It’s a massive week in Australia; inflation hit 5.1%, and the election is hotting up with promises flying from all sides of politics. Let’s look globally and see what is also affecting our economy in Australia. Stanford Brown has written an insightful report on the Ukraine War and asks, What is Putin really up to?

This month Stanford Brown covers:

• What Putin is up to and why

• How the impacts of wars on share markets are not what you may think

• How the Russian invasion of Ukraine may affect inflation and interest rates

• How commodities prices have been affected

• How China became Australia’s largest export customer

Core Logic Australia Home Value Index Report is Out.

“The residential property markets of Australia’s two largest cities have hit their first quarter of negative territory since the extended lockdowns of 2020.” - CoreLogic Tim Lawless

For the 1st of 2022 Quarter CoreLogic Australia Reported the Following;

• Sydney - 0.5 and Regional NSW +4.5

• Melbourne - 0.1 and Regional VIC +3.0

• Brisbane +5.7 and Regional QLD 5.8

• Adelaide +5.4 and Regional SA +7.3

• Perth +2.4 and Regional WA 2.3

• Hobart +1.2, Regional TAS +4.9

• Darwin +2.2

• Combined Capitals + 1.0% Combined Regionals + 4.7%

“Demonstrating the diversity in housing conditions across the broad regions of Australia, half of the capitals are still recording a monthly growth rate above 1%. Adelaide, at 1.9% growth in April, led the pace of capital gains, followed by Brisbane (1.7%), Canberra (1.3%), and Perth (1.1%).

Although monthly growth rates remain high in these markets, Tim warns the trend rate of growth is easing in most of these areas as well. Based on the rolling quarterly change, Brisbane dwellings moved through a peak rate of growth in December last year at 8.5%, slowing to 5.7% over the most recent three-month period.  Similarly, Adelaide moved through a peak in the trend rate of growth in January at 7.4%, reducing to 5.4% in April.”

Stay tuned for a more detailed assessment of the Australian Property Market and a new blog from our Mortgage Specialist Adam Kingston from Australian Expatriate Finance. 

We watched the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) last week. The RBA reported inflation was at 5.1%. Today they will announce the potential interest rate rise. Or will they stick to the forecast for June interest Rise? The RBA might wait until June because they historically wait for unemployment figures reported in May before making this decision? Also, the last time there was an interest rate rise during an election was in 2007, when the Coalition Howard Government was voted out in favour of the Kevin Rudd Labour Government. It will be one interesting day.

Bradley Beer Joins THE EXPATRIATE Specialist Team

Last week we welcomed Bradley Beer from BMT Tax and Depreciation to the growing THE EXPATRIATE Specialist Team. Bradley is the Chief Executive Officer of BMT Tax Depreciation, a company specialising in depreciation schedules for income-producing properties. BMT completes tens of thousands of depreciation schedules each year, helping property owners to maximise deductions and improve their cash flow. Bradley has already written an information blog for THE EXPATRIATE called The Beginners Guide to Tax Depreciation. Here is a link to it below;

Currency Update

• AUD - USD - 0.71

• AUD - GBP - 0.56

• AUD - EUR 0.67

• AUD - HKD - 5.53

• AUD - SGD - 0.98

• AUD - CNY - 4.66

• AUD - NZD - 1.10

Shona Stephenson, THE EXPATRIATE Creative Director, 2014, 8th Ranked Ultra-Trail World Tour Ultramarathon Runner, 100km, 160km distances and Race Director Brisbane Trail Ultra, Cairns Port Douglas Trail Ultra, her tips on mental toughness through a tough time. Here are her Key Tip below; 

• It is commonly presumed that mentally people are “Hard Arse” or “Hardened People”. The true secret to mental toughness is;

  Understanding what is your correct focus at any given time to help you achieve your end goal.

  Why are some people naturally positive and others negative? Some people are better at understanding what the correct focus is than others.

How can I achieve this?

• Remove all negative thoughts that will prevent you from accomplishing your goal. For example self-dialogue like; you're too old, too fat, a parent, I didn't have the same opportunities as my competitors (We all think the same when we are down). Those thoughts are not helpful.

• Maintaining a Positive self-dialogue will continuously remind you of your end goal and the steps that need to be taken along your journey to reach this accomplishment. Be your own best cheerleader, compliment yourself, well done, your fantastic, you've worked so hard, stay focused.

• When I raced, I complimented others around me. I spoke those words to them, meaning I also heard those positive words myself. Not only was I helping others. I also listened to these words subconsciously, taking these positive thoughts in and forming solidarity with others. It was a win, win!

• Appreciate yourself. Be happy with what you've already accomplished and be thankful for what you can do. Think of those less fortunate than you, and be grateful to be you. I always turned up to the finish line and cheered on the last runners, to remind myself that they were doing it way tougher than me.

• Plan ahead. Ask yourself. What do I need to be doing next to help me? It can be as simple as eating right and drinking less alcohol. I worked out pretty quickly the difference between myself and the general population was my discipline with my diet. Sure you might not want to be an ultramarathon runner, but drinking less and eating more fruit and vegetables goes a long way to improving your overall physical health and mental wellbeing. Abstaining from alcohol for weeks at a time will do wonders for the way you view the world.

It is said that running an ultramarathon or it's equivalent to years of meditation and self-awareness classes, the level of focus that is required to complete a 100km+ event is immense. Once we are stripped raw mentally and physically, pushed beyond our preconceived limits, this is when we discover what we are truly capable of.

One enters an ultramarathon one person, and through the challenges of their quest, emerges, reborn another.

Stay Informed, Join The Club and Stay Up To Date on the latest news and information affecting Australian Expatriates. We wish you all the best and hopefully you will get a chance to come DownUnder in 2022.

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