Australia still dragging its feet on climate change
Marc Hudson, University of Manchester A divided government firmly on the back foot ahead of a major climate conference, its green credentials shaky, and riven with bubbling tensions between those who want serious climate action and those resistant to it. Sound familiar? But the government I’m describing is not today’s version, but Bob Hawke’s federal…
Housing (and home loan) affordability … again
By Wealth Foundations The “experts” claim housing is as affordable as it was in the 1980’s … We have discussed housing affordability, either directly or indirectly, in a number of previous articles e.g. “Are Australian house prices too high?” of August 2012. Our view of almost three years ago was that housing prices then were…
Looking for Value in “Mining Service” Takeover Targets
Shares of self-styled “professional infrastructure and environmental services company” Cardno Limited (CDD) closed the trading day of 19 May 2015 at $3.50 per share. On 20 May company management issued a profit warning. Cardno expects NPAT (net profit after tax) to drop from last year’s $78.1 million to between $48 and $51 million. The…
Life in a windowless box: the vertical slums of Melbourne
Ralph Horne, RMIT University and Megan Nethercote, RMIT University Australia’s apartment boom is in full swing. Nationally, 40% of new dwellings are now apartments or units, and building approvals outnumber those for houses. Melbourne and Brisbane are the most extreme cases, but these trends are national; and they are fundamentally reshaping the future of urban…
You are your life, and nothing else
Existentialist philosophers teach us that we alone are responsible for creating a meaningful life in an absurd and unfair world. Standing on a cliff, a sense of disorientation and confusion cloud you. Not only are you afraid of falling, you also fear succumbing to the impulse of throwing yourself off. Nothing is holding you back….
Fortescue’s roster changes signal waning of the cashed-up FIFO era
Margaret Giles, Edith Cowan University Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group will change their rostering system in an effort to drive down their wages bill. It’s a move likely to be seen as good news by shareholders, and made as iron ore prices fall, demand for commodities softens, growth in China slows and as ratings…
The problems with relying on the bank of mum and dad
Mamiza Haq, The University of Queensland Ask a parent how far they would go to support the financial aspirations of their children, and chances are they will say: “Yes, if I had the money I would be happy to act as a guarantor for my children to purchase a property.” Australian capital city house prices…
Bond yields and what they tell us about the economy
Sarantis Tsiaplias, University of Melbourne When the Australian Office of Financial Management borrowed A$4.25 billion for 20 years at an interest rate of just 2.865% this week, economic commentator Peter Martin called it “the deal of the century”. Governments issue bonds to raise funds to pay for general expenses and projects such as the stgelopment…
Everyone Is Guessing When It Comes To Oil Prices
Predicting and diagnosing the trajectory of oil prices has become something of a cottage industry in the past year. But along with all of the excess crude flowing from the oil patch, there is also an abundance of market indicators that while important, tend to produce a lot of noise that makes any accurate estimate…
How to pick the best real estate stock plays
Browsing the 52 Week Low List can be a viable strategy for finding solid companies dragged down by general market slowdowns. Two Real Estate stocks with outstanding track records made the list in early December. Cedar Woods Properties Limited (CWP) fell to a 52 week low of $5.52 on 5 December while Finbar Group Limited…
