Perth commentator Tim Treadgold is one of the state's highest-profile business journalists. He brings decades of experience to Business News, offering readers sharp and insightful analysis of current events and breaking news.
Can interest rates rise and fall at the same time? They can if you’re looking at different markets, because just as the Reserve Bank of Australia considers a fresh cut in its prime rate to try and boost the local economy, interest rates in other markets are starting to rise.
I’ve been taken for a ride twice in the past month. And while that personal experience might be of little interest to anyone else, it does throw some light on Perth’s Uber versus taxi debate.
It’s not easy finding a connection between a big Australian cattle company, an American business that makes jet engines, and the Western Australian government’s insurance arm, but if you look closely they’re all doing something at the same time – selling property.
“I don't know anybody that doesn’t minimise their tax”. With those words from 24 years ago, the current Senate inquiry into corporate tax avoidance is exposed for the nonsense it is.
Andrew Forrest’s worst nightmare is that he will one day relive his painful experience with pioneering low-grade nickel ore processor Anaconda Nickel; so surely he must have suffered an ‘Anaconda moment’ when the iron ore price fell below $US50 a tonne overnight.
Andrew Forrest and Gina Rinehart will need to wait a while for their dairy investments to deliver a return, according to a recent analysis of the sector.
At first glance, the planned $600 million expansion of Perth’s Karrinyup Shopping Centre seems to run counter to the relentless march of internet retailing, especially as a fresh report predicts that 50 per cent of all retail sales will be made over the internet in less than 10 years.
It might be bold to suggest that Andrew Forrest consider a career change, but as his fortune shrinks and as his iron ore business struggles in a flooded market, there is a nickel deal to be done that could be a lot more fun than playing the role of fading star.
You don’t need to listen too closely to hear the pips squeaking in Western Australia’s iron ore lemon after a week-long debate about the state’s most important industry, which appears to be heading for a crisis that will hit companies and governments in equal measure.
It is a long time since Western Australia had its own finance industry and while shadow banking, the hottest game in the money world, could be just another fad that fades as quickly as it has grown, there is the potential for home-grown finance to make a return to Perth.
If in doubt that we really are sailing in unchartered economic waters, consider one number; it’s a big number, but the estimated $US2 trillion invested around the world in government and corporate bonds that carry a negative interest rate paints a very disturbing picture.
Following the money is always the best way to see what interests a rich man because it tells you two things – what he likes as an investment for future growth, and what he sees as having reached the limits of growth.