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COVID-19 lockdowns a âmass sacrificial eventâ
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Perceptions that the economy is stronger than before the coronavirus pandemic are wrong and lockdowns have cost Australia at least $60 billion, according to a Sydney economics professor.
University of NSW economist Gigi Foster said Australian policymakers were responsible for the âgreatest economic policy debacle in a generationâ, had succumbed to COVID-19 âmaniaâ, and experts who challenged them had been subjected to intimidation and bullying.
University of NSW economist Gigi Foster is a sceptic of lockdowns.
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The economics profession contributed to the mistakes by refusing to participate in a debate over the costs and benefits of lockdowns, Professor Foster told an economics conference this week.
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at 10:00 am on July 9, 2021 | 10 comments
In the Q&A to yesterday’s speech to the Economic Society of Australia, RBA governor Phil Lowe hosed down speculation that interest rates would be lifted to cool the property market:
“I sometimes read commentary that we’ll raise interest rates to choke-off housing prices. And with housing prices rising quickly, the Reserve Bank will raise interest rates to choke that off. That’s a misunderstanding of our reaction function. We won’t be raising interest rates to choke off housing price increases.
“If borrowing is unsustainable, then we’d be talking with APRA about macro-prudential tools. But we’re not going to use monetary policy to deal with rising housing prices. It would be the wrong thing to do and I don’t think it would work…
The federal government has defended high migration levels, after the RBA suggests closed borders are creating pockets of wage growth David Adams Brendon Thorne/Getty Images
The federal government has defended Australia s historic immigration levels after Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe commented on the ties between migrant labour and wages.
As the international border remains closed, keeping many skilled workers out of Australia, the Department of Home Affairs pointed to research showing migrant labour had little negative impact on wages.
But Lowe only said wage growth has been experienced in specific hotspots , as wage increases remain modest for most workers.
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See the latest Australian dollar analysis here:
Australian dollar is back at the lows:
Gold firmed as oil was hammered again:
Metals survived as China mulls RRR cuts:
Miners popped on same:
The
FOMC minutes from the June meeting revealed early discussions about QE tapering, but there did not appear to any urgency in starting the process. Although “various participants mentioned” tapering conditions to be met “somewhat earlier” than anticipated, “several” emphasized a “patient” approach. The committee’s standard of “substantial further progress” was generally seen as not having yet been met.
US JOLTS job openings rose to 9,209k in May – a record high, although that was shy of the 9325k expected, and April was revised lower from 9286k to 9,193k. The hiring rate fell to 4.1% from 4.2%, and the quit rate fell to 2.5% from 2.8% (was 2.7%). The report is consistent with skill mismatches amid pandemic disloc