Yesterday
The budget in five key charts
The five key graphs to understand the government’s latest federal budget.
- Edmund Tadros
Decade of deficits to spark debt interest surge
While Treasurer Jim Chalmers was spruiking debt in 2023-24 being $904 billion, gross debt is forecast to rise sharply in the years ahead.
- Ronald Mizen
- Opinion
- Federal budget
Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ message to the nation
The $22.7 Future Made in Australia policy will make Australia an indispensable part of the global green energy revolution.
- Jim Chalmers
This Month
ANZ confirms investigation of its government bond sale
ANZ said is “co-operating fully” with ASIC as it investigates “suspected contraventions” of the Corporations Act relating to a government bond sale last year.
- James Eyers
- Exclusive
- Regulation
ASIC investigates ANZ over Treasury trades
The corporate regulator acted after receiving a complaint from the Australian Office of Financial Management, which raises government debt, sources said.
- Aaron Patrick
April
Chalmers stares down NSW funding threat in GST row
NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey says an inequitable GST allocation will likely cost the state its remaining two AAA credit ratings.
- Samantha Hutchinson
- Opinion
- Investing
The S&P 500 keeps defying the equity bears – here’s why
A pessimistic outlook hasn’t stopped a serious rally in the past year, but it may have further to run.
- Vimal Gor
- Opinion
- Opinion
Global debt can’t keep growing forever
Now ultra-low interest rates have ended, large-scale government borrowing looks unsustainable.
- Martin Wolf
March
US faces Liz Truss-style market shock as debt soars, warns watchdog
The Congressional Budget Office chief says the US fiscal burden was on an “unprecedented” trajectory, risking a crisis of the kind that sparked a run on the pound in 2022.
- Claire Jones
China’s indebted provinces meet state bankers to discuss debt relief
Many local governments are grappling with billions of dollars of off-balance sheet debt, stifling their ability to deploy new investments.
- Cheng Leng
Another $12b debt blowout in Victoria sets scene for horror budget
Ratings agency S&P says Victoria could face a daily interest bill of $30 million by 2027 after it was revealed state debt has already grown to $126 billion.
- Gus McCubbing and Patrick Durkin
Government tax take and spending nears record high
Economists are urging Jim Chalmers to focus on paying down debt instead of increasing spending, as new analysis shows the tax take has hit 30 per cent of GDP.
- Michael Read
February
Boutique adviser 333 Capital in the thick of WICET’s $3b refi
While small parcels of WICET debt have changed hands, so far there isn’t a dominant player on track to building a big exposure.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Australia avoids ‘iceberg’ but debt on track to hit $1.4 trillion
Total government debt could be worth as much as 58 per cent of GDP by 2027 according to a new paper from the Centre for Independent Studies.
- Samantha Hutchinson
December 2023
- Opinion
- Federal budget
Responsible economic management key to Albanese government’s agenda
There’s no shortage of challenges in the budget or the economy, but the mid-year budget update shows we are making encouraging progress.
- Jim Chalmers
- Opinion
- Australian economy
How Chalmers’ fiscal goals lost all ambition
It is striking how modest fiscal strategy ambitions have become. If we look back over 10 years, there are valuable lessons.
- Robert Carling
Investors pour $1.2b into riskier debt as rate rise fears fade
The chase is on for opportunities in emerging markets as the prospect of a soft landing in the US and interest rate cuts next year boost risk appetites.
- Leda Alvim
November 2023
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Are Goldman Sachs’ most powerful bankers being too hopeful?
The three global heads of its investment banking franchise say conditions for deal makers should improve next year as interest rates fall.
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Druckenmiller says investors still don’t get the Fed’s big problem
Wall Street rallying on the decision to keep US interest rates on hold proves Stanley Druckenmiller’s point: equity investors don’t appreciate the impact of higher rates on the economy.
- James Thomson
October 2023
Ballooning debt could ‘come to a head’: Hockey
The former treasurer and ambassador to Washington worries that lax, spendthrift populism could turn unsustainable debt burdens into a default crisis.
- Hans van Leeuwen
