Among the many explanations put forward for soaring home prices, one we hear repeatedly is zoning — the regulations that govern the purposes for which land can be used, including how densely people can be housed in different locations. The real estate industry says if only we relaxed the zoning rules and allowed more houses…
Articles by Guest Expert
Apart from our regular team of experts, we frequently publish commentary from guest contributors who are authorities in their field.
Where does the world’s ultra-wealthy population live? The pandemic, geopolitical tensions, and supply chain disruptions have thrown the world into disarray in recent years, but that hasn’t stopped the world’s ultra-wealthy population from growing at a strong clip. New data from this year’s Wealth Report by Knight Frank shows that the number of Ultra-High Net…
It is coming up to 18 months since Australia’s Reserve Bank last cut its cash rate. And what it did then was merely a further cut, from an unprecedented low of 0.25% to a fresh unprecedented low of 0.10% Since it last changed the direction of rates (started cutting instead of hiking) it has been…
Something extraordinary has been happening for Australians seeking jobs in the past few months. The number of vacant jobs on offer has soared to a new all-time high. Figures released in budget week show there were almost twice as many jobs available in February this year – 423,500 – as in February 2020, before COVID…
Russia’s richest individuals have lost more than $38 billion in 2022 because of Western sanctions on Russia in reprisal for the invasion of Ukraine. Together, the top 10 Russian oligarchs have a net worth of $186 billion, equivalent to the market cap of large publicly-traded companies like McDonald’s and AMD. But who are the Russian ultra-rich? In today’s graphic,…
Australia’s population grew just 0.3% year on year in Q3 2021, with growth well below the pre-pandemic average of 1.6% given the closed international border from March 2020, with a staged reopening beginning 1 November 2021. In terms of heads, this equates to the population increasing by just 68,900 people compared to 380,000 a year…
A curious feature of the Australian tax system is “bracket creep”. Taxpayers whose income climbs by no more than prices (inflation) get no increase in their living standards. Instead, they see more and more of their income pushed into their highest tax brackets, or to even higher tax brackets. It means the government’s income from…
A home loan is likely the biggest debt you’ll ever get yourself into. But far from being a money pit, a home loan represents just another tool of money management. By using it strategically you can reduce your interest costs and make your mortgage work for you. And you can start today. 1. Take a…
The biggest question relating to the management of the economy right now has nothing to do with next week’s budget. It has everything to do with the Reserve Bank and the board meetings that will follow it. The question facing the board – the biggest there is when it comes to how the next few…
Russia’s first McDonald’s store in opened in 1990, just months after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was a potent symbol that the Cold War was ending and a great ideological wound healing. Now every McDonald’s in Russia is closed, as nations and corporations reduce, suspend or sever ties in response to the invasion…