Tag Archives: australia

Housing approvals at record high nationwide, but Qld’s historic high was in mid-1990s

Soaring property prices and surging building approvals highlight a residential property market super-charged by record-low interest rates, returning expatriates, and a Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO). CoreLogic has estimated property prices were up 2.2% nationwide in May and up 2.0% … Continue reading

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Growing concerns that stimulus and money printing are fuelling inflation

Setting off an inflationary spiral is one of the big risks with the mega-stimulus measures and Quantitative Easing or money printing we’ve seen in the responses of governments and central banks to the pandemic. This month, we’ve seen some higher-than-expected … Continue reading

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Mining CAPEX has been growing in WA, falling in Qld

Mining sector capital investment has been increasing in WA but falling in Queensland, according to March quarter capital expenditure data published by the ABS yesterday (see chart above). This would reflect a combination of the following factors: the stronger demand … Continue reading

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Interview with 4BC’s Scott Emerson on the federal budget

This afternoon, on his 4BC Drive program, former Queensland Government Transport Minister Scott Emerson and I shared our astonishment regarding the Morrison Government’s Go for Growth, Keynesian federal budget which Treasurer Josh Frydenberg handed down last night. You can listen … Continue reading

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Qld and WA leading Australia in business conditions, based on NAB Survey

It’s federal budget day and, at this stage, I’m due to appear on Steve Austin’s 612 ABC Brisbane Drive program after 6pm to talk about how the federal budget is developed, so please tune in if you’re interested. Tonight we’ll … Continue reading

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Decarbonising the Economy – my latest podcast episode

The latest episode of my Economics Explored podcast is on the topic of decarbonising the economy. My monologue is based on a talk I gave last Tuesday to the First Tuesday Club forum hosted by the Brisbane Dialogues group at … Continue reading

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Online retail falling away from 2020 highs

The big news on the Australian sharemarket yesterday was the 14% drop in the Kogan share price after a market update revealed a drop in earnings for the online retailer (see chart below). This probably should not have been such … Continue reading

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The indicators look great, but the recovery is very uneven across the economy

In the vicinity of my office at the Johnson Hotel on Boundary St, Spring Hill, I see the ongoing impacts of the pandemic on the economy. The hotel restaurant-cafe Tumbling Stone hasn’t reopened since it shut in March last year, … Continue reading

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Female breadwinning podcast chat with Gigi Foster

UNSW Economics Professor Gigi Foster, who you may know from her appearances on ABC’s Q&A and The Economists podcast, has done some fascinating research on the phenomenon of female breadwinning, whereby, in around one-in-four partnerships, the female earns more than … Continue reading

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Travel bubble great news for Qld’s 200,000 NZ-born

As Queensland Premier Palaszczuk pointed out yesterday on social media following the announcement of the travel bubble with New Zealand, Queensland has the largest number of NZ-born people in Australia. Indeed, according to the 2016 Census, Queensland had 201,200 NZ-born … Continue reading

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