The Israeli war on Iran has dominated the final session of the trading week here in Asia with all share markets finishing in the red, with a very small bid towards the USD for a safe haven bid, except gold. The Australian dollar was also finally pushed back below the 65 cent level in the
Australia’s cafe industry is on the verge of collapse. Over the past two decades, there has been an explosion in the number of cafes operating across Australia. IBIS World estimates that more than 27,000 cafes are operating in Australia, employing 139,000 people. Competition is intense, with multiple cafes often operating at the same locations. However,
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has cut the official cash rate by 2.25% to 3.25% over the past nine months. The rapid monetary easing was in response to a sharp decline in GDP and national income: New Zealand’s unemployment rate also shot up to 5.1% as of Q1 2025: The latest batch of data
The Victorian government has set a delusional target to deliver 95% renewable energy by 2035. These targets are legislated in the Renewable Energy (Jobs and Investment) Act 2017 (Vic), namely: 25% by 2020 (achieved) 40% by 2025 65% by 2030 (previously 50%) 95% by 2035 (new). Victoria’s renewable energy targets overlook the reality that wind
For a textbook example of how Australia’s housing affordability debate has been perverted, look no further than the latest Housing Affordability Report from the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre. Alan Duncan, Director of the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre, penned an opinion piece in WA Today blaming a lack of supply for Australia’s housing crisis: While interest
SQM Research released its rental vacancy rate for May, which fell 0.1% over the month to a historically low 1.2% nationally—the same level as last year. While all markets are tight, Sydney (1.5%) and Melbourne (1.5%) have significantly higher vacancy rates than the other capital cities, which are all tracking below 1.0%. Nationally, the rental
A stronger than expected US initial jobless claims print – the third week in a row that was well above expectations – gave bond and currency markets a bit of a shakeup but was overshadowed by increased Iranian tensions with the US and the plainly not-a-deal US-China trade deal. Wall Street still managed to turn
I reported on Thursday how an unexpected outage at Victoria’s second-largest coal-fired power station had heightened concerns that colder weather could strain the market and drive up wholesale electricity prices. I noted that the renewables would use the outage as an opportunity to label coal-fired generation “unreliable” and as justification for Labor’s renewables rollout to
Policymakers are exerting significant pressure on Australians to live in shoebox apartments. Their directive runs counter to the wishes of Australians, who overwhelmingly prefer to live in detached houses. The average price premium of a detached house across Australia’s capital cities was 174% in May, according to PropTrack: Detached houses have also experienced far stronger
Middle East tensions are dominating risk taking here in Asia with most share markets finishing in the red, not helped by what looks like a “non-deal” deal from the ongoing US/China talks, regardless of what the Trump regime claim has come to pass. The USD continues to fall against the majors despite a very tame