We got the expected bounce in employment in February, with total employed persons rising by +64,600 as Aussies returned from their long summer breaks. These solid increases came after two consecutive monthly declines, however. The 3-month average gain in employment was thus very modest at only +12k. With population growth rates running at record highs,…
Articles by Pete Wargent
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
Consumer sentiment is the lowest since the GFC Rate hikes have had quite an impact on sentiment. In fact surveys suggest that consumer sentiment is now lower than at the nadir ensuing from the Zombie apocalypse of 2020. It’s the lowest level since the global financial crisis of 2007-2009. Still, financial markets are pricing for…
Woeful building approvals figures were reported recently, with seasonally adjusted dwelling approvals falling to their lowest levels in over a decade (since 2012) in January according to ABS figures. Non-residential approvals also fell by -25.6 per cent over the month. Source: ABS The monthly numbers are very choppy, of course, but these figures generally appear…
The household saving ratio continued to plummet in the last quarter of 2022, now down to just 4.5 per cent, from a pandemic high of 23.7 per cent in 2020. The level will be quite close to zero by the end of this month. Despite this rundown, the economy actually contracted slightly in per capita…
Australia’s population is booming. This interesting AMP chart summarises the latest net immigration figures, with the annualised pace running at an even faster pace than at the peak of the mining boom. Westpac also highlights the epic surge in student visas, with likely up to another 50,000 Chinese students suddenly on their way back to…
Both the Fairfax newspapers and The Australian ran pieces on the prudential regulator and lending settings, following a media interview with the APRA Chair. The gist running through several media articles was that mortgage arrears remain low for now, and the 3 percentage points lending assessment buffer introduced in October 2021 remains in place for the…
Are we near the peak of interest rates? This Macquarie Macro Strategy chart shows the rapid decline in job ads, from SEEK’s index: With housing starts crashing, the peak of the hiking cycle must be getting close…. We still have the inflation figures for the final quarter of 2022 to be reported this week, so…
Dwelling construction was significantly delayed in mid-2022 due to the combined shortages of labour and materials, and the number of new dwellings under construction remained resolutely high until September at around 243,500. Although attached dwellings under construction eased in the two most heavily populated states, south-east Queensland did see in an increase in much-needed supply…
Building approvals are at a 2-year low. In fact, only 849 units were approved in Sydney in November and a somewhat healthier 1,922 in Melbourne. Annual approvals for attached dwellings are running at around decade lows in the major cities, and are sinking fast again in Brisbane. Detached house approvals are falling away fast in…
Property investors are pulling out of the market at a time when a rental shortage is looming. Credit growth was revised down to 0.54 per cent for October, and the November figure was just 0.49 per cent. Annual credit growth thus dropped sharply from 9.3 per cent to 8.9 per cent in October, and we…