There are more interesting articles, commentaries and analyst reports on the Web every week than anyone could read in a month.
Each Saturday morning I like to share some of the ones I’ve read during the week.
The weekend will be over before you know it, so enjoy some weekend reading…and please forward to your friends by clicking the social link buttons.
How Donald Trump will push your mortgage rates higher
You can’t pick up a newspaper these days or log into a news site without reading a headline about Donald Trump.
So what does it all mean for Australians and particularly Australian home owners?
An article on ABC News has reported that whilst it may seem like the headlines are far away, their affect are much closer to home.
Your mortgage rates are about to rise.
And you can thank President Donald Trump for that.
When America’s central bank convenes mid-week, it is almost a foregone conclusion it will push interest rates higher.
With her trademark Joisey drawl, Janet Yellen — the world’s most powerful woman — will explain that because America’s economy is now in recovery, with employment nearing capacity and inflation expected to rise, the days of emergency rates are over.
She has been hinting at a rise for weeks now.
And after Friday night, when US employment figures delivered another strong result, it is pretty much a certainty.
It will likely inflame an ongoing battle with the POTUS — that’s President of the United States for the uninitiated — who is desperately attempting to resurrect American industry and who needs lower rates and a weaker dollar to do that.
It is a fight Mr Trump has no chance of winning.
Right now, Ms Yellen holds all the cards and the rest of the world, particularly Australian borrowers, will feel the effects.
While this rate rise has been a longtime coming, the speed with which the next few are bearing down on America is almost entirely down to him.
Why? Because The Donald’s big spending plans — on defence, on a Mexican wall and anything else that takes his fancy — will spark inflation.
Add to that, plans for a massive tax cut and you are throwing fuel on a fiscal fire.
It is not just this week’s rise that will hit Australia.
US bond markets are pricing in another two rises this year.
That means global interest rates will hike and, with Australia’s banking system one of the world’s more active players in raising offshore funds, our banks will need to pay more for the cash they raise.
Read the full article here
Property investing fear busters + Don’t fall foul of FOMO + Not all property markets going well
Another great Real Estate Talk show produced by Kevin Turner.
Michael Yardney talk about why more people aren’t investing in property and what’s holding them back.
Meighan Hetherington explains why too much information can be as dangerous as not enough.
Andrew Mirams discusses if the regulators have really changed investor lending all that much.
Cameron Kusher discusses the monthly CoreLogic Home Value Index report and what’s happening in the property market around Australia.
Rich Harvey puts a warning out to buyers about making sure they don’t become wounded bull bidders – find out what he means.
If you don’t already subscribe to this excellent weekly internet based radio show do so now by clicking here.
More records for Chinese tourism
Immigration continues to soar, and it doesn’t appear to be slowing down.
This Blog by Pete Wargent shows the statistics behind the results.
Immigration steady
Net permanent and long term immigration continued to meander along at +263,600 over the year to January 2017.
An increase in permanent settlers has been more than offset by record high permanent departures.
That said, as discussed here previously, overwhelmingly “permanent” departures have historically ended up back in Australia within the year.
The number of British and New Zealander settlers continues to drop, continuing a multi-year trend since the peak of the mining boom, but through 2016 there was an offsetting surge in the humanitarian intake into Australia.
You can see this more clearly when splitting out the permanent settlers hailing from North Africa and the Middle East.
The other strong numbers for permanent settlers are hailing from China (1,650 in January) and India (1,480), now far outstripping Kiwis (950) and Brits (630), with Asia accounting for more than 55 per cent of total settlers.
Read the full article here
Living alone: The fastest growing trend that’s outstripping supply
A typical ‘household trend’ use to be a couple, children and maybe a pet.
But that has all changed rapidly….
People are now more independent, need space and want to live closer to the bright lights of the city.
According to an article on Domain.com.au living alone is a trend that’s here to stay.
It’s the fastest growing trend in Australia, along with most of the major cities throughout the world: living alone.
And with one-person households in NSW projected to rise from 630,000 in NSW in 2011 to more than 1.03 million by 2036, on Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, the demand for studio or one-bedroom apartments, or even houses suitable for singles, is far outstripping supply.
“It’s happening too at both ends of the spectrum,” says Professor Peter Phibbs, University of Sydney geographer, planner and social economist, who also does research for the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.
“At the older end, a lot of older people, maybe widowed, are living alone, while there are also a lot of younger people alone.
But the dilemma for this fastest growing household type is the supply of suitable housing, and its price.”
While the supply of established homes is low, there’s little hope on the horizon for much improvement.
Latest BASIX data shows only 19 per cent of new apartments are either studios or one bedrooms, while twos take up 64 per cent, and threes, 16 per cent.
NSW and local council planning regulations limit the mix generally, says Murray Wood, director, residential, of agents CBRE.
“They dictate what developers can and can’t do,” he says.
“Many would like to build more studios and one-beds, partly because they sell quicker as they’re at lower price points so they can get the building underway quicker with presales.
“But there is generally a better return for two beds and the construction costs – since they both have a kitchen and bathroom which are the most expensive elements – are similar.”
Older-style one-beds are also in hot demand, says Richardson & Wrench agent Greg McKinley, who recently auctioned a 1939 art deco Macleay Regis in Potts Point, for about $1 million.
“I think often people prefer a really good, big one-bedroom over a smaller, lesser-quality two,” he says.
Read the full article here
A coffee expert shares the 6 things every coffee drinker should have
A you a true coffee connoisseur?
If you are, there are some luxurious necessities that you simply must have in your kitchen.
Business Insider has team up with a true connoisseur for this article, listing the most crucial items a coffee lover should have.
Besides breathing and sleeping, there are few things I do with as much regularity as my morning cup of coffee.
Before my first cup of Joe in the morning, I am walking through the day like a zombie, and I feel pretty confident in saying I’m not alone in this.
I do my best to make my morning mug at home when I can, but most days I’m scrambling for a train, and then scrambling through footpaths with only time for a quick moment of reprieve at my morning food cart.
It is not the ideal coffee scenario, but it gets the job done for me.
There are better ways to start your morning with a cup of coffee all your own, but since my daily routine is a bit chaotic, we decided to call in an expert.
I recently spoke with Paul Toscano, connoisseur of all things coffee and chief marketing officer of Joyride Coffee, a company that specialises in cold brew kegs.
I asked him to take me through some items he thinks avid coffee drinkers might be missing in their cupboards.
Below you can find Toscano’s recommendations, along with his reasoning as to why any aspiring barista should consider adding a bit more to their collection of coffee tools.
- A Chemex
- A gooseneck kettle
- An Aeropress
- A scale
- A grinder
- A coffee table book on coffee
Click here for the full article
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