Posts tagged…Australia
Strategic outlook for Australia
Mon, Apr 13 2009Defense must have an evidence-basis, just like all other policies. Allowing alarming 'long-tail' scenarios, such as an aggressive Chinese military posture, to drive policy—if that is what the Defense planners have in mind—is like gambling, not strategic planning. We don't have the resources to 'over-insure against a remote…risk', any more than Robert Gates does.
Our defense outlook is benign by…
Read more…Australian share market fall compared
Thu, Apr 02 2009"The most obvious manifestation to the general public of the impact of the financial crisis on Australia has been the decline in the local stock market. From its peak in November 2007 to the lows reached earlier this month, the local market declined by 54 per cent. This fall compares to the peak to trough decline of 57 per cent in the US market, 61 per cent in Europe and 60 per cent in the…
Nationalism and foreign investment policy
Mon, Feb 16 2009In today's Fairfax press, Beijing correspondent John Garnaut provides some much-needed facts to hose-down the economic nationalism being whipped up by some investment advisors and politicians over the Rio asset sale to Chinalco. Garnaut's story about the relationships of Chinalco and Chinese steel giant BaoSteel and about the pressures on the government fund backing the loans to Chinalco confirm Little evidence fires due to warming
Tue, Feb 10 2009
The Financial Times reports that Mr Kevin Hennessy, a principal research scientist at CSIRO and a contributing author on the IPCC's reports, claims "Continued increases in greenhouse gases will lead to further warming and drier conditions in southern Australia, so the [fire] risks are likely to slightly worsen"
If Mr Hennessy is relying on the same assessments as he made in the 'Drought…
Aus exports at current prices
Mon, Dec 08 2008
Speaking of unsustainable trends …
Share the love
Mon, Nov 17 2008According to the Reserve Bank's deputy Governor:
"The prospective earnings yield on Australian shares now stands at 11 per cent, almost double the long-term average…When the yield has risen to these levels in the past, the return on shares over the subsequent 10 years has almost always been well above average" David Uren in The AustralianHere's the Governor's speech.
Australian food trade barriers revealed
Wed, Aug 13 2008The World Bank's World Trade Indicators (WTI) are a relatively new, but very powerful, way of describing global trade policies and regulations. Their simplified metrics help to reveal the 'big picture' that emerges from a blizzard of trade and tariff data collected by the UN and WTO. Their method is theoretically sound but—as always—has limits and perspectives that need some interpretive…
A valentine in July
Mon, Jul 07 2008
Need a reason to love aussie shares? Here it is—from the RBA's chart pack. Note the price indices relative to other markets, the consistently good value P/E, the high dividend yield. What's not to love? Forget the bears… buy a bit of future growth.
Australia’s export performance—should we be worried?
Sat, Apr 19 2008
The Australian government's Review of Export Policies and Programs has apparently been prompted by concerns about export performance.
"While exports exhibited strong growth in the period 1980-2001, reflecting technological changes and important domestic policy initiatives such as the lowering of tariff barriers and the introduction of pro-competition policies, in recent years there has been a…