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Vital Signs Series

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Vital Signs is a weekly economic wrap from UNSW economics professor and Harvard PhD Richard Holden (@profholden). Vital Signs aims to contextualize weekly economic events and cut through the noise of the data impacting global economies.

Vital Signs Series

Untaxing childcare is a bold idea that seems unfair, but might benefit us all

Nov 24, 2019 14:17 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy

Australias system of childcare support is pretty good. It ensures high-quality care is provided to a large number of children, it is targeted through income-based subsidies, and it is attentive to the needs of...

Vital Signs Series

To tackle unemployment, start by empowering jobseekers

Nov 19, 2019 02:45 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

If youve ever lost your job, youll know how overwhelming and difficult it can be. One day youre in work, the next youre not and so starts the hunt to find another job. This can be particularly tricky if you lose your...

Vital Signs Series

Interest only loans are an economic debacle that could bust the property market

Apr 27, 2018 07:40 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy Real Estate

This week: This risks of interest only loans that the RBA is ignoring and more revenue for the government ahead of the budget. Australian taxpayers wont face a rise in taxes now that Treasurer Scott Morrison...

Vital Signs Series

The calm before the storm in US-China trade

Apr 20, 2018 05:38 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

This week: the US administration continues its anti-trade rhetoric, China grows a little faster than expected, Australian employment figures underwhelm, and the RBA seems unperturbed by household borrowing...

Vital Signs Series

The spooky mortgage risk signs our bankers are ignoring

Oct 13, 2017 09:35 am UTC| Insights & Views Real Estate

Vital Signs is a weekly economic wrap from UNSW economics professor and Harvard PhD Richard Holden (@profholden). Vital Signs aims to contextualise weekly economic events and cut through the noise of the data affecting...

Vital Signs Series

The data is mixed but worrying signs from mortgagees

Oct 06, 2017 00:17 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

Vital Signs Series

Vital Signs: don't count your economic chickens before they hatch

Sep 22, 2017 03:33 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

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Economy

What should you do if you can’t pay your rent or mortgage?

The cost of living crisis is making it difficult for many people to pay their bills, including housing costs. Private sector rents have increased by an average 9% over the year to February 2024, and rising interest rates...

Reducing energy demand and improving efficiency will help prevent the next gas crisis

Gas prices have relaxed, Europe has come out of the winter with record gas storage levels and a surfeit of liquefied natural gas is set to reach the shores of Europe over the coming years. Many commentators are hopeful...

Minimum wage for South African farm workers: study shows 2013 hike helped reduce poverty even though compliance was poor

Minimum wage policies are typically aimed at reducing poverty. Yet there is little direct evidence of this effect, especially in developing countries. And none for South Africa. In a recent paper, we consider the...

Gas is good until 2050 and beyond, under Albanese gas strategy

The Albanese government is talking up the crucial role of gas as a transition fuel through to 2050 and beyond. In a gas strategy to be released on Thursday, the government envisages the fuels uses would change over...

South Africa’s plan to move away from coal: 8 steps to make it succeed

The South African governments Just Energy Transition Implementation Plan was launched in November 2023. It is a roadmap guiding the country away from reliance on coal-fired power towards renewable energy alternatives by...

Politics

Donald Trump Allegedly Offers Oil Execs a Deal to Scrap EV Incentives for $1B Donation

Former President Donald Trump reportedly proposed a $1 billion deal to oil executives, offering to end electric vehicle (EV) subsidies in return for campaign funding, according to The Washington Post. This move underscores...

US Supreme Court upended decades of precedent in 2022 by allowing voters to vote with gerrymandered maps instead of fixing the congressional districts first

For the 2022 midterm elections, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Alabama to use congressional districts that violated the law and diluted the voting power of Black citizens. A 5-4 vote by the Supreme Court in February...

Germany lowers voting age to 16 for the European elections

Ahead of the European parliament elections in June, Germany has lowered the age limit on participation to 16. This makes it the largest of just a handful of states in the EU to allow people under the age of 18 to vote....

South Africa will be president of the G20 in 2025: two much-needed reforms it should drive

South Africa will play an important international role in 2025 as president of the G20. The G20 is a group of 19 countries as well as the African Union and the European Union. Between them they represent 85% of global...

What early 2024 polls are revealing about voters of color and the GOP

By the end of winter 2024, the return of Donald Trump to the top of the GOP presidential ticket has revealed a surprising trend in the former presidents base of support: his increasing popularity among Black and Latino...

Science

Is dark matter’s main rival theory dead? There’s bad news from the Cassini spacecraft and other recent tests

One of the biggest mysteries in astrophysics today is that the forces in galaxies do not seem to add up. Galaxies rotate much faster than predicted by applying Newtons law of gravity to their visible matter, despite those...

Why are algorithms called algorithms? A brief history of the Persian polymath you’ve likely never heard of

Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without...

IceCube researchers detect a rare type of energetic neutrino sent from powerful astronomical objects

About a trillion tiny particles called neutrinos pass through you every second. Created during the Big Bang, these relic neutrinos exist throughout the entire universe, but they cant harm you. In fact, only one of them is...

The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for backup

A critical NASA mission in the search for life beyond Earth, Mars Sample Return, is in trouble. Its budget has ballooned from US$5 billion to over $11 billion, and the sample return date may slip from the end of this...

Dark matter: our new experiment aims to turn the ghostly substance into actual light

A ghost is haunting our universe. This has been known in astronomy and cosmology for decades. Observations suggest that about 85% of all the matter in the universe is mysterious and invisible. These two qualities are...

Technology

Massive SHIB Transfers Occur Despite Sharp Decline in Shibarium Transactions

Shiba Inu (SHIB), a dog-themed cryptocurrency, has seen a startling 3,015% increase in large holder NetFlow, which provides insight into whales changing positions. However, this impressive surge comes with a...

SHIB Whale Activity Surges Amid Plummeting Shibarium Transaction Volumes

While the Shiba Inu developer team continues to work on and implement key updates to the Layer-2 blockchain, Shibarium is seeing a significant drop in transaction volume, which has been ongoing for about a month. This...

AirTag With New Chip and Improved Tracking Due Next Year; No New Mac Studio, Pro Until Mid-2025: Mark Gurman

Apples upcoming AirTag, equipped with an upgraded chip and enhanced tracking, is expected to launch by mid-2025, as detailed by Bloombergs Mark Gurman. He also claimed that Apple will not update the Mac Studio and Mac Pro...

Shibarium Faces 97% Drop in Transactions, Yet Transfers Rise Steadily

High FDVs on Binance Listings Lead to Investor Losses, Analysis Reveals

An analysis of Binance listings over the past six months reveals that high fully diluted valuations often lead to token value loss, adversely affecting regular investors while benefiting insiders. VC-Backed Tokens on...