When the world’s biggest alternative asset manager, USD 1.1 trillion AUM, makes some big bets on Australia, the world takes notice. Over 13 years, Blackstone has invested USD 17 billion in Australia. However, a single new investment announced ...
Learn more“Sunbaker” Max Dupain’s 1938 photo captures Australians’ love of the sun. But this love affair has a dark side. Australia does not lead the world in terms of solar UV exposure but it does lead the world in the incidence of UV...
Learn moreMany see LNG as a bridge to greener energy. Less emissions than coal and more reliable than wind and solar. For Australia it has come out of nowhere to be a golden bridge. But there is debate over how long that bridge will stretch. It may end sooner tha...
Learn moreThe Red Hot Chilli Peppers grabbed the mic at the handover ceremony marking the end of the Paris Olympics. But Australia is still basking in the glow of its greatest gold medal haul ever. Australia won 18 gold surpassing its previous record of 17 from th...
Learn moreAt 10:08 am (AEST) on 15 July 2024, the ASX 200 broke the 8,000 barrier for the first time (see chart below). But unlike the breaking of the 7,000 mark in January 2020, it was more of a raspberry than a bugle call. There is too much uncertainty around t...
Learn moreTourist and alternative lifestyle mecca Byron Bay may be getting stripped of its nudist beach but it is the RBA that is getting embarrassed by larger than expected figures! Meanwhile, the EU has started cutting, the US remains on course for cuts, Japan ...
Learn moreChatGPT is dominating public attention but behind the scenes there is arguably a bigger computer revolution brewing. If the potential of quantum computing is realised, all current cryptography will be made obsolete and meteorological models could dramat...
Learn moreSomething new, something green! On June 3, Australia’s federal government issued its first-ever green bond: AUD 7 billion (see chart below). It was oversubscribed three-times over. While it represents a small start compared to total treasury bonds...
Learn moreUS consumers seem more Garfield than Furiosa at the moment with some good news on the inflation and consumer confidence fronts in May. Inflation may not be so sticky in the US after all? The Fed Reserve is however still talking tough. Inflation is still...
Learn moreAgeing populations can be a real drag. A drag on government finances, debt, and economic growth. Many countries with fast ageing populations look to the future with foreboding. Australia however is doing better than most. Thanks to government foresight ...
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