This Month
The six charts that show the consumer comeback is here
After two years of cutting back, Australians are finally loosening their purse strings as confidence rises. But a full-blown boom seems unlikely.
February
If the RBA holds rates on Tuesday, this will be why
Whether Michele Bullock delivers a much-anticipated rate cut or not will hinge on how the Reserve Bank board interprets shifting signals from the jobs market.
Relax, here’s why you don’t need that much super
While surveys show fear of retirement is the top source of stress for workers, retirees themselves are among the most financially secure cohorts in the country.
December 2024
How Victoria became one of the rich world’s most indebted states
Victoria is the fourth-most indebted advanced economy state government outside the US. It may soon find there’s a fine line between nation-building and overbuilding.
November 2024
How Australia became the world’s biggest cost-of-living loser
Since 2019, Australians have experienced the sharpest decline in living standards across the OECD. Voters overseas have turfed out governments for much less.
Inside Canberra’s hidden $180b spending boom
Australia’s budget numbers are increasingly a mirage as billions in spending are labelled as ‘investments’ to improve the fiscal optics.
October 2024
Australia has passed peak property investor
For many around the country, especially Baby Boomers, property investing is a national pastime. But if you look closely, landlord numbers are declining.
Myth of the job-hopping Millennial worker exposed
Despite headlines about fickle Millennial and Gen Z employees, young people are switching jobs less than previous generations.
The NDIS-ification of the economy is in full swing
A scheme only ever meant to cost $22 billion is underwriting a once-in-a-generation rise in government spending that rivals the mining boom in terms of scale.
September 2024
The ‘insolvency armageddon’ is all hype
Concern about the record number of company failures is not only overblown, but the surge in businesses going bust is probably a good thing.
These two charts show the worst of the rental crisis is over
Small shifts in behaviour can have a big effect. A jump in the number of homeowners welcoming flatmates has added the equivalent of 106,000 houses onto the market.