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In recent months, the mainstream media commentators have been issuing increasing lurid predictions of how the ‘out of control’ fiscal situation in Japan is killing the yen and a full-scale currency crisis was imminent, after the yen moved across the ‘fabled’ 160 mark against the US dollar. What is ‘fabled’ about that threshold is anyone’s…

I am travelling a lot today and so this is just a brief reflection on the response in the media to yesterday’s National Account release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The reaction from the mainstream media has been rather incredulous with most commentators claiming in the most lurid terms that the figures mean that…

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the latest – Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product, June 2026 – today (September 2, 2026). This data is now starting to reflect the full impacts of the Middle East disruptions and the interest rate impacts arising from the recent hikes in rates from the RBA.…

I have been very sad in the last week or so as the news of the environmental devastation and its impact on human life in Nepal has steadily infiltrated our attention. The causes of that disaster are many but overwhelmingly point to the impact of climate change on the Himalayan permafrost and glacial lakes, which,…

As a followup on Monday’s blog post – Australian government debt approaching $A1 trillion – who cares? Everybody it seems but me (August 24, 2026) – there is an additional aspect of the hysteria around government debt levels that was implicit in that post but bears more detailed discussion. What I am writing today is…