Blogotariat

The nature of time has plagued thinkers for as long as we’ve tried to understand the world we live in. Intuitively, we know what time is, but try to explain it, and we end up tying our minds in knots.

St. Augustine of Hippo, a theologian whose writings influenced western philosophy, captured a paradoxical challenge in trying to articulate time more than 1,600 years ago:

The outlook Australians hold for the future has been deeply sub-par for a long while now, with the ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Index sitting dramatically below the post-1990 level and roughly where it was during the Global Financial Crisis. While elements of the index have undergone a recovery, the forward-looking subindexes remain in deeply concerning

The post A Christmas spending recession? appeared first on MacroBusiness.

The poor economics of green hydrogen have led to widespread project cancellations across Australia and globally, including in China. According to the Australian Financial Review, “more than 130 projects linked to hydrogen have received federal taxpayer money going back to 2017, according to the government’s grants register. While many pre-date this government, easily the largest came

Another Monday Message Board. Post comments on any topic. Civil discussion and no coarse language please. Side discussions and idees fixes to the sandpits, please.

I’m now using Substack as a blogging platform, and for my monthly email newsletter. For the moment, I’ll post both at this blog and on Substack. You can also follow me on Mastodon here.

Wall Street rebounded again on Friday night on renewed hope that the December rate cut maybe in play all due to the comments of Fed NY Chair Williams. This is going to probably lead to a significant lift on Asian share markets this morning, with SPI futures up at least 1% plus increased chances of

The post Macro Morning appeared first on MacroBusiness.

The rorting of Australia’s immigration system seems never-ending. In addition to the widespread rorting of the student and working holiday maker program and the blowout in asylum seeker claims and bridging visas, Australia’s partner visa program is also being ruthlessly rorted. In 2018, Dr Bob Birrell from the Australian Population Research Institute and former immigration

The EU has reportedly rejected the Ukraine peace deal drafted by the White House, putting forward its own set of conditions for a potential agreement.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made the announcement on Sunday as US officials were discussing Washington’s proposal with EU and Ukrainian representatives in Geneva, Switzerland.

The latest batch of auction and home price data suggests that the steam may be coming out of the nation’s housing market following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) decision to keep interest rates on hold. Cotality’s auction clearance rates have been moderating since September, which historically has been a leading indicator for price growth.

The post Australia’s housing market runs out of puff appeared first on MacroBusiness.

By Ashwin Clarke, Senior Economist at CBA Wages measured by the Wage Price Index rose by 0.8%/qtr held up by strength in state government enterprise agreements, in line with both our, consensus, and the RBA’s expectations. The annual rate remained at 3.4%. The Minutes of the November Monetary Policy Board meeting highlight the key questions

The post The economic week ahead appeared first on MacroBusiness.

Australia has joined a Colombian government initiative to plan a phase out of oil, gas and coal marking the strongest statement the government has made regarding the future of fossil fuels.

Calls for a "Consumer Duty" in Australia's energy market cannot ignore the 15,000 First Nations households who must rely on prepayment electricity meters.

Ukraine said Saturday that its officials will meet US counterparts in Switzerland to discuss Washington’s proposed peace plan. Kyiv will seek to push back against provisions that mirror some of Moscow’s toughest demands, while European leaders said the US plan "is a basis which will require additional work". 

European leaders say US plan for Ukraine 'requires additional work' ahead of Geneva talks

Hosting a UN climate summit should be about global cooperation on combating climate change. Australia’s bid for COP31 reveals how far COP has drifted.