Time to stop passing the buck
Treasurer Jim Chalmers needs to take a close look in the mirror to see the real reason Aussies are doing it tough.
Terry McCrann
The evil of inflation deepens
A nasty new edge to the pain of inflation has emerged in recent years, widening the gap between the haves and the have nots.
State budgets: ugly to ultra-ugly
Queenslanders should take the money and run – straight to the ballot box in October, to throw out the incumbent Miles-Dick government.
The voting irony in Costello’s fall
Peter Costello has enjoyed the sort of support from shareholders he could have only dreamt about as a politician. Too bad no one’s asking them what they think.
Earth to RBA; Why people matter
The federal government’s `mad, bad and dangerous’ population growth won’t be able to hide the fundamental issues with the economy.
Economy sick, Labor at fault
The GDP numbers were about as good as a truly awful lot of numbers about a dreadful state of play can be.
Borghetti flies into crown role
Former long-time Virgin Airlines boss John Borghetti is to my mind the casino chairman from central casting.
FWC’s 3.75pc rise good and bad
The Fair Work Commission’s decision to increase the basic wage by 3.75 per cent was ‘sensible’ but it will be the last straw for many small and medium businesses.
Copper prize awaits for BHP
Anglo’s rejection of BHP was quite simply moronic, and now the ‘Big Australian’ can simply step back and watch as its smaller rival implodes.
McCrann: Kiss rate cut goodbye
Australians doing it tough can kiss goodbye any chance of an imminent interest rate cut after Wednesday’s higher than expected inflation figure.
Why rates limbo might soon end
Dismal retail sales data would usually lead to widespread speculation of an interest rate cut at the mid-June meeting. But not this time. Here’s why.
All-in on Australia a good idea?
Investors like the plan – so far – but is Lendlease’s strategy to shrink back to Australia really that great?
Will New Zealand win the inflation race?
Our Reserve Bank could learn some lessons from our colleagues across the ditch when it comes to taming inflation.
Telstra job cuts AI’s first wave
Telstra’s job cuts are brutal, but it’s a sign of things to come for the wider workforce as the AI tsunami looms.
Jim’s Budget still a stinker
The one blessing of Jim Chalmers’ woeful budget is that it isn’t likely to bring on an early election.
Why these two numbers are huge
Two big – and I mean, huge – numbers surfaced Thursday, US inflation and Australian employment figures.
McCrann: Budget just more crazily out-of-control spending
It’s another depressing return to an all-too familiar Labor Fiscal Future – high-taxes, big spending, budget deficits and rising debt set to exceed $1 trillion.
Why inflation trick won’t work
The idea that Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock is going to rush out an interest rate cut because of the budget’s $300 energy rebate inflation trick is silly.
McCrann: Dodgy forecasts the only certainty on budget night
The one thing you can say with absolute certainty about every budget is that every forecast in it will be wrong — so take claims about controlling inflation with a pinch of salt.
Don’t spend Jim’s rate cut just yet
Watch out for all the spin in Tuesday’s federal budget. The future remains uncertain and Jim Chalmers won’t be `delivering it’.
Labor eyes election with Victorian largesse
Federal Labor will be spending it up big in Victoria with an eye to the next election.
Victoria’s disaster points to Australia’s
The Victorian state budget is an instructive – and ominous – pointer to the bigger one out of Canberra next week.
Jobs, inflation key to next rate move
Michele Bullock is keeping her cards close to her chest ahead of key inflation data which will decide the RBA’s next move.
Bonza reality check: Qantas-ACCC stoush ancient history
Bonza’s failure was a reality check for Qantas and it’s time to move on from its stoush with the ACCC.
Powell’s re-pivot a lesson for central bankers
Jerome Powell has shown why central bankers should get out of the business of interest rate forecasting, and focus more on ‘doing’ and less on ‘saying’.
Be afraid, be very afraid
Jim Chalmers’ speech on Wednesday revealed the sort of insane dystopian future that will be built if the treasurer and his colleagues aren’t stopped.
There is no way rates are moving – either way
There is no way that Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock would lead her board to raise the official cash interest rate with the current abysmal levels of consumer spending.
The headache facing central banks
Central banks in the US and Australia have a fair bit to think about over Easter as they contemplate the question on everyone’s minds – will the rate cuts come?
Why rate override power must go
The one proposed change to the RBA that should be entirely uncontroversial is the ending of the government’s ability to overrule an interest rate decision.
Billionaire believes in real shops
Billionaire Solomon Lew is determined to show there is still life in retail and that much if not indeed most of that future life will still be in real actual bricks and mortar stores.
Treasurer goes to war with the RBA
The Labor Government’s push for a 4 per cent minimum wage increase has effectively set it against RBA governor Michele Bullock’s desire for a wage moderation and productivity increases.
Six earth-shaking hours
The US Fed’s ‘dot points’, supposedly predicting rate cuts, stirred up the markets bigtime. But they’re well known for their inability to forecast the future.
PM and a team of incompetents
From destroying the electricity system to overseeing a growing migration crisis, Labor’s ministry of incompetents have proven to be way out of their depth.
Why Bullock half pivoted
All eyes will turn to Thursday’s potentially explosive unemployment numbers after the RBA’s ‘half pivot’ on Tuesday.
RBA’s risky business on rates decision
For the first time since the 1990s, the RBA is making an interest rate decision the day before the release of the ABS’ quarterly GDP figures.
Myer and Lew’s worthy choice
Olivia Wirth’s appointment as the new boss of Myer comes amid a leadership shake-up that underlines the influence of major shareholder Solomon Lew.
Beware the Bitcoin frenzy
Bitcoin hit a new record recently, which just goes to prove how detached the price is from anything approaching common sense.
GST carve-up farce time
The GST was supposed to have been about tax reform. It quickly became a grubby combination of bureaucratic meddling and self-interested political machination.
New fuel efficiency standard is ‘stupid and dishonest’
The Albanese-Chalmers-Bowen government’s so-called ‘Fuel Efficiency Standard’ is a classic example of Orwellian Newspeak that has nothing to do with real fuel efficiency.
Two time bombs ticking away
There were two explosive time bombs ticking away in the detail of the GDP numbers, and they threaten to put the RBA in an impossible position.
It’s official – things are crook
The latest GDP figures paint a picture of an economy that is sick, seriously sick. And if you look deeper, the problems are even worse than they seem.
Smashing NBN success story
The NBN plan to quintuple broadband speeds is a further validation of the Abbott government’s ditching of Kevin Rudd’s all-fibre fantasy.
It’s time to smash social media
Facebook, Google and other ‘big tech’ must be made to operate in accordance with the same laws that every other company and Australian adult has to.
Power regulators betray all of us
The ludicrously named Australian Energy Regulator and the Australian Energy Market Operator have been exposed as compromising their obligations.
Only one real option for RBA
The latest inflation data has left the RBA with only one real option at its next meeting. It won’t seriously consider a hike, but nor are cuts on the horizon.
Big two do a super job
Those laying into our supermarket operators would do well to consider the other options. North Korea anyone?
Ecstasy could turn to agony for iron ore giants
Australia’s three resources giants generated $55bn in profit from digging up and shipping off iron ore, mostly to China, which is why the corporate ecstasy could turn to agony.
Jim’s absurd real wage claim
Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ claims about real wage increases show he needs some serious lessons in primary school arithmetic.
Why Bullock had a hike option
Did Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock really, seriously, contemplate leading her board to deliver a rate hike, at the RBA’s first meeting back for the year, two weeks ago?
ANZ win damns ACCC
The Australian Competition Tribunal’s approval of ANZ’s takeover of Suncorp proves the ACCC hasn’t a clue about the legislation it is charged with enforcing.
Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/business/terry-mccrann