Weekend reading and MB Media Appearances

International Reading:

• Trump fired him. The ‘DEI Watchlist’ shamed him. Then came 500 job rejections. – Washington Post
• As US ties fray, Europe plans first undersea cable link to Greenland – Ars Technica
• Half of Americans are skipping meals because grocery prices are so high, poll finds – Independent
• Banks and healthcare firms are outbidding tech for software talent, major recruiter says – CNBC
• US economy grows faster than expected but inflation rises to 3.7% – The Guardian
• Can Democracy Survive the Next Financial Crash? – The Guardian
• Google owner Alphabet suffers its worst-ever day on stock market as value plunges $500bn – Sky News
• Carney hosts EU leaders as Trump pushes Canada toward Europe, but membership label faces resistance – AP News
• All the hidden tax rises and costs in the Budget – INews UK
• America’s Truckers on the Brink With 221 Bankruptcies This Year – Bloomberg
• U.S. workers’ connection to their jobs hits lowest level since 2011, Gallup poll finds – CNBC
• Anthropic IPO Filing Reveals Looming Threat to Nvidia’s Pricing Power – Business Insider
• Fed’s Preferred Inflation Gauge Rose Again in September on Higher Energy Costs – Barrons
• In China, the AI bubble has already burst – Reuters
• Chinese markets lose trillions as race for AI supremacy with US takes its toll – The Guardian

Local Reading:

• ‘Emotional intimacy’ from AI chatbots would be banned under Australia’s digital duty of care laws – The Guardian
• Australia has highest rates of anorexia and bulimia in world, study finds – ABC News
• Pauline Hanson accuses Anthony Albanese of trying to divide One Nation with staffing offer – ABC News
• News website reporting on crime in Victoria staffed by workers in Philippines – ABC News
• Australian SAS officers knew about unlawful ‘throwdowns’ on dead Afghans, report says – The Guardian
• Bad inflation result lays bare the ugly truth: There is no easy way out – ABC
• Large-scale data breaches on the rise, latest OAIC statistics reveal – OAIC
• Firmus’s AI data centre commitments in doubt due to failed float, documents show – ABC
• ‘Enormous surge’ in peptide use forces needle and syringe programs to restrict safe injecting resources – ABC
• Housing and homelessness spot fires merge into a raging front – Homelessness Australia
• Australian house prices are tumbling – Interest.co.nz
• Total residential mortgage debt has passed $400 billion – Interest.co.nz
• Latest RNZ Poll paints bleak picture for National – Interest.co.nz
• Politics kept out of OCR decision, according to RBNZ Governor – Interest.co.nz
• First home buyers paying less for their homes but more than half taking on low equity loans – Interest.co.nz

MB Media Appearances:

This Treasury of Common Sense on Radio 2GB/4BC discusses the worsening economic conditions facing Australians and the absurd cost blowout of the Snowy Hydro 2.0 project.

This interview with Tom Elliott on Radio 3AW discusses the economic and fiscal implications of the blowout in state and federal government bureaucracies.

This extended interview with Martin North at Digital Finance Analytics explores the dramatic fall in home prices and whether it signals a broader malaise in Australia’s economy. We also discuss the growing likelihood of a 2027 recession.

This interview with Andrew Bolt on News 24 discusses the government’s role in Australia’s inflation.