ABC (July 15)
“Runaway demand for turbines from data centres in the US is making new gas-fired power uncompetitive with batteries in the evening peak for the first time…. Australia’s top science agency, the CSIRO, said batteries were helping to lower high evening prices for electricity as the costs of the technology fell and significant extra capacity was added.” Looking further ahead, CSIRO expects “solar and wind power would by 2050 supply as much as 93 per cent of Australia’s electricity needs.”
Tags: 2050, Australia, Batteries, Capacity, Costs, CSIRO, Data centres, Electricity, Gas-fired, Peak, Prices, Runaway demand, Solar, Turbines, U.S., Uncompetitive, Wind power
The Guardian (July 7)
“Fears of a recession have fallen away, with economists saying Australia is set to safely navigate the biggest global oil supply shock in history even as they warn of substandard growth in the year ahead. The de-escalation of the Middle East conflict has been accompanied by a major retreat in global oil prices back to prewar levels, essentially removing the worst-case scenarios.” But pessimism still runs deep amongst households, with consumer confidence at roughly “a 50-year low as many Australians struggle to cope with substantially higher prices after years of above-average inflation.”
Tags: Australia, Consumer confidence, Cope, De-escalation, Economists, Fears, Global oil prices, Households, Inflation, Middle East conflict, Pessimism, Recession, Retreat, Struggle, Supply shock
The Guardian (December 9)
“Millions of children and teens” under 16 are losing access to their “accounts as Australia’s world-first social media ban begins.” An academic advisory group will be “examining the short-term, medium-term and longer-term impacts of the ban,” both intended (like more sleep, less stress, deeper social interaction) and unintended (like pushing youths to the unregulated dark web). “The ban has garnered worldwide attention, with several nations indicating they will adopt a ban of their own, including Malaysia, Denmark and Norway” while the EU has already “passed a resolution to adopt similar restrictions.”
Tags: Access, Accounts, Australia, Children, Dark web, Denmark, EU, Impacts, Intended, Interaction, Malaysia, Norway, Sleep, Social media ban, Stress, Teens, Unintended, World-first
Institutional Investor (September 19)
“The $556.3 billion California Public Employees’ Retirement System is looking to change the way it invests — and some strategists think the proposed approach could be as game-changing as the Yale Model.” On September 15, “CalPERS CIO Stephen Gilmore formally recommended the state pension adopt the total portfolio approach (TPA) championed by sovereign wealth funds like Singapore’s GIC and Australia’s Future Fund.”
Tags: $556.3 billion, Adopt, Australia, CalPERs, Game changing, Gilmore, Pension, Singapore, Sovereign wealth funds, Strategists, Total portfolio approach, Yale Model
Men’s Journal (July 1)
“For years, the U.S. has issued cautionary travel advisories to citizens heading overseas. But in a surprising twist, the roles have flipped. Several countries, including longtime allies like Australia, Canada, and the U.K., are now warning their citizens about traveling to the United States.” The warnings cite violence, mass shootings, detention, and other items. “Germany, France, Denmark, and Finland all issued warnings about new U.S. gender marker policies that may affect travelers who use ‘X’ or nonbinary identifiers.” Due in part to these warnings, the World Travel & Tourism Council is projecting a “$12.5 billion decline in international tourism revenue to the U.S. in 2025.”
Tags: $12.5 billion, Allies, Australia, Canada, Citizens, Denmark, Detention, Finland, France, Gender, Germany, Mass shootings, Nonbinary, Overseas, Travel advisories, U.K., U.S., Violence, Warnings
Reuters (March 18)
Top banking heads in Australia believe the Trump administration’s “protectionist policies would likely strain the global economy in the medium term with higher costs and lack of certainty.” However, they believe Australia is “better placed than Canada, which sells 85% of its exports to the U.S.” In contrast, Australia’s U.S. exports are, “small compared to its overall export trade,” amounting annually to only about $15 billion.
Tags: $15 billion, Australia, Banking, Canada, Certainty, Exports, Global economy, Higher costs, Protectionist policies, Strain, Trade, Trump administration
Sydney Morning Herald (August 28)
“The hottest winter day ever recorded for Australia was this week: 41.6 degrees at Yampi Sound.” Temperatures are more comfortable in Sydney where “trees are blossoming, cafe dining has shifted outdoors, and Sydneysiders have flocked to beaches and parks.” The freakish heat “has also sent local and national climate records tumbling, sparked wildfires around NSW, and led to early closures and patchy snow at many ski resorts.”
Tags: 41.6 degrees, Australia, Beaches, Blossoming, Climate records, Freakish heat, Hottest, Outdoors, Parks, Ski resorts, Sydney, Temperatures, Wildfires, Winter
The Guardian (May 1)
“As the declining population continues to impact Japan’s society and economy, the number of vacant houses has topped nine million – enough to accommodate the entire population of Australia at three people per dwelling.”
Tags: Accommodate, Australia, Declining, Dwelling, Economy, Impact, Japan, Population, Society, Vacant houses
ABC New (December 26)
Due to unexpectedly high migration, “fears that Australia would enter a technical recession during 2023 didn’t eventuate.” Still, “for many, life in 2023 certainly felt recession-like as Australians faced more interest rate hikes, a rising tax bill and a still-increasing cost of living that again outpaced wage growth.”
Tags: 2023, Australia, Australians, Cost of living, Fears, Interest, Migration, Outpaced, Rate hikes, Tax bill, Technical recession, Wage growth
Bloomberg (September 25)
“China is the biggest buyer of Australian goods from iron ore to coal and food products and a windfall from recent elevated commodity prices helped Canberra report its first budget surplus in 15 years. If Chinese demand were to weaken, it would lower those prices and slim Australia’s trade surpluses, or even return it to deficits.” The Council of Financial Regulators (CFR) found that “The impact of a deeper economic deterioration in China will be mainly felt in Australia through weaker trade and reduced risk appetite in financial markets.”
Tags: Australia, Budget surplus, Buyer, Canberra, CFR, China, Coal, Commodity prices, Food products, Iron ore, Risk appetite, Trade surpluses, Windfall
