Not long ago, FTX was one of the world’s largest trading platforms for cryptocurrencies. Founded in 2019, the Bahamas-based crypto exchange had a meteoric rise to prominence and was valued at more than US$30 billion earlier this year. All that has changed in the past two weeks. First, concerns emerged about links between FTX and…
Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe is getting terrible press, most of it undeserved. “Lowe Blow” and “Take a Hike” were two of the headlines on the front page of one of our newspapers. “We’ve had our Phil” was on the front page of another. His critics – the ones complaining about continual increases in interest…
![Top 20 countries with the most ultra-wealthy individuals [Infographic]](https://cdn.propertyupdate.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ultra-wealthy-270x200.jpg)
Where do the “ultra-wealthy” individuals live? Well, new data from the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report shows that there was an “explosion of wealth” last year. In fact, the global population of ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs) grew by 46,000 to a record of 218,200. The report notes that UHNWIs benefited from a surge in…
![The World’s Population at 8 Billion [Infographic]](https://cdn.propertyupdate.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/population-270x200.jpg)
At some point in late 2022, the eighth billionth human being will enter the world, ushering in a new milestone for humanity. In just 48 years, the world population has doubled in size, jumping from four to eight billion. Of course, humans are not equally spread throughout the planet, and countries take all shapes and…
Millions of Australians have had their privacy breached in recent cyber attacks against Optus, Medibank and other companies. Cybercriminals stole sensitive health and financial data that can be used for ransom, blackmail or fraud. Law enforcement agencies are still investigating the origin of these attacks, but as experts in cyber and national security, we can…
When Australia’s borders slammed shut during COVID, international students were among those who were stranded. This disrupted lives and studies and put a major revenue stream for Australian universities in doubt. The latest data shows international students are returning to Australia. Since international borders reopened in December 2021, the number of overseas students in Australia…
Pushing up interest rates isn’t something the Reserve Bank does lightly. But what’s worrying the Reserve Bank – and why it increased interest rates for a record seventh consecutive month on Melbourne Cup Tuesday – is that inflation seems to become completely detached from the bank’s target band. That target band of 2-3% was introduced…
Economics is confusing at the best of times. But, at the moment, it’s downright counter-intuitive. Inflation is at its highest in decades, and we’re feeling the pain of the lower real wages that brings. Meanwhile, unemployment is its lowest in half a century, with virtually anyone who wants a job able to get one. Interest…
![Global Macroeconomic Risk, by Country in 2022 [Infographic]](https://cdn.propertyupdate.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/economy-270x200.jpg)
When Russia invaded Ukraine, vital grain export routes shut down in Ukraine’s Port of Odesa—causing global food prices to soar. Since then, energy markets have been disrupted, leading European heating costs to skyrocket. Meanwhile, global inflation is high, and central banks around the world are raising interest rates in response to rising price pressures. This…
Michael and Karen moved from Melbourne to Castlemaine, about 130km northwest of Victoria’s capital, in mid-2020 – using, like tens of thousands of Australians, the shift to remote work to make a larger lifestyle change. They sold the small two-room inner-urban apartment they had bought in 2018 and bought a large three-bedroom home on a…
