Pete is a Chartered Accountant, Chartered Secretary and has a Financial Planning Diploma. Using a long term approach to building businesses, investing in equities, & owning a portfolio he achieved financial independence at the age of 33. Visit his blog
Retail turnover increased by just +1.1 per cent over the year to January. After accounting for very rapid population growth and price inflation, this represents quite a significant slowdown for the sector. Source: ABS The national accounts reflected a very similar picture – the Aussie economy grew slightly in Q4 2023, up by 0.2 per…
With another building firm going into administration yesterday, affecting a further 120 projects, it wasn’t a great surprise to see that home-building activity was falling sharply in late 2023 as the pipeline shrunk. Apartment construction held up better. I’ve been of the opinion that anti-landlord legislation and new land taxes will stifle the supply of…
The number of temporary visa holders in Australia hit a record high in October of 2,664,523. Excluding visitors, the total was a record 2.32 million. Student visas hit a record high of 672,782, while working holiday visas have roared back to 159,638. It’s been well documented that this is causing some ructions in the rental…
Property interest payable on dwellings increased from $45 billion to $91 billion in the 2023 financial year, more than doubling in recording an increase of +102 per cent. Good news for banks, I guess but will most likely be crippling for household expenditure, consumption, and retailers over the next year… Gross incomes per capita increased…
Employment increased +55,000 in October, taking employment in Australia a massive +419,000 higher over the past year to a record 14,173,500. The October result was largely a result of part-time employment, however, some of which may have been driven by temporary hiring related to The Voice referendum (which would likely be unwound in November). Still,…
The labour force figures came in soft for September, with employment up only very modestly, by +6,700. This did come off the back of some volatile numbers in recent months – seasonal adjustments have been a bit thrown off by shifts in school holidays – so it’s a bit easier to look at a 3-month…
As expected by markets, the monthly inflation indicator came in at 5.2 per cent for the year to August. This was an increase from the very sharp drop to 4.9 per cent last month but below the 5.4 per cent recorded in June. The increase was mainly driven by rising fuel prices, driven more so…
Most of us have heard about the concept of compound growth, the snowballing effect caused by growth upon growth. You know the kind of thing: – If you could fold a piece of paper 42 times it would reach the moon; or – 24 rabbits in Australia became 2 million in only a decade; or…
Australia’s estimated resident population increased by a record +181,600 or +0.7 per cent in the March quarter. The annual growth increased to +563,200 or +2.2 per cent, and it’s now certain that we’ll see record high annual figures recorded over the next six months. Source: ABS Net migration accounted for +152,000 of the quarterly increase,…
Job ads decreased by -0.4 per cent in August (or ads), to be -6 per cent lower than a year earlier. Although job ads remain at a historically strong level for the time being, a range of forward-looking indicators are now pointing towards the unemployment rising towards 4½ per cent over the months ahead. Source: Jobs…
