Australian Economy

By Leith van Onselen A fortnight ago, several labour market experts raised concern about the proliferation of unpaid internships, which risked becoming a black market for slave labour.

By Leith van Onselen Remember the below chart showing the immigration-fueled population explosion that is projected to take place across Sydney over the next 20 years, increasing the city’s population by an insane 1.74 million people – the equivalent to adding a Perth to Sydney’s population?

By Leith van Onselen Former federal treasurer, Wayne Swan, is concerned that Australia’s middle-class risks going the way of America’s and claims the Labor Party and the union movement need to better argue the case for improved wages for middle-class workers.

From the Bank of International Settlements (BIS): Excessive indebtedness has been one of the root causes of financial crises and the ensuing deep recessions.

The MSM bank protection racket is in full swing, at the AFR: London-based investors have warned National Australia Bank chief executive Andrew Thorburn that they consider Australia a less stable and less consistent economy for investment after the South Australian budget hit the big four banks and Macquarie with a surprise $370 million tax.

Not before time: CPA Australia’s controversial chief executive Alex Malley has been sacked, effective immediately.

Weeoo, weeoo, weeoo.

Via AFR: The days of Chinese companies bidding up asset prices in Australia appear to be numbered, after the banking regulator in Beijing ordered a review of the sector’s exposure to the most acquisitive private firms.

By Leith van Onselen You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to acknowledge that the unprecedented immigration-fueled population growth into Victoria: Which is projected to continue ad infinitum: Necessarily requires massive infrastructure spending to ensure that incumbent residents’ living standards are not eroded.

Via the ABC: It is said “success breeds success”, but at troubled professional accounting body CPA Australia, it seems failure is delivering a pretty healthy revenue stream.

By Leith van Onselen The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) yesterday released its quarterly labour force report, which breaks-down employment at the industry level to May 2017.

By Leith van Onselen A wide disconnect has opened up between the pay rises being received by federal politicians and senior bureaucrats compared with the rest of the population.

Citi has given Dominoes a huge serve today:  Initiating coverage with Sell — We initiate coverage on Domino’s Pizza with a Sell rating and $45.50 target price.

By LF Economics It is well known the yield curve is an accurate predictor of recession and financial instability. When the yield of bonds and bills with shorter-term maturities are larger than that of longer-term maturities (the yield spread inverts), it is a clear indicator economic growth will decline in the near future.

William Bourke, President of the Sustainable Australia political party, appeared on Mark Latham’s Outsiders last night to talk about the federal government’s mass immigration program – roughly 200,000 per year – and its deleterious impacts on housing, infrastructure, the environment, the labour market, and overall living standards.

Via Domainfax: Australia has dropped five places in a global survey of the best places to live, but it still remains one of the only countries outside Scandinavia in the top 10.

By Leith van Onselen The South Australian Government has announced that it will follow the New South Wales and Victorian Governments and privatise its land registry in a bid to raise a quick $500 million.

By Leith van Onselen Back in March, a group of Sydney councils pushed back on the Greater Sydney Commission’s vision for Sydney, demanding more detail on funding for vital infrastructure projects, where problems have become chronic.

That burying your head in the sand strategy ain’t working, via the AFR: Victorian CPAs are “highly likely” to lose their protection from multi-million-dollar malpractice lawsuits because their professional representative body, CPA Australia, will not have a new scheme approved by the government regulator before the current arrangement ends.

Exclusively from Professor Steve Keen: How to delay a recession Much was made of the fact that Australia recently replaced The Netherlands as the world record holder for the longest period without a recession (using the colloquial definition of two consecutive quarters of negative growth).

By Leith van Onselen WA Premier, Mark McGowan, has signaled that unlike his federal Labor counterpart, Bill Shorten, he actually cares about his workers.

Via Westpac: • The six month annualised growth rate in the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Index, which indicates the likely pace of economic activity relative to trend three to nine months into the future, eased from 1.01% in April to 0.62% in May.

By Leith van Onselen Business Council of Australia president and chief engineer of Australia’s LNG calamity, Grant King, has been quick to douse RBA Governor Phil Lowe’s call for workers to demand pay rises.