The ABS reported that Household wealth rose for the fourth straight quarter (+2.3 per cent or $339 billion) in the September quarter 2023. What you say, we are not feeling it! The key of course is distribution across households, and the nexus is property values. The ABS says “Household wealth is supported by house prices … Continue reading "Will Rising Household Wealth Drive Interest Rates Higher?"

Prices rose by 3.9% in the year to November, down from 4.6% in October according to data from the ONS today, driven by positive base effects mainly across oil products. Remember that falling inflation also does not mean most goods and services are cheaper, but rather prices are rising less quickly. That rise compares to … Continue reading "UK Inflation Surprises On The Downside…"

Despite the recent recessionary news from New Zealand, low consumer confidence and high interest rates with floating rates around 8.63%, the latest ASB Housing Confidence survey shows that “for the first time in eighteen months, more New Zealanders expect house prices to increase than decrease”. Aucklanders continue to be the most bullish in their house … Continue reading "Kiwi’s More Bullish On Home Prices, Despite…"

This is an edit of a live discussion with Dr Cameron K. Murray, an independent economist who publishes at Fresh Economic Thinking https://www.fresheconomicthinking.com/. We discussed housing policy and economics in general. Here is the link to Cameron’s new book, out February 27th 2024 https://www.amazon.com.au/Great-Housing-Hijack-keeping-Australia/dp/176147085X He recently republished his book from 2017 Game of Mates: How … Continue reading "DFA Live Q&A Replay: Cameron Murray: Mates, Power, Politics & Economics"

A final 2023 chat with Robbie Barwick from the Australian Citizens Party. We look at the RBA’s latest outing on cash usage, the Senate review of the RBA’s independence bill, and the formation of a National Investment entity. On 7 December 2023, the Senate referred the Treasury Laws Amendment (Reserve Bank Reforms) Bill 2023 [Provisions] … Continue reading "The Grinch Who Stole Cash: With Robbie Barwick…"

More from our Property Insider, as Edwin and I discuss the latest from the markets. The numbers are falling in the approach to the end of the year, significantly. We also look at a prime example of the need to lookout below! http://www.martinnorth.com/ Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/ Today’s post is … Continue reading "Its Edwin’s Monday Evening Property Rant!"

If you have savings with a bank in Australia, it is highly likely you are being ripped off. After all, Australian Consumers depend on retail deposit products to conduct their everyday banking, to safely store over $1.4 trillion of their savings and, importantly, to earn a decent return on these funds. However, as I have … Continue reading "The Great Australian Savings Account Rip-Off!"

This is our regular weekly market update. This past week was a doozy in the markets as the Fed started to flip the switch on monetary policy, which took the markets by surprise. Yields plunged. Stock and bond prices soared. And this time, it’s more than the Magnificent Seven stocks leading the charge. The Russell … Continue reading "Are Future FED Cuts Now Being Peddled Back?"

On 7 December 2023, the Senate referred the Treasury Laws Amendment (Reserve Bank Reforms) Bill 2023 [Provisions] to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 21 March 2024. The critical issue is that the Treasurer is walking back Government’s power to intervene with RBA decisions if they do not agree. This power … Continue reading "How To Stop The Technocrats From Taking Over…"

While markets seem to be thinking about coordinated rate cuts next year, the truth is, economies are in very different positions, with New Zealand already looking stagflationary, and the ECB and the Bank of England not sharing the rate cut love exhibited by the FED. Norge Bank lifted this past week, and the RBA is … Continue reading "Central Bank Inflation Poker Fragments"