Weekend reading. media appearances and videos

International Reads:

• US Mortgage Rates Tumble to 6.55% in Biggest Drop in Two Years – Yahoo
• 40% of Americans Now Worry They Can’t Pay Their Bills – Franknez
• The mystery of Argentina’s gold: Milei admits that it was transferred abroad, without specifying the quantities or destination – Elpais
• Dell reportedly cuts over 12,000 jobs as it seeks to ‘streamline’ its structure and boost profitability: an estimated 10% of its workforce. – Toms Hardware
• GOP Budget Plans Spotlight Party’s Top Priority – Common Dreams
• Airbnb shares drop 12% as company flags weakening US demand – The Guardian
• Billionaire former Glencore oil trader charged with corruption in West Africa – The Guardian
• Clean energy tax breaks more popular than expected, as U.S. households claimed $8.4 billion in Inflation Reduction Act credits for 2023, officials say – CNBC
• Delta passengers sue airline over refunds amid Crowdstrike outage fallout – Axios
• Warren Buffett now holds more U.S. Treasury bills than the Federal Reserve  – Quartz
• Axios announced it’s laying off 10% of staff in a ‘cringe’ branded memo. That’s not the worst part – Fast Company
• The stock market rallied, but the economy isn’t out of the woods yet – MSNBC

Local Reads:

• Secure Parking fined $10.9 million after Federal Court finds company misled customers with ‘Secure-a-Spot’ service for five years – ABC
• Fresh warning for Australian travellers as violent riots rock the UK – SBS
• Former Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce’s multi-million-dollar payout reduced by almost $10 million – ABC
• I studied how rumours and misleading information spread on X during the Voice referendum. The results paint a worrying picture – The Conversation
• Sydney developer launches court fight to evict low-income renters to build four luxury apartments – ABC
• Survey data finds many recent migrants don’t fully understand Australia’s political system – ABC
• Government to fund pay rise for early childhood educators – as long as childcare centres limit fee increases – ABC
• Albanese government to fund 15% pay rise for childcare workforce, with a condition – The Conversation
• Inflation expectations all decrease markedly and converge on the RBNZ’s explicit 2% target – Interest.co.nz
• Savers are getting lower in the water – Interest.co.nz
• The labour market has softened, not collapsed – Interest.co.nz
• CoreLogic sees an increasing number of residential properties selling at a loss – Interest.co.nz

MB Media Appearances and Videos:

Robber barons have taken over Australia

Australia’s rental crisis to become permanent

The unbelievable economic lies of Anthony Albanese

Australia’s “burnout economy” blows head gasket

RBA declares war on government over inflation