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Tuesday, 26 October 2021
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Reductions in loan repayments, either deferrals or failing to opt out of lower payments, seem like a good idea. But they are expensive and should only be adopted if the borrower needs the money.
Many people are hoping bank profits and share prices will resume growth once the Royal Commission is done with, but new competition from digital disruptors could mean disappointment for bank shareholders.
Blockchain is a powerful technology. The most successful companies will be those that have the ability to harness its power. Three groundbreaking examples are global payments, data protection and verifying land titles.
Almost every day, there is a new and exciting fintech announcement of the next big thing. Some checks improve the chances of finding the financial services winners.
As fintech funding platforms and instant payment systems grow, small businesses will benefit from greater choice and bargaining power when it comes to obtaining finance and managing cashflows.
The RBA Governor says rising house prices are due to "the design of our taxation and social security systems". The OECD says "the prolonged boom in house prices has inflated the wealth of many pensioners without impacting their pension eligibility." What's your view?
We tend to forget that house prices often fall. Direct lending controls are more effective than rate rises because macroprudential limits affect the volume of money for housing leaving business rates untouched.
The survey drew a fantastic 2,000 responses with over 1,000 comments and polar opposite views on what is good policy. Do most people believe the home should be in the age pension asset test, and what do they say?
Any policy decision needs to recognise who is affected by a change. It pays to check the data on who pays taxes, who owns assets and who earns the income to ensure an equitable and efficient outcome.
With articles on the pensions assets test read about 40,000 times, 3,500 survey responses and thousands of comments, there was a lot of great reader participation. A few comments added extra insights.
It is hard to think of any area of widespread public concern where the same policies have been pursued for so long, in the face of such incontrovertible evidence that they have failed to achieve their objectives.