Australian Economy

By Leith van Onselen After the NSW Government last month admitted that the migrant intake is “out of control” and demanded it be cut in half, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has tasked a three-member panel with convincing the federal government to help lower the rate of immigration into the state.

By Leith van Onselen The ABC has published an interesting report on the rising failure rate among smaller retailers: Data and analytics provider illion revealed 54,992 businesses went bust in Australia last financial year.

Population propagandist, The Guardian, has a special today on the people deluge that has drowned the outer Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne: Traffic jams start early in Cranbourne.

By Leith van Onselen The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for the September quarter 0f 2018, which registered both soft headline and underlying inflation.

The ABS is out with September QTR CPI and the news is cold: Analytical series even weaker than headline.

Via FTAlphaville on the UK version of same: Back in July, we had a look at the impact foreign policy issues might have on the financial stability of UK universities.

By Leith van Onselen An interesting little development is taking place regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal.

Via Deloitte today: Investment Monitor: Infrastructure takes over 31 October 2018:  Following the trough in business investment in late 2016, the debate has now turned to the timing and extent of the investment recovery.

By Leith van Onselen The Grattan Institute has penned another gaslighting piece in The Conversation attacking “Australia’s dangerous fantasy” of “diverting population growth to the regions”: A dangerous fantasy is taking hold in Australia: that government policy can divert population growth from our bulging capital cities to our needy regions.

Via Daily Mail: A 23-year-old man has made more than $129,000 profit after buying a plot of land and mowing it twice.

By Leith van Onselen Former Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has been sent to Indonesia and has reportedly ‘saved’ negotiations for a ‘free trade agreement’ (FTA) with Indonesia.

Via Capital Economics: Households responded to rising house prices by lifting spending and we think they will eventually respond to falling prices with lower spending.

It’s the best of times.

Via Morgan Stanley on the last of the global housing bubbles: These economies now face a crucial juncture as housing markets weaken, forcing a reappraisal of leverage and wealth, and global financial conditions tighten, increasing the consumption drag from debt service and rising savings.

By Leith van Onselen For years, MB has documented the egregious rorting of migrant workers, including: Systemic wages theft by Dominos, Caltex, 7-Eleven, Woolworths and many other fast food franchises, which were busted for rorting migrant labour.

By Leith van Onselen The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) last week released annual migration data, which showed that the percentage of Australians born overseas hit an all-time high 29.0% in 2016-17: The cultural and linguistic diversity of Australia’s resident population has been reshaped over many years by migration.

Via Westpac: •Unemployment fell to a six year low of 5% in September. If you look at the labour market holistically, the large monthly drop looks like survey volatility rather than a new lower trend (see “Australian Labour Force Survey; a robust update if you look through the volatility”).

By Leith van Onselen The Grattan Institute has released its State Orange Book 2018, which notes that the major states are under immense pressure from Australia’s mass immigration ‘Big Australia’ policy, which has crush loaded infrastructure, driven down home ownership rates, and driven up homelessness.