The Dismal Science

The RBA Governor has faced some tricky questions at a parliamentary committee. What did Philip Lowe have to say on house prices, rising rates and tax? Plus, fresh unemployment numbers, the royal family's finances, and a big change for one of the major crypto currencies.

The Reserve Bank keeps hiking and there's more to go Governor Lowe says . But with protesters hitting Martin Place, will the bank be able to withstand the public pressure to slow up? Plus, Australian GDP keeps growing despite the cost pressures , job ads are up again and we talk about the persistence of inequality in Communist China.

Fed Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has promised to 'keep at it' raising interest rates, house prices in Australia are falling, we take a look at the ideas from the Jobs Summit, and the future of Ethereum.

Australia's flash Purchasing Managers' Index has fallen into contractionary territory. Is it a sign of a slowdown to come? Plus, we preview this week's Jackson Hole monetary policy jamboree.

The latest data out of China shows the slowdown deepening. The People's Bank of China has bucked the trend in the rest of the world by cutting interest rates. Will Chinese authorities also be forced to reconsider their zero covid stance? Plus, Australian unemployment falls again but wages remain sluggish and UK inflation hits double digits.

As tensions increase between China and Taiwan, we look at the risks for the global economy. Plus, business and consumer confidence continue to diverge and US inflation eases.

The IMF says the outlook for global growth is increasingly gloomy and uncertain, Australia's productivity growth is its lowest in 60 years, the Reserve Bank continues to hike rates and the US is in recession. We're not called The Dismal Science for nothing.

Is the situation in Sri Lanka a harbinger of an emerging market debt crisis? We look at the pressure emerging markets face from rising costs and interest rates. Plus, we catch up on the extraordinary unemployment result for June, the RBA review and the mortgage boycott in China.

Who should be on the Reserve Bank board? Economists are calling for more, uh, economists. But is monetary policy an entirely technocratic endeavour? Or should the views from businesspeople and workers be represented? Plus, retail sales are holding up, a call to arms from the central bankers' central bank and Russia's debt default.

The market has the cash rate in Australia at 3.6% by year's end, up from the current 0.85%. This would be the sharpest tightening in three decades. RBA Governor Lowe thinks this is unlikely but concedes the market has had a better record than the bank at forecasting rates. So who is right? And can the economy handle it? Plus, iron ore plummets and NSW takes on stamp duty.

A bit going on. The Fed is tightening, markets are freaking, crypto is collpasing. Are we headed for a global recession? While at home, will the Fair Work Commission's decision to raise the minimum wage fuel inflation?

The world is facing a period of prolonged stagflation akin to the 70s, according to the World Bank. Are there any reasons for hope amid the ongoing global omnicrisis? And what lessons can we take from the 70s experience? Plus, the Reserve Bank's biggest rate hike in two decades and what to do about gas prices.

Amid calls for a wide-ranging review of the RBA, we look at what's at stake. Plus, house prices fall, a preview of next week's interest rate decision, Q1 GDP and trouble in the Eurozone.

Paul Keating said when the government changes, the country changes. But does the economy change? We ponder the economic implications of the election. Plus, people are moving jobs again, capex goes backwards and China's slowdown.

Unemployment is now lower than it's ever been but real wages continue to go backwards. What can we do about it? Plus, is it a good idea to let people draw on their super to buy a house?

The RBA has lifted the cash rate for the first time in more than a decade. How much more is there to go? And is there a risk of a hard landing if they go too quickly?

We run through the latest labour market data and ask whether it's ok for a Prime Ministerial candidate not to know the unemployment rate. Plus, business and consumer confidence, US inflation and how far might house prices fall?

The Reserve Bank is signalling it will raise rates imminently, while the Fed Reserve is about to embark on quantitative tightening. But how soon and how quickly can central banks normalise monetary policy without scaring the horses?

The budget position is better than expected and treasury forecasts are rosy for the Australian economy. Are they overly optimistic given the uncertainty in the world? Plus, retail sales rebound from omicron and the yield curve inverts again.

An OECD simulation warns of a 1 percentage point hit to global growth from the war in Ukraine, consumer confidence dives on cost of living concerns and we preview the budget.

The global economy is being hit hard by supply shocks - first war in Ukraine and now the covid resurgence in China. Will higher food and commodity prices flow through to inflation expectations? What are central banks to do? How dependent is the German economy on Russian gas? And what is going on in the nickel market? Plus, the Australian jobs miracle continues. We are reposting this episode becaus...

Surging prices, war in Ukraine, the spectre of nuclear conflict – how worried should we be? This episode was recorded live last week in Melbourne at the Australian Governance Summit.

Wages growth is off the pandemic floor but remains historically weak. How low can unemployment go in Australia before we start to see inflationary pressures? Plus, we look at the potential eocnomic impact of war in Ukraine.

We are back! Markets are roiling at the prospect of interest rate hikes over 2022. Will central banks take away the punchbowl? Should we be worried about a crash? Plus, a mixed confidence picture in Australia as we emerge from Omciron and the latest on Evergrande's debt workout.

It's another bumper quizmas episode. We score Mark on last year's quiz, look ahead to 2022 and run through The Dismal Science summer reading list. Plus, the final extremely strong jobs numbers for 2022, Biden's troubled stimulus bill and the MYEFO. We'll be back with more episodes in late January.