With the world experiencing inflation levels not seen since the 1980s, central banks are caught between warning of the dangers of a 1970s-style inflationary spiral and contributing to that spiral by talking about it. It’s a problem in any part of the economy where expectations shape outcomes. On one hand, central banks including Australia’s Reserve…
We know Australia’s unemployment rate is at historic lows and we are desperately looking for more skilled migrants to fill the gaps. So why aren’t they coming into the country? Fact is…Australia is experiencing a slow pick up in net migration with permanent and long-term departures running above pre-pandemic levels. Net permanent and long-term is…
Australia’s consumer price index is about to go monthly, meaning Australia will join most of the developed world in getting an update on inflation at the end of every month, instead of once every three months as at present. Until now Australia has been the only member of the Group of 20 leading industrial nations…
How did the high inflation of the 1970s affect the economy and the investment returns? What are the trends in inflation and interest rates? These and other questions were raised and answered by Dr Shane Oliver, Head of Investment Strategy and Economics and Chief Economist at AMP in his recent Insight. I grew up in…
Unfathomably, Australia’s unemployment rate has sunk to 3.5%. Even harder to believe is that it will soon sink lower – perhaps even this week when the update is released on Thursday – and after that, if the ANZ’s forecasts are correct, dip below the next threshold to two-point-something for the first time since 1974. That…
Australia’s top economists are divided about how to tackle ballooning inflation of 6.1% that’s forecast to climb to a three-decade high of 7.75% by the end of the year. Three of the 48 leading economists surveyed by the Economic Society of Australia and The Conversation say Australia should be able to tolerate an inflation rate…
Do you know the tell-tale signs that your rental might be being used as a drug lab? Toxic chemical residue, fire damage, unpaid utility bills, damaged ceilings, modified plumbing, fortifications, and the aftermath of explosions – these are all potential issues for landlords who discover their rental has been used as some kind of drug…
Actor Chadwick Boseman, star of Marvel’s Black Panther, died in 2020 aged 43 from colon cancer. It came to light last month his estate would be split evenly between his widow and his parents, following a legal process. Although he knew for some time that he was dying, he did not make a will. This…
How many people are there in the world? How many die each year, and how many babies are born? These are key questions that we need to understand the world around us. The global population dataset is one of our most important at Our World in Data: it underpins nearly every topic we cover. The UN…
We learnt last week that inflation is officially 6.1% – way above the average over the past 20 years of 2.5%. This is right in the middle of the Reserve Bank’s 2-3% target band. But although the rate is now 6.1%, not everybody faces it. It depends on what you buy. And there’s one…
