Weekend reading and media appearances

International reading:

• US Army ‘could use student loans to conscript troops to fight Iran’ – AOL
• Trump Lies That Medicare for All Would Cost ‘Entire Budget of the Whole Country’ – Common Dreams
• Europe increasingly angry at US over world economy as Canada tariffs ‘harm everyone’ – The Mirror
• Dutch central bank moves €10 billion in gold out of U.S., Canada, citing “instability” – NL Times
• People are turning to BNPL loans to pay for rent, food and other necessities – CBS News
• El-Sayed: If you’re starting a trade war with Canada, ‘you’re the a‑‑hole’ – The Hill
• Why bond yields are rising and why everyone should care – AP News
• Nearly 2.5 Million Children Have Lost Medicaid and CHIP—So Far—During Trump’s Second Term – Common Dreams
• Trump pledged fiscal restraint. Instead, debt tops $40 trillion as borrowing costs rise – Reuters
• American distilleries ‘devastated’ by collapse of trade talks as they face hundreds of millions in lost sales – The Star
• Putin Says Ukraine 40-Day Strike Campaign Cost Russia 1% of GDP – Yahoo
• US oil giant Chevron confirms it will expand operations in Venezuela – AP News
• Global bond sell-off intensifies as US-Iran tensions stoke inflation fears – The Guardian
• Netherlands moves 86 tonnes of gold from US and Canada to UK – Euro News
• Is a Stock Market Crash Imminent Under President Donald Trump? More Than 85 Years of Historical Precedent Offers an Answer. – Yahoo
• Meta is testing robot arms inside data centers that could replace up to 80% of human workload – Tech Radar
• Private payrolls rose by 38,000 in August, less than expected, ADP reports – CNBC

Local Reading:

• US declares it will accelerate military presence in Australia – ABC
• Coalition unveils plan to slash tobacco tax, legalise and regulate vapes – ABC
• Australia’s new environmental protection agency approves coal project, angering climate groups – The Guardian
• Lifelong renters face ‘looming crisis’ as they reach retirement, demographer warns – ABC
• Tech giants are trying to obliterate privacy. Australia has a rare chance to take back part of their power – The Guardian
• Telstra outage caused by failure to prioritise well-known network vulnerabilities – ABC
• Vivian Balakrishnan floats idea of Pacific power grid linked to Australia – Channel News Asia
• Watchdog circles WA utility as ‘unusual’ battery charging pushes prices higher – ABC
• Australian Federal Police raid home of former CFMEU official John Perkovic – ABC
• The datacentre power spat highlights a hidden truth: we’re not building renewables fast enough to meet our needs – The Guardian
• RBNZ ‘can probably take some time to assess’ and see how 2 OCR hikes have affected the economy – Interest.co.nz
• Potential buyers waiting for ‘confirmation the return of rising prices is about to get underway’ – Interest.co.nz
• Is the OCR now on ice until after the election? RBNZ’s signalling divides bank economists – Interest.co.nz
• New dwelling consents showing strong growth – Interest.co.nz

MB Media Appearances:

This interview on News24 debunks Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ lies that Australia’s economy is the strongest of major advanced economies.

This Treasury of Common Sense with Luke Grant on Radio 2GB/4BC broke down the latest on the immigration and climate change debate, which has been marred by misinformation and obfuscation.

This extract from my latest podcast with Martin North at Digital Finance Analytics explains why Australia faces a chronic energy shortage as coal generators retire and data centres proliferate.