According to The Age, Victoria will head into its 6th lockdown from 8pm tonight only a week after its last ~2 week lockdown: Victoria will enter lockdown from this evening around 8pm for a period of about a week @theage Cabinet meeting now to finalise detailshttps://t.co/n2NH2kmXaU — Paul Sakkal (@paulsakkal) August 5, 2021 According to
The auction market has swept aside lockdowns, with the final national clearance rate rising to 77.2% from 73.0% last weekend off similar volumes (1,761 versus to 1,728). As shown in the next table, Sydney’s auction market is proving especially stoic, with the city’s final clearance rate rising to 76.1% from 72.8% the prior weekend. This
Below is an article written by me published yesterday at News.com.au: There are two strong indicators used to predict house price growth – and both of them are showing a downward trajectory right now. This week, CoreLogic recorded another strong 1.6 per cent rise in Australian property prices in July, with values up a remarkable
The ABS released trade data for the June quarter with Australia recording a record $28.1 billion trade surplus: The massive surplus was driven by iron ore exports, which soared to $152 billion in the 2020-21 financial year: However, the boom in exports over Q2 were driven entirely price increases, with export prices rising 13.2% over
NSW Health has recorded another 262 locally acquired COVID cases over the past 24 hours – a record high for the state: NSW recorded 262 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. Of these locally acquired cases, 129 linked to a known case or cluster – 96 household
QLD has recorded another 16 new locally acquired COVID cases – the same number as the prior two days: All new cases are linked to a cluster involving schools in Brisbane’s inner west, which has grown to 79. Thankfully, only three of these cases spent time in the community while infectious. The total number of
Data from the Property Council of Australia shows that the national office vacancy rate increased from 11.6% to 11.9% in the first six months of 2021 – the highest vacancies in a quarter of a century. Melbourne recorded a sharp fall in demand for office space during the half-year, while Mark Curtain of CBRE says
The Australian Labor Party (ALP) is enjoying its biggest two-party preferred polling lead over the Coalition since the January 2020 bushfires, according to Roy Morgan Research: ALP support has increased to 53.5% (up 1% point since mid-July) cf. L-NP on 46.5% (down 1% points) on a two-party preferred basis after Sydney’s month-long lockdown was extended
Just a day after Victoria declared a ‘donut day’ of zero locally acquired COVID infections, a new cluster has emerged and six new locally acquired cases have been recorded: Reported yesterday: 6 new local cases and no new cases acquired overseas. – 17,229 vaccine doses were administered – 27,279 test results were received More later:
On Tuesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released data on new finance commitments, which registered the first decline in mortgages for nine months: As regular readers know, the growth in new mortgage commitments has historically been correlated very strongly with dwelling value growth. The reason is straightforward: the overwhelming majority of buyers borrow to
New car sales continued to rise in July despite widespread lockdowns across Australia. According to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), 84,161 new cars were sold in July, up only 16.1% from July last year and slightly above July 2019. The next chart plots new car sales in rolling annual terms and shows the
Global Macro / Markets / Investing: Let us regulate ‘wild west’ of cryptocurrency, SEC chair urges – The Guardian The Great Exodus From China Continues — The Future of Bitcoin Mining Lies in North America. – In Bitcoin We Trust Cryptocurrency Users Reach an Unprecedented Number – Forex Review Global Supply Chain will Flip the
Israel has the highest full vaccination rate in the world and the fourth highest overall vaccination rate: Yet its government is reinstating COVID restrictions due to a surge in infections after reopening last month: From the Jerusalem Post: Starting August 20, the full green pass system will be in place again, and starting Sunday, masks
With Australians precluded from travelling, working from home, and sitting on a mountain of savings, many households are choosing to spend their money on renovating their homes. The evidence came yesterday in the form of the ABS’ housing finance data, which showed renovation loans rose by 7.4% to a record (19-year) high of $486.8 million:
Fairfax’s senior economics writer, Jessica Irvine, wants another housing affordability inquiry chaired by former Treasury secretary Ken Henry: [We need] a high-level Treasury review, of the ilk of the Ken Henry tax review… So, I texted Henry to see if he’s up for it. He replied: “Jess. Sure. I’d chair such a review. The question
Roy Morgan has released its Inflation Expectations report for July, which increased to 4.1% – the highest reading since October 2019: In July 2021 Australians expected inflation of 4.1% annually over the next two years, up 0.1% and the highest Inflation Expectations for nearly two years since October 2019. Inflation Expectations are now up 0.9%
The ABS has released retail sales data for June, which fell 1.8% over the month to be 2.9% higher year-on-year: The decline in retail sales in June was fairly broad-based with only South Australia and the ACT recording growth: All sub categories other than food retailing also registered falls: However, quarterly retail volumes rose 0.8%
NSW Health has recorded another 233 locally acquired COVID cases over the past 24 hours: NSW recorded 233 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. Of these locally acquired cases, 103 are linked to a known case or cluster – 79 are household contacts and 24 are close
Roy Morgan has released its business confidence survey for July, which plunged by 11.1 points (-8.7%) to 117.2 after Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide were placed in lockdowns: Despite the sharp fall in July, Business Confidence has now averaged 123.6 during the first seven months of 2021, the best ever start to a year for the
SQM Research has released its stock on market report for July, which recorded a 1.1% rise in for sale listings nationally, with all markets except Sydney and Melbourne recording increases: However, over the year listings were down a whopping 23.6%, exposing a very tight market. Interestingly, both the number of new listings (<30 days old)
QLD Health has reported another 16 locally acquired COVID cases – the same number as yesterday’s: Of today’s cases, four are linked to Ironside State School in the Brisbane suburb of St Lucia, including one teacher. Two cases are linked to Indooroopilly State High School, one to Brisbane Boys Grammar and nine are close contacts
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) yesterday released data showing that thousands more Australians have ditched Sydney and Melbourne and moved to Queensland. As shown in the next table, 8,169 residents left Sydney and 8,273 residents left Melbourne over the March quarter. By contrast, Brisbane gained 3,274 residents from the rest of Australia: The next
For years we have argued that Australia’s international education industry is really an immigration play, whereby migrants effectively purchase access to work and live in Australia by studying at an Australian institution. The immigration play has been developed jointly by the federal government and education industry via: The federal government offering the most generous work
Global Macro / Markets / Investing: Transitory inflation could mean higher prices for years, not months, and Powell’s stance could complicate his future as Fed chief, Mohamed El-Erian says – Business Insider How the Great Forgiving of Debt Will Save Us From Ourselves – Carbon Radio Oil prices fall on worries over China economy and
Labor leader Anthony Albanese believes the federal government should give all people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by December a one-off payment of $300. Albanese says that if all eligible people got vaccinated and spent the $300 payment, it would inject as much as $6 billion into the economy. Finance Minister Simon Birmingham rejects
Australia’s last census (2016) was associated with great controversy stemming from its “digital-first” strategy, whereby the majority of Australians would do the census online for the first time. Then a denial of service (DOS) attack occurred on census night, resulting in the online questionnaire platform shutting down and remaining offline for nearly two days. This
New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that dwelling approvals fell by 6.7% in June to be 48.9% higher over the year. The fall was driven by detached houses, which tanked 11.8% in June whereas unit approvals rose 0.8%. Units led approvals over the year, lifting a whopping 63.7% versus a 44.3%
The Australian mortgage market softened in June, recording its first monthly fall for nine months, according to new data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The total value of new mortgage commitments fell by a seasonally adjusted 1.6% in June 2021 to be up 82.7% year-on-year: As shown above, owner-occupiers have driven
NSW Health has recorded another 199 new COVID cases over the past 24 hours: NSW recorded 199 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. Of these locally acquired cases, 88 are linked to a known case or cluster, 67 are household contacts and 21 are close contacts. Source
This morning I attacked the Morrison Government for seeking repayments from households of excess pandemic welfare payments and childcare subsidies while refusing to pursue companies that received billions of dollars worth of excess JobKeeper subsidies. The AFR’s John Kehoe reports that Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has refused to act on “imperative” Treasury advice recommending an independent
