Australia

Commenting about the recent Wall Street Journal article “Housing rebound in Canada spurs talk of new bubble,” Rolfe Winkler of Reuters says Last week Paul Krugman toasted the sobriety of Canadian banks. Among other things, he said that…

This is the second straight month that the RBA has raised interest rates. From the Sydney Morning Herald: The Reserve Bank has lifted its key interest rate for a second month in a row as it attempts to keep Australia's economy on track…

The Reserve Bank of Australia unexpectedly raised rates by 25 basis points to cool down its economy. It will “gradually reduce stimulus” in anticipation of sustained recovery. Australia has probably been the major economy least affected by…

This comes via the Sydney Morning Herald: A year ago, after Stern Hu had survived 20-odd rounds of negotiations and won Rio Tinto and Australia an extraordinary 87 per cent price increase for its iron ore contracts, I asked him if he…

Rio Tinto was one of those companies which levered up just as the economy was turning down, rushing its bottom line ad forcing it into the hands of Chinalco, a large Chinese commodities company.  However, as commodity prices have…

The goings on down under are not getting that much play in the press outside of Oz. But, Babcock & Brown, Australia's second-largest investment bank has just gone under.

Just as Japan is starting to unwind its carry trade, a new one might be forming in the form of 1% base rates in the United States. The carry trade was very popular amongst Japanese retail investors, especially using leverage (see article -…

Of the major currencies, the Japanese Yen has been the strongest in the last few months, while the Australian Dollar has been the weakest. These two currencies have also been the most conspicuous in the Japanese carry trade. That trade is…

So, I am back in the saddle after a great weekend in Palm Beach. And three days almost entirely away from Newspapers, Televisions, Telephones, and Computers is a very good thing to clear the head. (Although I did happen to catch Sarah…