The review into the Reserve Bank of Australia has just been published by Treasurer Jim Chalmers, and it’s a blockbuster. The review has made 51 recommendations including: taking away power over interest rates from the Reserve Bank board (which has traditionally been dominated by non-economists, usually corporate executives) and devolving it to a panel of…
So, you think you know why rents climbed. You probably think was skyrocketing interest rates and a tsunami of migration. It’s true that interest rates have jumped more over the past year than at any time on record, and it’s true that migration has roared back – in the six months to September 2022 (the…
No one likes spending cuts and tax hikes, but on our estimate, the government will soon need more of them if they are going to make a dent in looming A$70 billion a year budget deficits. A new Grattan Institute report, Back in Black? A menu of measures to repair the budget argues the present…
Last week, the Australian published a story saying net-overseas migration would reach 650,000 over the two financial years, 2022-23 and 2023-24. As the story included comments from Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Treasury Secretary Steven Kennedy, we can assume these numbers will appear in the population statement accompanying the May budget. The new numbers have attracted…
There are many benefits to living in an iconic city like New York or Singapore, but the amenities and exclusivity can come at a high cost. Cities become “expensive” due to a variety of factors such as high demand for housing, a concentration of high-paying businesses and industries, and a high standard of living. Additionally,…
Before starting a tenancy, the property must be safe, secure, reasonably clean, and reasonably fit to live in. Is that it? No! These are just the fundamentals. The legislation goes much deeper into the minimum standards of rental properties and landlords and agents must adhere to them… or they may end up in hot water….
Asked to find an extra A$20 billion per year to fund government priorities like building nuclear submarines and responding to climate change, Australia’s top economists overwhelmingly back land tax, increased resource taxes, an attack on negative gearing and extending the scope of the goods and services tax. The 59 leading economists surveyed by The Conversation…
Have you ever bumped into someone with the same birthday as you? What about someone sharing a birthday in your workplace? How common is a shared birthday, anyway? The birthday problem, as it’s called by mathematicians, reveals problems with our understanding of number theory, probabilities and our assumptions of how the world works. It comes…
There has been a lot of talk about the risk of financial contagion following the collapse of California’s Silicon Valley Bank. Perhaps too much talk. While the frequency of bank runs in the past shows the power of emotions to move markets, there’s little reason to panic. We’re not looking at anything like the circumstances…
Investors are bracing for a longer period of inflation. The RBA has warned Australians that inflation won’t reach its target range of 2-3% until 2025. The US Federal Reserve indicated that more restrictive monetary policy is on the cards amid strong employment gains. In Europe, while inflation has fallen, it is still far above the…
