Bloomberg (February 1)
“Shaky property markets across much of the world pose another risk to the global economy as higher interest rates erode household finances and threaten to exacerbate falling prices.” From the U.S. to China, Australia and New Zealand, the housing slide could “threaten to undermine consumer confidence and weigh on household spending.” Moreover, “investment too could take a hit as developers scale back projects in response to falling prices, waning demand and higher borrowing costs.”
Tags: Australia, China, Consumer confidence, Demand, Developers, Falling prices, Global economy, Household spending, Interest rates, Investment, New Zealand, Property markets, Risk, Shaky, U.S.
The Guardian (September 12)
“New Zealand, which once eliminated the virus through the toughest pandemic rules in the world, has made relaxations similar to Australian or European conditions. Mask-wearing will no longer be mandatory in public places, and the last vaccine mandates will be ditched in two weeks.” Tests for inbound travelers “on arrival in New Zealand are no longer required but encouraged.”
Tags: Australia, Encouraged, Europe, Inbound travelers, Mask-wearing, New Zealand, Pandemic rules, Public places, Relaxations, Tests, Toughest, Vaccine mandates, Virus
Reuters (July 21)
“Worries over a global slowdown are casting a shadow over Asia’s recovery prospects with factory activity growth slowing in Japan and Australia, keeping pressure on policymakers to support their economies while tightening monetary policy to combat inflation.”
Tags: Asia, Australia, Factory activity, Global slowdown, Inflation, Japan, Monetary policy, Policymakers, Recovery, Slowing, Support, Tightening, Worries
LNG Industry (January 6)
“The world’s two largest economies–the US and Mainland China–are poised to be the world’s top export and import markets for LNG in 2022.” In 2021, the US placed third, behind Australia and Qatar, but “was the largest source of LNG supply growth in 2021.” China overtook Japan in 2021, marking “the first time since the early 1970s that Japan has not been the world’s largest LNG importer.”
Tags: 1970s, 2021, 2022, Australia, China, Export, Import, Japan, LNG, Markets, Qatar, Supply growth, Top, US
Wall Street Journal (December 3)
“Wages are going gangbusters in the U.S.—elsewhere, not so much.” In Australia and Japan, “pay growth remains anemic… despite labor shortages.” Nor do wages appear to be rapidly accelerating in Europe, all of which is “easing pressure on their central banks to raise interest rates.”
Tags: Anemic, Australia, Central banks, Europe, Gangbusters, Interest rates, Japan, Labor shortages, Pay growth, U.S., Wages
Reuters (September 16)
“Australia’s new security pact with the United States and the UK, seen as a move to contain China, may worsen strained ties with its biggest export customer, but China’s insatiable appetite for resources may limit its punitive responses.”
Tags: Australia, China, Contain, Customer, Export, Insatiable, Punitive, Resources, Responses, Security pact, Strained, U.S., UK
Bloomberg (May 19)
“Australia’s success in curbing Covid-19 infections is allowing it to slowly ease some restrictions even as it remains largely closed off from the rest of the world, taking its economy back to the pre-globalization era.” Stimulating domestic consumption prove essential “to drive any rebound,” but complicated by consumer worries. “Even before Covid-19, Australian households were among the most indebted in the developed world, with debt almost double disposable income.”
Tags: Australia, Closed off, Consumption, COVID-19, Developed world, Economy, Households, Indebted, Pre-globalization, Restrictions, Success
The Guardian (March 23)
“Canada said it will not send athletes to Tokyo Olympics, New Zealand said it would consider boycotting Tokyo 2020 and Australia told its olympic athletes to prepare for the games to be held next year, in 2021 – all in the wake of Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, saying postponement could be an option.”
Tags: 2021, Abe, Athletes, Australia, Boycott, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Olympics, Tokyo 2020
Chicago Tribune (January 7)
“Australia burns as the planet bakes.” There’s no mystery why events like these have grown more common and more destructive,” but there’s still widespread inaction and occasionally denial of global warming. “If we want more of what Australia is suffering, doing more of the same is fine. If we hope to see a better future, we will have to take action to bring it about.”
Tags: Australia, Burns, Denial, Destructive, Future, Global warming, Inaction
ABC News (December 18)
“Australia has sweltered through its hottest day on record as the ongoing heatwave starts to bite across parts of the country. The Bureau of Meteorology says the national average for yesterday was 40.9 degrees, eclipsing the previous record set just six years ago. But forecasters say the record could be broken again, with the heat set to intensify over the next two days.”
Tags: Australia, Broken, Forecasters, Heat, Heatwave, Hottest, Intensify, National average, Record, Sweltered
