Life is a marathon, not a sprint I mentioned in one of my books that about a decade ago my wife and I decided to give up on socialising for six months to train for the Sydney Marathon. The idea was to save some money for a deposit on a Sydney flat, and to push…
There has been a lot of ‘argument’ over the last decade about whether investors get better results from investing in inner or outer suburbs. Investors who seek higher yields have often said things like: “Over the last couple of years, outer suburbs have shown better growth”. It’s true that if you cherry-pick data to support…
It’s always entertaining to regale European friends with tales of Australia’s deadliest flora & fauna, from giant stinging trees, brown snakes, and the lethal irukandji jellyfish, to salties, funnel-webs, and — if you’re feeling particularly vindictive — the vicious drop bears. Shark bites are a favourite scare topic, but in reality such attacks are rare, and generally most…
Figures showed Australian employment growth tracking at all-time record levels, with a stunning +420,700 year-on-year increase in employment, including an eye-watering +166,200 increase in New South Wales. I took a look through those numbers in a bit more detail, including at the state level, here. Population growth tends to be pro-cyclical, and over the year to September 2017…
Employment increased by an estimated +17,500 in February to 12,480,500, with a huge swing back to full time jobs in this month’s figures reported by the ABS. That makes it 17 consecutive gains for employment, a record stretch, with surveys elsewhere now putting business conditions at record highs. With estimates recently rebased this takes the…
Lots of news articles about immigration in the past fortnight, so here’s a brief look at some very timely figures. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) stats showed permanent and long term arrivals surging +4.9 per cent higher over the year to the highest ever level at 787,710. Seasonally adjusted short-term arrivals also hit a record…
I heard some awfully sad news today, which got me thinking about what really is important in life, and what isn’t. On reflection, the list of unimportant things is virtually endless. Trying to win a debate on Twitter with someone you’ve never met (OK, maybe occasionally I’ve done this!), or how many followers you have…
Do you ever browse through those ‘day in the life’ profiles where successful people forever seem to start their day at obscenely early hours? Although the repetition can be grating, it’s not entirely coincidental. After all, you can’t achieve much in a day if it never gets going. In the immortal words of Mastermind host Magnus Magnusson:…
One of the most misunderstood of all data releases is that of building activity. So let’s see if I can shed at least a shard of light upon it, in three short parts. Firstly, then, the number of housing starts held firm at just under 55,000 in the September quarter. There are still attached dwellings…
Wow, another big beat for employment, increasing +37,700 to a fresh high of 12,440,800. That makes 2017 the biggest year on record for employment growth at +403,700, with the survey recording 15 consecutive monthly gains for the first time in four decades. Better still, ¾ of the growth was in full-time jobs. Annual employment growth…