Weekend reading and MB media appearances

International Reads:

• The minimum wage has lost 21% of its value since Congress last raised the wage – EPI
• Giant food companies are quietly ruining your favorite snacks — and hoping you don’t notice – Business Insider
• Janet Yellen says the Trump administration’s China policies left the US more vulnerable – ABC
• Top 1% of u.s. earners now have more wealth than the middle class – USA Today
• ‘America will become a renter nation’ – Yahoo
• Dow rallies more than 500 points to record, closes above 37,000 for the first time – CNBC
• Record-breaking oil production from the US has left OPEC with its lowest crude market share in nearly a decade – Business Insider
• A new initiative by Biden that might finally bring drug prices down – LA Times
• 1 in 5 people over 65 are still working, a twofold jump from the 1980s. – CBS News
• China’s banking system is in free fall and the country’s real estate losses could hit $4 trillion, veteran investor says – Business Insider
• Commercial real estate a top threat to financial system in 2024, U.S. regulators say – Market Watch
• Mortgage rates fall below 7% for the first time in months with experts believing more declines to come – Yahoo
• Biden Admin’s Rosy Inflation Figures Obscure How Americans Are Getting Pummeled By Rising Prices – Daily Caller

Local Reads:

• ‘Drunk’ men cause 8-hour police standoff after allegedly refusing to come down from Perth roof – Stuff
• Qantas rejects calls for passenger compensation scheme, arguing it will jack up airfares – ABC
• Record migrant intake to keep rents high for years to come – The Age
• Chris Bowen calls on News Corp to sack Andrew Bolt for column saying Australians sick of ‘kowtowing to the primitive’ – The Guardian
• Darwin Harbour Middle Arm expansion plan slammed by critics as ‘extraordinary fossil fuel subsidy’ – ABC
• As houses and industry get closer together, residents worry about fire, health — and smell – ABC
• Households across NSW told to reduce electricity usage tonight as temperatures soar – ABC
• Australia’s 3G network shutdown begins this Friday. Here’s what you need to know – ABC
• ABC finds over $1 billion of fossil fuel investment in Australia’s green super funds – ABC
• Buyers’ market in housing may be on the horizon for 2024 – Interest.co.nz
• Seventeen thousand people arrived in NZ on work visas in November – Interest.co.nz
• Latest GDP figures cast 2024 in a dim light – Interest.co.nz

MB Media Appearances this week:

Talking Labor’s “nothingburger” migration changes on Radio 2GB:

Talking migration and falling living standards on Sky News:

Quoted in News.com.au by Frank Chung on Labor’s nothingburger migration changes.