MarketCap » Macro

Australia – Expensive, Highly Taxed and Over Governed

Mark Hansen — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 21:53:42 +0000

In Australia a schooner of beer (about 375ml) can cost anything up to $10 (USD8 at the time of writing), depending upon the location of the bar. Taxes, both direct and indirect, make Australian alcohol among the most expensive in the world. In the case of buying a beer at…

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The Fragile Australian Economy

Mark Hansen — Wed, 13 Dec 2017 01:59:03 +0000

Australia’s last recession was in 1991. The Australian government believes that the long run of growth shows they are doing a great economic job and the country is in good shape. But looking a little deeper tells a somewhat different story. The state of the Australian economy is directly related to the…

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More on South Australian Electric Madness

Mark Hansen — Mon, 14 Aug 2017 03:18:53 +0000

I wrote last month on the insanity of South Australian politics. Clean, efficient coal-fired power stations were shut down to be replaced by subsidised wind mills. It didn’t work, so the state imported electricity from the neighboring state of Victoria, electricity generated by burning coal. They then engaged Elon Musk…

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The Electric Future of Gasoline

Mark Hansen — Tue, 28 Feb 2017 04:37:51 +0000

We are told that electric automobiles are the future. Currently coal, oil or gas are the source of energy for most electricity. Only about a third of the energy in the source is converted to electricity. There are also significant losses in the transmission of electricity and in charging the…

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A Great Cartoon on Central Banks

Mark Hansen — Fri, 20 Jan 2017 07:24:13 +0000

Image Courtesy hedgeye

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The Coming Water Wars

Mark Hansen — Mon, 19 Dec 2016 05:49:49 +0000

Once, Saudi Arabia was a major producer of wheat, along with dairy, chickens and the like. This was achieved in desert conditions by massive use of ground water and desalinated seawater, paid for by the government. Not any more. The depletion of ground water has led to a cessation of…

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Three Cartoons on Government Infrastructure Spending

Mark Hansen — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 01:30:37 +0000

Infrastructure spending was a hot topic during the US election campaign. It is typically seen as a valid way to boost economic growth while providing real benefits to the people. However, government spending is always a zero-sum game. Anything the government spends must be taken from the private sector economy.…

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Peak Oil Demand Will Lead to Economic Disaster

Mark Hansen — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 06:22:31 +0000

We are increasingly hearing from a variety of commentators that peak oil consumption is just around the corner. A few days ago, Royal Dutch Shell Plc stated that it expected demand to peak in the next 5 to 15 years. Even OPEC has a scenario whereby oil consumption will peak…

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Return to a World of Low/No Growth

Mark Hansen — Wed, 09 Nov 2016 03:22:07 +0000

Economic growth was low or non-existent for millennia, until the start of the industrial revolution in the late eighteenth century. Technological advances and abundant, cheap energy soon changed that. Growth soared, as did energy consumption and population. This growth slowed around the turn of the century, and took a further…

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The Collapse of Rome’s Silver-Backed Currency

Mark Hansen — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 00:01:08 +0000

It is usually accepted that the first Persian Empire has been the greatest of all time. But it was destroyed by Alexander the Great (a most remarkable Macedonian) in 330BC, after only 200 years as the dominant empire. Nonetheless, it introduced many new standards, and did return for part two.…

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