Investor interest-only loans are a key risk factor threatening to destabilize Australia’s mountain of private debt, according to investment firm Standard Life Investments, a keen observer of interest rates. IO loans are often associated with thin equity buffers, risky...
BLOG: speculation
The First Interval – Evaluating ACT’s Land Value Tax Transition
; The First Interval – Evaluating ACT’s Land Value Tax Transition By Dr Cameron Murray Prosper Australia commissioned Dr Murray to examine the early benefits of ACT’s 20 year process replacing conveyancing stamp duty with land tax. He will present his calculations and...
Wolves at the door – not trying to push it down, yet
Back in May, US blogger Wolf Richer held forth on Wolf Street that hedge funds were betting record amounts on the imminent meltdown of Australian banks and our housing bubble by shorting shares. His arguments had me nodding my bearish head in agreement, yet the facts...
Warning to borrowers – ASIC protecting the control fraudsters
by Lindsay David reposted from Australia - Boom to Bust ASIC has the backbone of a chicken wing when it comes to enforcing the rule of law; this is widely recognised in Australia and resulted in a...
If you’re not a property investor, your retirement plans don’t matter, says IPA
by Dr Gavin Putland Professor Sinclair Davidson for the Institute of Public Affairs has written an “occasional paper” under the title “What politicians need to know about negative gearing”, opposing the known Labor policy of allowing negative gearing only for new...
Oz takes Gold! Go you Good Thing!
Last week, Philip Soos announced Australia had achieved global leadership in an exciting new arena: “Australian households have more debt compared to the size of the country’s economy than any other in the world.” According to LF Economics, we seized this dubious...
Judgement Day arrives for illegal foreign buyers
reposted from Macrobusiness by Leith van Onselen Today is 1 December, which means that the amnesty on illegal foreign buyers of Australian residential real estate is over and the Government’s new penalty regime comes into effect. From today, a foreign national that...
Intergenerational fairness
by Jesse Hermans Recently La Trobe’s Philosophy Politics and Economics Society and Ideas Society joint hosted an event on Intergenerational Fairness with some good insights into what future generations face - including my own. I was sorely disappointed by John Daley,...
Top 100 Documentaries to Change the World
Our documentary REAL ESTATE 4 RAN$OM made this list, and close to the top too. These cold winter days are perfect for a watch.... or re-watch!
The housing crash we had to have: A Gen Y perspective on the bubble
by Matt Ellis So bubble mania has finally hit the mainstream. The housing bubble question has landed squarely at the feet of the Prime Minister and his treasurer, and only 10 to 15 years late… What a relief it is then to hear our fearless leaders assure us that there...