Category Archives: Macroeconomy

Brisbane Lockdown 2.0 – the sequel no one wanted

Posted on January 8, 2021 by Gene Tunny

To keep Queenslanders safe, our state government has decided to lock down the over2 million residents of Greater Brisbane for the next three days, but its sudden, unexpected announcement at 8am sparked immediate panic buying in our supermarkets, and an … Continue reading →

Posted in Brisbane, Budget, Macroeconomy, Queensland Government | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

COVID compared with wartime economic impacts – my latest podcast episode

Posted on January 3, 2021 by Gene Tunny

The latest episode of my Economics Explored podcast features a conversation on whether COVID can be compared to wartime. The episode considers the different scales and scopes of the shocks, and what it all means for prospects for economic recovery. In … Continue reading →

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Proposed COVID Royal Commission – great ABC radio interview from Scott Prasser

Posted on December 30, 2020 by Gene Tunny

Dr Scott Prasser, Senior Fellow at the CIS, gave a great ABC radio interview this morning on the proposal from former state Premiers Peter Beattie and Jeff Kennett for a Royal Commission into Australia’s COVID response. For background, check out … Continue reading →

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Christmas Eve post-6pm public holiday should have been repealed in this year of COVID

Posted on December 28, 2020 by Gene Tunny

A prominent Brisbane man about town and long-time QEW reader has reminded me that last year I posted on the ridiculous Christmas Eve half-day public holiday, and he said that it was particularly costly in this year of COVID. Here’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Macroeconomy, Retail trade | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Qld Treasurer was premature in claiming recovery to pre-COVID jobs level

Posted on December 18, 2020 by Gene Tunny

Last month, I dissected the Queensland Treasurer’s bold claim that more Queenslanders are working now than were working pre-COVID (check out my 21 November post). I thought it was a bold claim given a) the substantial sampling error at the … Continue reading →

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Money and cryptocurrency – my latest podcast episode

Posted on December 17, 2020 by Gene Tunny

When I recorded the latest episode of my Economics Explored podcast last Friday afternoon, the price of one Bitcoin was a bit above US$18,000 after having failed to get beyond US$20,000 in the previous weeks. In my chat with my … Continue reading →

Posted in Macroeconomy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Huge swings in Bitcoin value make it hard to believe it will ever replace traditional currencies

Posted on December 12, 2020 by Gene Tunny

The Bitcoin price was getting close to US$20,000 at the end of last month, but has since come down to a bit over US$18,000. In March, it was around US$5,000 (see chart above). There has been a lot of speculative … Continue reading →

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Aussies over-confident after being over-compensated by Gov’t for COVID-recession

Posted on December 9, 2020 by Gene Tunny

Today we learned that, as Reuters reports, Australia consumer sentiment hits 10-year high (see chart above). This is despite Chinese trade restrictions and the looming insolvency tsunami in the new year and the fiscal cliff in April 2021. Sure, given … Continue reading →

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

Chat about the Crown S04 with ABC’s Steven Austin

Posted on December 8, 2020 by Gene Tunny

Yesterday afternoon I had a great chat with 612 ABC Brisbane’s Steven Austin about season 4 of The Crown, specifically about its depiction of Margaret Thatcher, which was a topic of conversation in my last Economics Explored podcast episode. Below … Continue reading →

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Thoughts on the border decision and QPC’s productivity reform livestream

Posted on November 24, 2020 by Gene Tunny

First, better late than never I suppose, so I should be thankful the Queensland Government, on 1 December, will finally open up the state to Sydneysiders and let us travel to Sydney without having to endure hotel quarantine when we … Continue reading →

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