It’s always the same at this stage of the cycle, only this time it is secular, not cyclical. BHP’s dividend payout has hit its lowest point since 2017 after the mining giant missed market expectations on underlying earnings as well as profit. BHP reported first-half revenue of $US25.2bn, down 8 per cent on the prior
Amid a lot of macro chaos, stock markets continue to make new highs with the German DAX pushing European bourses higher while a closed Wall Street almost made a record close on Friday night despite a poor retail sales print and crashing export volumes to Canada. The USD continues to give up ground against most
The pump-priming of Australia’s housing market is in full swing. Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers has already announced that he has instructed Australia’s financial regulators to relax home lending regulations for millions of Australians with home loans. Under the changes, a borrower’s student debt will be excluded from mortgage serviceability calculations if the bank feels the
An uneasy start to the trading week as most Asian share markets pull back after a mixed return on Wall Street from Friday night due to the weaker than expected retail sales print. This is likely to continue as its a long weekend for US markets. The USD is still under the pump with most
In August 2024, the Actuaries Institute reported that rising home insurance premiums were causing financial stress for 1.6 million Australian households. This represented a 360,000-household increase, or 30% more than the previous year. According to Sharanjit Paddam, the principal author of the Actuaries Institute research, insurance premiums were rising faster than incomes, with the median
So much for the Cat5 monster. Cyclone Nothingburger passed the Pilbara by without leaving any damage. RIO has already re-committed to existing output guidance which means that a weak Q1 will be followed by booming Q2 and Q3. Prices fell over the weekend and have some catching down to steel to do. Vale also indicated
The writing was on the wall for Albo in his first week. While Australian energy markets were melting down on Ukraine War profiteering by the gas cartel, Albo was busy talking up how he would aim for a two-term government. Any PM who is so focused on re-election as his top priority has no interest
The latest YouGov poll suggests the Dutton-led Coalition will most likely win the upcoming federal election and form the next government. YouGov’s latest MRP model suggests the Coalition would likely win around 73 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives, with a lower estimate of 65 and an upper estimate of 80, if a federal election
Only ten years late. The Albanese government will launch a crackdown on housing purchases by foreign buyers, implementing a two-year ban on the purchase of established homes by temporary residents to replicate a previous commitment by the Coalition. …Simultaneously, the Albanese government will also conduct a review into the ban’s effectiveness to determine whether it
Last week, SQM Research released its January vacancy report, revealing that the national vacancy rate declined to just 1.0%, down 0.1% from January 2024. Commenting on the results, SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher noted that the rental crisis appears to have reignited, potentially driven by a resurgence of net overseas migration. “The sharp decrease