Bond yields are useful for telling us about the future. And it's not looking good

For the past six months we’ve started to see a negative yield curve – an indicator of a recession

The government has been lying about the strength of the economy – its lack of policy is hurting us

The Reserve Bank can only do so much to shift the economy

House prices bouncing back? Don't hold your breath

Further real estate booms will not occur until households see living standards rise markedly

There is zero heat in the economy – and hopes for a wages increase are absurdly optimistic

That a 0.5% cash rate is even on the Reserve Bank’s radar is utterly astonishing

Time for a post-election reality check – and a budget reboot

The old adage is you need to build up your budget surplus for rough times ahead. They’re here, so what is Josh Frydenberg waiting for?

The latest job figures don't bode well for employment or wage growth

The gap between the growth of job vacancies and filled jobs is closer than it has been in years

We have reached the bottom of the housing market but any rebound will be slow to come

The heat has come off the housing market, but we should be wary about getting overly excited

Coalition's lies, damned lies and election-winning strategies

No, the government doesn’t care about reducing carbon emissions and no, the economy is not strong

The government has run the economy into the ground

The biggest lie during the election campaign was that the economy was strong. Now we know how bad things really are

The government should feel a great deal of shame at this astonishingly low interest rate

The RBA’s interest rate cut is a pretty sad indictment of how the economy has been handled – and there will likely be further cuts

It's a big week for the economy, but there is hope that things might improve

Despite weak growth in GDP and wages, a rise in investment suggests a recession is becoming less likely

Labor and the Greens have to join forces – for the climate's sake

For some it’s the option of last resort. But how much action on climate change has either party driven alone?

The government needs to get into more debt, our grim economy depends on it

We’ve been told for years debt is bad but the RBA is calling for more infrastructure spending

The big swing to George Christensen should be where the lesson for the election is

There are blue-collar jobs in a post-coal world. That’s the message that needs to be heard by Adani supporters

It’s absurd to suggest that rate cuts are good news for the government

The RBA has finally realised that if they want things to improve, it is not enough to hold interest rates at record lows

We need more than confidence to improve the sad state of affairs the economy is in

The government seems to think the confidence fairy will do most of the work – with some help from income tax cuts

After six years of pathetic wages growth, things are finally improving – very slowly

To say things are better is akin to saying you feel better after being knocked out in a boxing match because the punching has stopped

A government with few ideas offers a rinky-dink first-home scheme on the run

The announcement was a ‘who knows’ policy and yet the ALP jumped in to match it. Why? Because politics

A Coalition bereft of policy is staring into the abyss

Labor’s bold agenda has reduced Scott Morrison to a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency situation

The bar must be low if the economy's fundamentals are as ‘sound’ as Josh Frydenberg claims

If they were sound, the Reserve Bank would be looking to raise the cash rate, not lowering it even further

It is likely the RBA will cut interest rates – this is not a good sign

We have a weak economy overall but that is not new

Climate change costings that don't count the cost of inaction are worthless

We must demand better of our political parties – and there is no excuse for the media either

Australia's cost of living remains low. So why are we still feeling the pinch?

Inflation has grown 9.7% since the 2013 election but household incomes have grown only 7.8%. That makes for a 1.7% fall in standard of living

Finding a place to rent is still an impossible dream for many low-income Australians

In other public policy areas it might be difficult to find a solution, but here one seems obvious

Reality rarely gets a run in an election campaign full of feigned outrage

Australian election campaign involves both parties, and much of the media, pretending to be outraged at things either fake or purposely mistaken

The economy is struggling, and the election campaign needs to start facing up to it

Right now the fiscal policy argument being played out is pretending everything is sweet and dandy. It is not

We really don't know just how bad the level of wealth inequality in this county is

The top 1% holds as much wealth as the bottom 70% of all households

The Coalition boasts about economic management. Where’s the evidence?

This is the only government since Fraser’s that hasn’t presided over an improved standard of living

Lies aren't new to election campaigns. But now they are more brazen than ever

It is not so much that there are more lies – it is that politicians care less about being called out for lying

The outlook for the global economy goes from bright to precarious

The latest IMF report should provide sobering reading for both major parties ahead of the federal election

Why it’s dumb to think the government can pay down debt like John Howard did

The economy today does not need surpluses, it needs to be improved instead

The desire to help the wealthiest is entrenched in the government’s strategy

The latest budget is an amalgam of incompetence and greed, where the right thing is done belatedly and poorly

The seven graphs that expose the Coalition’s 2019 budget fairy tale

Tax cuts, surpluses and fancifully optimistic forecasts add up to a make-believe budget

Millionaires in Australia are managing a tax bill of $0

Tax stats also once again highlight it is the wealthy who benefit from negative gearing

Call it budget or campaign launch, it's a tough ask for Frydenberg

Tuesday’s budget has to deliver both votes and economic growth (just don’t mention ‘stimulus’)

Fear factor: why cost is the scariest part of going to the dentist in Australia

We can’t talk about universal and equal healthcare without including dental health

Jacinda envy: Why the days of a middle-aged white male leader could be over

Despite continued systemic disadvantages in politics, a woman can not only be the leader we want, but also the one we need

House prices keep dropping – and there's no end in sight

Prices will continue to fall, unless the Reserve Bank gets involved and cuts rates soon

More people than ever need a second job to help pay the bills

Workers don’t have more than one job for the fun of it - it’s because their main job does not pay enough to make ends meet

The RBA has sounded the climate change alarm. Time to sit up and take notice

Students are striking, the central bank is warning of ‘damaging outcomes’ and denialism has to be met with scorn

Can't afford to buy a house? Don't blame population growth

A new Reserve Bank paper has found house price rises have been driven much more by interest rate cuts

Since the Coalition won government in 2013 our living standards have gone down

There are different ways to measure living standards but the news is not rosy

By stoking recession fears, Morrison highlights his own failure on economy

Thankfully we are not in a slump - but the prime minister made sure we were all thinking it

The terrible GDP figures leave the Coalition's economic narrative in tatters

It’s increasingly difficult for the government to argue that the economy is doing well - and it’s two months until the election

While companies are doing well, workers have been left behind

Over the past three years, company profits have far outstripped wage growth

Coalition rabble-rousing, on refugees or franking credits, is beneath contempt

One of the key sectors for job growth looks to be slowing drastically

Forget an interest rate increase any time soon, there is plainly no heat in the economy

The government thinks we’re idiots and is not serious about reducing emissions

Tackling climate change is tough and Scott Morrison’s latest policy is an insult

We can no longer rely on coal for our future prosperity. We must plan for life without it

Two significant events have showed that a major adjustment of our economy is needed to end our reliance on coal