Highlighting 'good and bad' debt will make it harder to fund social programs

May 05, 2017 02:00 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

In the forthcoming budget, the net operating balance will be reported alongside the underlying cash balance. This change has important policy implications because it creates a strong bias towards public spending on...

Fact Check: is education spending at the highest level on record?

May 05, 2017 01:40 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

The level of funding going into schools is at record levels. Prime Minister Theresa May in an interview with Andrew Marr on the BBC on April 30, 2017. As she hit the campaign trail, Theresa May repeated a claim she...

Vital Signs Series

Why the government still thinks it can 'grow away' the deficit

May 05, 2017 01:21 am UTC| Insights & Views Central Banks Economy

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...

How funding to house mentally ill, homeless is a financial gain, not drain

May 04, 2017 12:26 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy Politics Health

As Congress considers the federal budget proposal for fiscal year 2018 to reduce funding for services to poor and homeless Americans, programs with proven cost-effectiveness should not be on the chopping block. One such...

Central Banking Series

BoJ likely to maintain QQE, YCC over the coming months: Scotiabank

May 04, 2017 10:17 am UTC| Commentary Central Banks Economy

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) will likely maintain its current monetary policy framework of Quantitative and Qualitative Monetary Easing with Yield Curve Control over the coming months, with the short-term policy rate and the...

Eurozone composite PMI rises in April as business activity expands for 46 straight months

May 04, 2017 08:23 am UTC| Commentary Economy

Euro area economic growth accelerated to a 6-year high at the start of the second quarter. This was signalled by the final Markit Eurozone PMI Composite Output Index rising to 56.8 in April, up from 56.4 in March and the...

Australian economy likely to continue expansion in line with potential growth rate in 2017–18, says Scotiabank

May 04, 2017 06:50 am UTC| Commentary Economy

Australias near-term economic growth prospects are favourable, yet activity is partially supported by transitory factors in the external sector. The mining boom has moved from an investment phase to a production phase,...