The Australian reported that international student visas have “dived” amid de facto caps implemented by the Albanese government. Data compiled from the Department of Home Affairs shows that the number of student visa applications in the first two months of 2025 was tracking significantly below the levels of 2023 and 2024. The number of student
The Market Ear with the charts. The big one SPX is approaching the huge trend line that has been in place since Covid lows. Source: Refinitiv No… …nothing good happens below the 200 day moving average. SPX has not traded this much below the 200 day in a very long time. The “light” death cross
A bath of blood overnight on all risk markets with the NASDAQ dropping 6% while the S&P500 lost nearly 5% as bond markets surged on a rush to safety and the USD was hit on all fronts with undollars lifting 2% or more against what was “King” Dollar before wannabe King Don upended the global
DXY was pulverised. Which held AUD up, though not against EUR. CNY was hit. Oil crashed as OPEC decided to pump. The copper bubble goes “pop”. Base metals head for hard landing. Big miners, big damage. EM meh. Junk breaking at last. Yields are in free fall, but a long way to go to make
Australia has traditionally had a gaping trade deficit with the United States. The following table from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) shows that the United States exported (A$88.2b) more than double what it imported (A$37.5b) from Australia in 2023-24. On Wednesday, the Trump Administration levied reciprocal tariffs against all nations. The Trump
The YIMBY movement claims that the leading solution to Australia’s housing affordability crisis is to rezone our suburbs for high-rise apartment developments. Their argument consistently overlooks evidence suggesting that blanketing cities with high-rise apartment buildings often does not result in more affordable housing. The classic counterargument is illustrated by Vancouver, Canada, which underwent a complete
As Trump makes one of the most retarded economic decisions of all times with his blanket tariffs (even on uninhabited islands, but not Russia curiously), in effect self-sanctioning the USA from global trade, risk markets have done their fair share of pearl clutching and crystal ball gazing to wonder if stagflation, recession or something else
The annual minimum wage circus has begun, with the Australian Industry Group (AIG) urging the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to adopt a “moderate increase” in minimum wages of not more than 2.6%: “In recent years, high inflation resulted in very large increases to minimum wages. But in 2025 the balance of economic factors has squarely
Australia’s tea lady in Washington, Kevin Rudd, has failed again. SMH. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has made an eleventh-hour bid to avoid the worst of US President Donald Trump’s trade strikes by enlisting the advice of one of the most influential Australians in Trump’s orbit, golf star Greg Norman. Albanese dined with Norman in Melbourne
Victorian taxpayers seem to be unable to catch a break. The state is grappling with the nation’s highest per capita debt loads. Victoria’s net debt is forecast to soar over the budget forward estimates. As a result, interest payments have soared, draining billions from the state budget. Central to Victoria’s financial demise is poor management