Grattan Institute report urges governments and regulators to increase competition to give consumers a better deal

A new Grattan Institute report urges governments and regulators to do more to ensure customers get a good deal, especially where big firms have market power and competitors face high barriers to entry. The report shows up to half the total profits in the supermarket sector (dominated by Coles and Woolworths) are ‘super-normal’.

Nine months without further falls in business investment, Deloitte

Australia has now gone nine months without any further falls in business investment, the first time this has happened in five years, according to the latest Deloitte Access Economics Investment Monitor.  We’ve seen company profits increase and borrowing costs remaining low, however, household debt remains a concern.

KPMG questions whether the National Energy Guarantee will deliver stability

The need for a more stable path is urgently needed to get out of the mess Australia currently faces, which includes having amongst the highest energy prices in the world and unreliable supply. Investors in future renewable projects will need to reassess their position and navigate through new complexities. KPMG says it’s clear a plan to move forward is better than no plan.

What’s the new world order in manufacturing, according to PwC’s Strategy&

In the next manufacturing revolution, spurred on by technologies such as 3D printing and robotics, companies will need to rethink what they make and where they make it. Factories will be smaller with minimal lead times and shorter value chains. Management will be decentralized, the supply chain will be simplified and shortened, and the distance separating the manufacturer from its customers will be sharply reduced. A must-read report from PwC’s Strategy&.

India’s solar trains saves billions in fuel costs, World Economic Forum

India’s massive diesel-guzzling railway network rolled out its first train with rooftop solar panels in July 2017. The railways estimate that a train with six solar-powered coaches could save around 21,000 litres of diesel every year, worth around Rs12 lakh. The World Economic Forum asks will India continue to pursue this ambitious renewable energy plan into the future?

Why the benefits of university vary widely, OECD report

Tertiary enrolment is expanding rapidly, with very strong returns for individuals and taxpayers, but new evidence shows that universities can fail to offer, and individuals fail to pursue, the fields of study that promise the greatest labour-market opportunities, according to a new OECD report.

Are mining companies ready for the future? PWC report

Many mining companies have a deeply ingrained, conventional view of their sector and the environment in which they operate. But while it’s served them in the past, it’s less likely to work in the future, according to this PwC report.

National energy emissions audit, Australia Institute

As tensions mount in Australia re the decommissioning of coal-fired plants, it’s worth looking at The Australia Institute’s Electricity Update of the National Energy Emissions Audit 2017. The report shows flat demand across the energy market, and that electricity consumers are continuing to pay for the policy failures of the last decade in the regulation of monopoly network businesses.

Chinese are losing their mojo for luxury goods, McKinsey & Co.

With luxury consumption dropping in 2016 to its lowest level since 2009, much attention has been focused on one of the biggest forces in global luxury spending: Chinese consumers. As the Chinese economy slows, and growth in luxury consumption cools in China and abroad, there’s a growing concern among industry observers that Chinese consumers are losing their passion for luxury goods.

Why real estate today is about tech and not bricks & mortar, KPMG

Real estate is a sector at the cusp of a tech-driven revolution. In this next phase of real estate sector transformation, the business of ‘bricks and mortar’ will no longer be about bricks and mortar. KPMG says ‘the new battleground in real estate is technology, technology, technology.’

More common sense needed in budget forecasts, Grattan Institute

Australia has a budget problem. The federal Treasury is repeatedly over-estimating future budget balances, which in turn is encouraging forecast-led denial among policymakers about the need for budget repair. Grattan CEO John Daley raises some tricky questions about fiscal stimulus, and calls for correctives including the creation of a “pessimism-generator” and the injection of more judgement and common sense into budget forecasting.

The benefits of Chinese investment in Australia, Deloitte report

Foreign investment has been, and will continue to be, fundamental to maintaining the standards of living that Australians enjoy. This Deloitte report highlights the benefits Australia receives from foreign investment and the opportunities presented from new sources of investment from China.

How Finkel Review will affect renewables, Allens Legal

Australia’s economic report card, where do we stand? Deloitte

Deloitte Access Economics sets out its Business Outlook June 2017 for Australia and where we stand globally. Apparently both the world and the Reserve Bank have been doing Australia favours, with China throwing red meat at those bits of its economy that buy big from the Lucky Country. But it seems our stuttering pace of production was enough – thanks to higher commodity prices – to see national income chalk up a gain of near $100 billion in 2016-17.

Retail hit hard as software and robots take over, Strategy&

We often talk about software and robots taking over jobs and eliminating the need for human labour. It’s common to hear these concerns centre around jobs in factories. But the reality is that machines — in the form of software, e-commerce platforms, and payment systems — are already destroying jobs in one massive sector: retail.