s building approvals data for November (see chart below), possibly due to the Melbourne Cup day rate cut. But, given … Continue reading →

Posted in Macroeconomy | Leave a comment

Retail data show Qld and WA healthy, Victoria and ACT sick

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Gene Tunny

The markets didn’t like today’s flat retail trade data from the ABS (Dollar falls on disappointing retail data), but at least Queensland retail trade grew reasonably in November. In terms of monthly growth in retail turnover, Queensland is second only … Continue reading →

Posted in Retail trade | Leave a comment