The Dismal Science - podcast cover

The Dismal Science

The Australian Institute of Company Directorswww.aicd.com.au
Join the AICD’s Chief Economist Mark Thirlwell GAICD for this weekly deep dive into the latest economic news from Australia and around the world. From interest rates to trade wars and everything in between, we have you covered.

Episodes

130 - Migration, Minutes and Missing Data

The federal budget is out next week. What should we expect the Treasurer to announce on Tuesday night? Plus: fresh employment numbers, insights from the Director Sentiment Index and China's delayed GDP data.

Oct 20, 202242 minEp. 130

129 - Doom, Gloom and Working on Zoom

The IMF has released its latest forecast for the world economy, and the outlook is pretty grim. What does slowing global growth mean for Australia? Plus, fresh consumer confidence numbers, this year’s Nobel Prize winners, and what does the Census tell us about Australian’s working habits?

Oct 13, 202247 minEp. 129

128 - Rising Rates, Tax Talk, and a UK U-turn

The RBA has raised rates, but it was a smaller hike than many were expecting. What could the Reserve Bank be planning for next month? Plus: the debate around “Stage Three” tax cuts, a surprise policy U-turn in the UK, and more uncertainty for China’s beleaguered property sector.

Oct 06, 202245 minEp. 128

127 - Market Mayhem, Recession Risks and the Plunging Pound

Central banks across the globe have been lifting interest rates over the last week. The RBA is almost certain to do the same at its upcoming meeting, but how high will the rate rise be? Plus: major moves for stocks and bonds, recession fears in the US and the British pound sinks to a record low.

Sep 29, 202240 minEp. 127

126 - House Prices, a House Committee and the House of Windsor

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.

Sep 23, 202239 minEp. 126

125 - Lowe blow

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....

Sep 09, 202243 minEp. 125

124 - Keeping at it

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.

Sep 02, 202240 minEp. 124

123 - Not so flash

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.

Aug 26, 202226 minEp. 123

122 - China sinks

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.

Aug 18, 202240 minEp. 122

121 - Taipei story

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.

Aug 12, 202236 minEp. 121

120 - Gloomy and uncertain

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.

Aug 05, 202244 minEp. 120

119 - Meditations in an EMergency

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.

Jul 22, 202251 minEp. 119

118 - The technocracy project

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.

Jul 01, 202255 minEp. 118

117 - Compare the market

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.

Jun 23, 202244 minEp. 117

116 - Tight said Fed

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?

Jun 16, 202253 min

115 - That 70s show

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.

Jun 10, 202257 minEp. 115

114 - Review that

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.

Jun 02, 202246 minEp. 114

113 - Vibe shift

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.

May 27, 202238 minEp. 113

112 - Feels like wages only go backwards

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?

May 20, 202236 minEp. 112

111 - Rate expectations

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?

May 06, 202239 minEp. 111

110 - Gotcha

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?

Apr 15, 202248 minEp. 110

109 - Feeling QT, might retreat later

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?

Apr 08, 202249 minEp. 109

108 - L'aussie en rose

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.

Apr 04, 202251 minEp. 108

107 - Simulation hypothesis

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.

Mar 25, 202245 minEp. 107

106 - Between a shock and a hard place

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 because it originally had an audio glitch. Apologies. Ivan's fault.

Mar 22, 202255 minEp. 106

104 - NAIRU collar

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.

Feb 25, 202237 minEp. 104

103 - Interesting times

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.

Feb 11, 202251 minEp. 103

102 - It's quizmas time

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.

Dec 24, 20211 hr 20 minEp. 102

101 - Shortages and mortgages

Directors have identified labour shortages as the biggest economic challenge facing Australian business, according to the AICD's latest Director Sentiment Index. Plus, the Australian residential property market passes $9 trillion in value, record job ads and European carbon prices skyrocket.

Dec 16, 202151 minEp. 101