It seems conflicting views of the Australian property market have begun to emerge, as could be reasonably expected around this time in the cycle before someone realises the emperor may be scantily clad. House price growth to slow says expert | Herald Sun. Economists predict 22pc house price rise The emergence of diverging opinion in mainstream press heralds some interesting times ahead the for the Australian economy, and possibly some quite...

According to TheStreet.com, the Australian Dollar has risen recently (now sitting at a more ‘normal’ level of around 84 cents) due to suggestions that the ReSPecT Tax could be wound back to something more sensible – i.e. not levied on profits above the bond rate.  Although Karl Marx considered the ‘Super Tax’ to be a wonderful concept, Karl Marx also did not understand the concept of business risk and could...

Michael Janda from the ABC notes that “Government spending props up economy” noting that of the 2.7% GDP growth estimated so far this year, 0.7% of that is from “government spending”.  However, again buried in the article, is a little note that “business investment in equipment and buildings was a major drag on economic growth, with the fall in that sector subtracting 0.6 percentage points from GDP”...

For those with an interest in economics.  Notable comments that seem get buried in all the other news and declarations of the ‘success’ of the fiscal stimulus. Glen Dwyer in Crikey writes today – “a sharper-than-expected fall in business investment” – “a fall in private investment (down 0.6%) and in net exports. The fall in net exports was due to an increase in imports (up 1.8%) while exports fell...

The next installment in my investigative series examines what props up our lifestyles in Australia, in other words, exports. Because we could but we don’t make everything we need. We all like cheap toothbrushes, televisions and cars. For us to enjoy these products, we need a country to produce them relatively cheaply where people are cheaper and currencies are kept deliberately low by their government (i.e. China). The reason we...

In this weekend’s Australian Financial Review (Perspective, May 15-16, 2010, p. 30), I note with concern a small comment buried in the article “The Great Property Puzzle” written by Ben Hurley investigating an ‘unexplainable’ drop in home owner occupied loan approvals, now sitting at a 9 year low, and falling for several months in a row.  Conversely, investor loans have increased for five consecutive...