When the Catholic church put a candidate up for sainthood the promoter of the faith was employed as a cannon lawyer to argue against the candidate. The post became known as the devil’s advocate and by taking a skeptical view he acted as a counterpoint to God’s advocate who made the case for canonization.
Today I will be playing the role of devil’s ...
Australia’s capital gains tax has been in the economic and political spotlight for much of the year, with a number of substantial proposals put forward for reform. Ironically, it turns out that the simplest and fairest path forward is the one where we wind the clock back to pre-1999 and directly remove inflationary gains through indexation.
The main ...
Australia has no death duties. We say this often, sometimes with pride, sometimes as a point of distinction from the United States or United Kingdom. But the Australian tax system has been doing some of the same work for years, just under different names and across different provisions. The 2026 federal budget proposed an additional layer.
None of ...
The March of Folly by Barbara Tuchman that was published in 1984 chronicled 30 centuries of governments taking actions against their self-interest, starting with how Trojan rulers dragged inside their walls an odd-looking wooden horse despite warnings of Greek tricks.
If the book was written today, it would surely include the decision by US President ...
Last Tuesday night, Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down one of the most unpopular budgets in Australia's history. He claimed the Budget was about fixing intergenerational inequality and making housing more affordable for first-home buyers. Tell him he's dreaming.
For starters, the term "intergenerational inequality" is a social construct dreamed up by ...
Copper has had a rough few weeks. The benchmark LME three-month price has slipped back below US$12,000 per tonne, rattled by data out of China showing warehouse inventories remain stubbornly high. Sluggish demand, the bears say. Time to move on.
Don't.
Because if you zoom out even slightly, you realise that what's happening right now in copper ...
Much has been written about the tax changes in last week’s budget. But there are some aspects of the property tax changes that have received little attention and are worth expanding on.
1. These reforms have fragmented the property market, essentially creating two tiers of residential property.
We will now have ‘full tax status’ tier 1 property, ...
You’ve probably noticed it before: The stock market drops sharply, and the financial news scrambles to explain why. No major earnings misses. No economic disaster. No obvious catalyst. Yet, your portfolio is down significantly.
A February 2026 paper by Clemens Struck—"Private Asset Distress and Public Market Volatility"—offers a compelling explanation ...
The debate over the budget continues and I suspect many Firstlinks’ readers have strong opinions. Some of those opinions are well reasoned and rational. Some are based on how particular budget measures impact personal circumstances which is a natural view to take.
But some reactions are fully or partially based on grievances against a particular cohort ...
Most conversations about inflation focus on what it costs you today. The grocery bill. The mortgage repayment. The electricity bill that arrived higher than expected. These are real and they matter. But there is a second effect of sustained inflation that gets far less attention, and it is the one that will follow Australians into retirement long after ...
The debate over artificial intelligence has taken a sharp turn. Initial exuberance over AI’s transformative potential sparked investor fears of an AI bubble. But that concern has now been overshadowed by anxiety that the AI juggernaut will steamroll large segments of the global economy.
The evolving narrative has driven starkly divergent outcomes for ...
By their very definition, private market assets are not as easy to understand as publicly listed securities and investments. Private entities are not subject to the same requirements when it comes to making information about their operations public, and those investors that are able to conduct appropriate due diligence are usually institutions.
Aside ...
When the Catholic church put a candidate up for sainthood the promoter of the faith was employed as a cannon lawyer to argue against the candidate. The post became known as the devil’s advocate and by taking a skeptical view he acted as a counterpoint to God’s advocate who made the case for canonization.
Today I will be playing the role of devil’s ...
Australia’s capital gains tax has been in the economic and political spotlight for much of the year, with a number of substantial proposals put forward for reform. Ironically, it turns out that the simplest and fairest path forward is the one where we wind the clock back to pre-1999 and directly remove inflationary gains through indexation.
The main ...
Australia has no death duties. We say this often, sometimes with pride, sometimes as a point of distinction from the United States or United Kingdom. But the Australian tax system has been doing some of the same work for years, just under different names and across different provisions. The 2026 federal budget proposed an additional layer.
None of ...
The March of Folly by Barbara Tuchman that was published in 1984 chronicled 30 centuries of governments taking actions against their self-interest, starting with how Trojan rulers dragged inside their walls an odd-looking wooden horse despite warnings of Greek tricks.
If the book was written today, it would surely include the decision by US President ...
Last Tuesday night, Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down one of the most unpopular budgets in Australia's history. He claimed the Budget was about fixing intergenerational inequality and making housing more affordable for first-home buyers. Tell him he's dreaming.
For starters, the term "intergenerational inequality" is a social construct dreamed up by ...
Copper has had a rough few weeks. The benchmark LME three-month price has slipped back below US$12,000 per tonne, rattled by data out of China showing warehouse inventories remain stubbornly high. Sluggish demand, the bears say. Time to move on.
Don't.
Because if you zoom out even slightly, you realise that what's happening right now in copper ...
Much has been written about the tax changes in last week’s budget. But there are some aspects of the property tax changes that have received little attention and are worth expanding on.
1. These reforms have fragmented the property market, essentially creating two tiers of residential property.
We will now have ‘full tax status’ tier 1 property, ...
You’ve probably noticed it before: The stock market drops sharply, and the financial news scrambles to explain why. No major earnings misses. No economic disaster. No obvious catalyst. Yet, your portfolio is down significantly.
A February 2026 paper by Clemens Struck—"Private Asset Distress and Public Market Volatility"—offers a compelling explanation ...
The debate over the budget continues and I suspect many Firstlinks’ readers have strong opinions. Some of those opinions are well reasoned and rational. Some are based on how particular budget measures impact personal circumstances which is a natural view to take.
But some reactions are fully or partially based on grievances against a particular cohort ...
Most conversations about inflation focus on what it costs you today. The grocery bill. The mortgage repayment. The electricity bill that arrived higher than expected. These are real and they matter. But there is a second effect of sustained inflation that gets far less attention, and it is the one that will follow Australians into retirement long after ...
The debate over artificial intelligence has taken a sharp turn. Initial exuberance over AI’s transformative potential sparked investor fears of an AI bubble. But that concern has now been overshadowed by anxiety that the AI juggernaut will steamroll large segments of the global economy.
The evolving narrative has driven starkly divergent outcomes for ...
By their very definition, private market assets are not as easy to understand as publicly listed securities and investments. Private entities are not subject to the same requirements when it comes to making information about their operations public, and those investors that are able to conduct appropriate due diligence are usually institutions.
Aside ...
