This article first appeared on the Yahoo Finance web site at this link: https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/the-governments-test-in-2020-220310427.html    ----------------------------  The misplaced objective of the government of delivering a surplus, come hell or high water, has gone up in smoke For many people, the cost of the fires is immeasurable.  Or irrelevant.  They have lost loved ones, precious possessions, businesses and dreams and for these people, what lies ahead is bleak. Life has changed forever. As the fires continue to ravage through huge tracts of land, destroying yet mo ..read more

What's ahead for the Australian economy and markets in 2020 Happy New Year! 2020 will be a year where Australia’s annual GDP will exceed $2 trillion, our population will get very close to 26 million people and we will clock up 29 years with no recession. It is also a year where the economy will be a dominant issue for policy makers, will drive what happens to interest rates, will help drive investment returns and will feed into the well-being of the Australian community.  2020 kicks off with relatively good news in terms of economic growth, even though the labour market is likely to remai ..read more

This article first appeared on the Yahoo Finance website at this link:  https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/frydenberg-trash-coalitio-232753145.html?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=Link_Post&utm_campaign=Yahoo_Finance&utm_term=Social  --------------------  How the Treasurer risks trashing the Coalition's economic credibility Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has a huge budget problem. He also has a huge economic problem.  And this is all of his own making by preferring a budget surplus over economic and jobs growth. The problem has the potential to smash the economic management credibi ..read more

This article first appeared on the Yahoo Finance web site at this link: https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/rba-tools-reluctant-042742904.html ----------------------------------------- The RBA has the tools to fix the economy, but is reluctant to use them The Reserve Bank of Australia has made a range of serious policy errors over the past few years, and the Australian economy is weaker because of those mistakes and misjudgments. Not only is the RBA on track to miss its inflation target for six years, and perhaps longer, the persistently high unemployment rate in concert with record low wag ..read more

This article first appeared on the Yahoo website at this link: https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/household-wealth-booming-200022930.html  ------------------------------------------ Household wealth is booming: What this means $500,000,000,000. In other words, half a trillion dollars. That is approximately the amount Australian household wealth has increased since the start of July 2019, with house prices surging, the Australian stock market moving higher, and savings increasing. The bulk of the gains have occurred via rising house prices, which according to CoreLogic, are up over 5 per ..read more

This article first appeared on the Yahoo Finance website on 20 May 2019 at this link:  https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/why-labor-lost-the-election-so-badly-211049089.html  ---------------------------- How Labor lost the federal election SO badly The Coalition did not win the election, Labor lost it. The tally since 1993 for Labor is a devastating seven losses out of nine Federal elections. By the time of the next election in 2022, Labor will have been in Opposition for 23 of the last 29 years. Miserable. The reasons for Labor’s 2019 election loss are much more than the common analysis t ..read more

This article was written on 31 October 2019: It was on the Yahoo Finance website at this link: https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/animals-crucial-australian-economy-192927904.html  ------------------------------------------------------ Why animals are a crucial part of the Australian economy Animals are a critical part of the Australian economy, either for food, companionship or entertainment. But every month, millions of sheep, cattle, pigs, chickens, fish and other animals are bred and then killed. Most of them are killed in what we define as ‘humane’, but no doubt tens of thousands are ..read more

This article was written on 31 October 2019: It was on the Yahoo Finance website at this link: https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/inflation-how-low-can-you-go-004522764.html  -------------------------------------------------- Inflation: How low can it go? The Reserve Bank of Australia’s policy embarrassment continues with the September quarter consumer price index data showing the quarterly underlying inflation at 0.4 per cent, which translates to an annual rise of just 1.4 per cent. In underlying terms, annual inflation has never been lower. This locks in 4 straight years where underlyin ..read more

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