Stop blaming pandemic for state government debt binge: S&P Global
S&P Global says state governments cannot keep blaming the COVID-19 pandemic for mounting debts, with borrowing increasing rapidly over the next four years due to infrastructure spending and household handouts.
The high-profile credit ratings agency said that, by 2029, debt will rise to more than 44 per cent of Tasmania's annual economic output. Debt as a share of gross state product, a widely used measure that shows the size of a government's liabilities relative to the size of its local economy, will reach 35.2 per cent in Victoria and 32.2 per cent in Queensland in that time.
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Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
ASX set to dip, Wall Street edges higher; $A jumps
US stocks are adding to their records on Monday as Wall Street nears the finish of a second-straight winning month. The S&P 500 was 0.2 per cent higher in its first trading after completing a stunning rebound from its springtime sell-off of roughly 20 per cent. The Dow Jones was up 133 points, or 0.3 per cent and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2 per cent higher. The Australian sharemarket is set to edge lower, with futures at 5am AEST pointing to a slip of 2 points at the open. The ASX added 0.3 per cent on Monday to wrap up the best financial year for the index since the pandemic. The Australian dollar is stronger. It was 0.8 per cent higher at 65.79 US cents at 5.11am. US stocks got a boost after Canada said it's rescinding a planned tax on US technology firms and resuming talks on trade with the United States. On Friday, US President Donald Trump had said he was suspending talks with Canada because of his anger with the tax, which he called 'a direct and blatant attack on our country.' One of the main reasons US stocks came back so quickly from their springtime swoon has been hope that Trump will reach deals with other countries to lower his stiff proposed tariffs. Otherwise, the fear is that trade wars could stifle the economy and send inflation higher. Many of Trump's announced tariffs are currently on pause, and they're scheduled to kick back into effect in a little more than a week. Loading In an interview with Fox News Channel's Sunday Morning Futures, Trump said his administration will notify countries that the trade penalties will take effect unless there are deals with the United States. Letters will start going out 'pretty soon' before the approaching deadline, he said. The US stock market being back at a record high could raise the risk of renewed escalations on tariffs, according to strategists at Deutsche Bank led by Parag Thatte and Binky Chadha. They point to the pattern in 2018 and 2019 of rallies for the market prompting escalations for tariffs, which then drove market pullbacks followed by relents on tariffs that then sparked rallies again.
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
ASX set to dip, Wall Street edges higher; $A jumps
US stocks are adding to their records on Monday as Wall Street nears the finish of a second-straight winning month. The S&P 500 was 0.2 per cent higher in its first trading after completing a stunning rebound from its springtime sell-off of roughly 20 per cent. The Dow Jones was up 133 points, or 0.3 per cent and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2 per cent higher. The Australian sharemarket is set to edge lower, with futures at 5am AEST pointing to a slip of 2 points at the open. The ASX added 0.3 per cent on Monday to wrap up the best financial year for the index since the pandemic. The Australian dollar is stronger. It was 0.8 per cent higher at 65.79 US cents at 5.11am. US stocks got a boost after Canada said it's rescinding a planned tax on US technology firms and resuming talks on trade with the United States. On Friday, US President Donald Trump had said he was suspending talks with Canada because of his anger with the tax, which he called 'a direct and blatant attack on our country.' One of the main reasons US stocks came back so quickly from their springtime swoon has been hope that Trump will reach deals with other countries to lower his stiff proposed tariffs. Otherwise, the fear is that trade wars could stifle the economy and send inflation higher. Many of Trump's announced tariffs are currently on pause, and they're scheduled to kick back into effect in a little more than a week. Loading In an interview with Fox News Channel's Sunday Morning Futures, Trump said his administration will notify countries that the trade penalties will take effect unless there are deals with the United States. Letters will start going out 'pretty soon' before the approaching deadline, he said. The US stock market being back at a record high could raise the risk of renewed escalations on tariffs, according to strategists at Deutsche Bank led by Parag Thatte and Binky Chadha. They point to the pattern in 2018 and 2019 of rallies for the market prompting escalations for tariffs, which then drove market pullbacks followed by relents on tariffs that then sparked rallies again.
The Advertiser
4 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Wall St gains as trade hopes feed quarterly momentum
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have scaled new heights as optimism over the US striking trade deals with its key partners fuelled the bullish momentum that has kept indexes on track for gains this quarter. The Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones have gained 17.5 per cent, 10.2 per cent and 4.6 per cent so far in the quarter, touching and then retreating from record levels since late last year, partly because of headlines around US President Donald Trump's rapid policy changes. The three indexes are still set for their weakest first-half performances since 2022, as the resulting uncertainty around policy has kept investors wary. The blue-chip Dow remains 2.3 per cent below its record closing high reached on December 4. On Monday, the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite extended their record run from last week, on bets of deeper US interest rate cuts and renewed optimism around AI. Investor focus is now on a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States or see tariffs spike higher but Trump has said he could extend the tariff deadline or "make it shorter". Canada on Sunday scrapped its digital services tax targeting US tech firms, just hours before it was due to take effect, in a bid to advance stalled trade negotiations with the United States. "We've got this deadline coming but then Trump has said that the deadline can be moved. And then you've got markets thinking that the Fed could potentially cut interest rates sooner than later. So there are a lot of drivers here," said Dennis Dick, at trader at Triple D Trading Inc. "Investors are just confident here in this market right now because we've had some bad news come in, even some bad earnings reports, and they buy the stocks right back. So bulls remain in complete control." Investors are also looking into economic data and fiscal policy developments to see if the latest bull run in US stocks can continue. US Senate Republicans will try to pass Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill, despite divisions within the party about its expected $US3.3 trillion ($A5 trillion) hit to the $36.2 trillion national debt. Trump wants the bill passed before the July 4 Independence Day holiday. Key economic data releases this week include monthly non-farm payrolls and the Institute for Supply Management's survey on manufacturing and services sectors for June. Several US central bank officials including Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell are scheduled to speak later this week. A raft of soft economic data and expectations that Trump will replace Powell with someone dovish have pushed up bets of rate cuts from the Fed this year. In early trading on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 178.68 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 43,998.06, the S&P 500 gained 14.13 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 6,187.20 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 44.64 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 20,318.10. Shares of big US banks rose after most cleared the Federal Reserve's annual "stress test," paving the way for billions in stock buybacks and dividends. Shares of Bank of America edged up 0.8 per cent while rivals JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo added 1.5 per cent and 1.9 per cent. Juniper Networks rose 8.3 per cent after the US Justice Department settled its lawsuit challenging server maker Hewlett Packard Enterprise's all-cash acquisition of the networking gear maker for $US14 billion. Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares soared 9.6 per cent. Shares of Oracle rose 6.4 per cent after the company said the new cloud services agreement is expected to contribute more than $US30 billion to annual revenue starting in fiscal year 2028. The S&P 500 posted 25 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 61 new highs and 37 new lows. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.56-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, while by a 1.7-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have scaled new heights as optimism over the US striking trade deals with its key partners fuelled the bullish momentum that has kept indexes on track for gains this quarter. The Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones have gained 17.5 per cent, 10.2 per cent and 4.6 per cent so far in the quarter, touching and then retreating from record levels since late last year, partly because of headlines around US President Donald Trump's rapid policy changes. The three indexes are still set for their weakest first-half performances since 2022, as the resulting uncertainty around policy has kept investors wary. The blue-chip Dow remains 2.3 per cent below its record closing high reached on December 4. On Monday, the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite extended their record run from last week, on bets of deeper US interest rate cuts and renewed optimism around AI. Investor focus is now on a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States or see tariffs spike higher but Trump has said he could extend the tariff deadline or "make it shorter". Canada on Sunday scrapped its digital services tax targeting US tech firms, just hours before it was due to take effect, in a bid to advance stalled trade negotiations with the United States. "We've got this deadline coming but then Trump has said that the deadline can be moved. And then you've got markets thinking that the Fed could potentially cut interest rates sooner than later. So there are a lot of drivers here," said Dennis Dick, at trader at Triple D Trading Inc. "Investors are just confident here in this market right now because we've had some bad news come in, even some bad earnings reports, and they buy the stocks right back. So bulls remain in complete control." Investors are also looking into economic data and fiscal policy developments to see if the latest bull run in US stocks can continue. US Senate Republicans will try to pass Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill, despite divisions within the party about its expected $US3.3 trillion ($A5 trillion) hit to the $36.2 trillion national debt. Trump wants the bill passed before the July 4 Independence Day holiday. Key economic data releases this week include monthly non-farm payrolls and the Institute for Supply Management's survey on manufacturing and services sectors for June. Several US central bank officials including Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell are scheduled to speak later this week. A raft of soft economic data and expectations that Trump will replace Powell with someone dovish have pushed up bets of rate cuts from the Fed this year. In early trading on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 178.68 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 43,998.06, the S&P 500 gained 14.13 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 6,187.20 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 44.64 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 20,318.10. Shares of big US banks rose after most cleared the Federal Reserve's annual "stress test," paving the way for billions in stock buybacks and dividends. Shares of Bank of America edged up 0.8 per cent while rivals JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo added 1.5 per cent and 1.9 per cent. Juniper Networks rose 8.3 per cent after the US Justice Department settled its lawsuit challenging server maker Hewlett Packard Enterprise's all-cash acquisition of the networking gear maker for $US14 billion. Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares soared 9.6 per cent. Shares of Oracle rose 6.4 per cent after the company said the new cloud services agreement is expected to contribute more than $US30 billion to annual revenue starting in fiscal year 2028. The S&P 500 posted 25 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 61 new highs and 37 new lows. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.56-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, while by a 1.7-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have scaled new heights as optimism over the US striking trade deals with its key partners fuelled the bullish momentum that has kept indexes on track for gains this quarter. The Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones have gained 17.5 per cent, 10.2 per cent and 4.6 per cent so far in the quarter, touching and then retreating from record levels since late last year, partly because of headlines around US President Donald Trump's rapid policy changes. The three indexes are still set for their weakest first-half performances since 2022, as the resulting uncertainty around policy has kept investors wary. The blue-chip Dow remains 2.3 per cent below its record closing high reached on December 4. On Monday, the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite extended their record run from last week, on bets of deeper US interest rate cuts and renewed optimism around AI. Investor focus is now on a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States or see tariffs spike higher but Trump has said he could extend the tariff deadline or "make it shorter". Canada on Sunday scrapped its digital services tax targeting US tech firms, just hours before it was due to take effect, in a bid to advance stalled trade negotiations with the United States. "We've got this deadline coming but then Trump has said that the deadline can be moved. And then you've got markets thinking that the Fed could potentially cut interest rates sooner than later. So there are a lot of drivers here," said Dennis Dick, at trader at Triple D Trading Inc. "Investors are just confident here in this market right now because we've had some bad news come in, even some bad earnings reports, and they buy the stocks right back. So bulls remain in complete control." Investors are also looking into economic data and fiscal policy developments to see if the latest bull run in US stocks can continue. US Senate Republicans will try to pass Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill, despite divisions within the party about its expected $US3.3 trillion ($A5 trillion) hit to the $36.2 trillion national debt. Trump wants the bill passed before the July 4 Independence Day holiday. Key economic data releases this week include monthly non-farm payrolls and the Institute for Supply Management's survey on manufacturing and services sectors for June. Several US central bank officials including Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell are scheduled to speak later this week. A raft of soft economic data and expectations that Trump will replace Powell with someone dovish have pushed up bets of rate cuts from the Fed this year. In early trading on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 178.68 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 43,998.06, the S&P 500 gained 14.13 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 6,187.20 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 44.64 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 20,318.10. Shares of big US banks rose after most cleared the Federal Reserve's annual "stress test," paving the way for billions in stock buybacks and dividends. Shares of Bank of America edged up 0.8 per cent while rivals JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo added 1.5 per cent and 1.9 per cent. Juniper Networks rose 8.3 per cent after the US Justice Department settled its lawsuit challenging server maker Hewlett Packard Enterprise's all-cash acquisition of the networking gear maker for $US14 billion. Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares soared 9.6 per cent. Shares of Oracle rose 6.4 per cent after the company said the new cloud services agreement is expected to contribute more than $US30 billion to annual revenue starting in fiscal year 2028. The S&P 500 posted 25 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 61 new highs and 37 new lows. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.56-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, while by a 1.7-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have scaled new heights as optimism over the US striking trade deals with its key partners fuelled the bullish momentum that has kept indexes on track for gains this quarter. The Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones have gained 17.5 per cent, 10.2 per cent and 4.6 per cent so far in the quarter, touching and then retreating from record levels since late last year, partly because of headlines around US President Donald Trump's rapid policy changes. The three indexes are still set for their weakest first-half performances since 2022, as the resulting uncertainty around policy has kept investors wary. The blue-chip Dow remains 2.3 per cent below its record closing high reached on December 4. On Monday, the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite extended their record run from last week, on bets of deeper US interest rate cuts and renewed optimism around AI. Investor focus is now on a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States or see tariffs spike higher but Trump has said he could extend the tariff deadline or "make it shorter". Canada on Sunday scrapped its digital services tax targeting US tech firms, just hours before it was due to take effect, in a bid to advance stalled trade negotiations with the United States. "We've got this deadline coming but then Trump has said that the deadline can be moved. And then you've got markets thinking that the Fed could potentially cut interest rates sooner than later. So there are a lot of drivers here," said Dennis Dick, at trader at Triple D Trading Inc. "Investors are just confident here in this market right now because we've had some bad news come in, even some bad earnings reports, and they buy the stocks right back. So bulls remain in complete control." Investors are also looking into economic data and fiscal policy developments to see if the latest bull run in US stocks can continue. US Senate Republicans will try to pass Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill, despite divisions within the party about its expected $US3.3 trillion ($A5 trillion) hit to the $36.2 trillion national debt. Trump wants the bill passed before the July 4 Independence Day holiday. Key economic data releases this week include monthly non-farm payrolls and the Institute for Supply Management's survey on manufacturing and services sectors for June. Several US central bank officials including Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell are scheduled to speak later this week. A raft of soft economic data and expectations that Trump will replace Powell with someone dovish have pushed up bets of rate cuts from the Fed this year. In early trading on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 178.68 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 43,998.06, the S&P 500 gained 14.13 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 6,187.20 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 44.64 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 20,318.10. Shares of big US banks rose after most cleared the Federal Reserve's annual "stress test," paving the way for billions in stock buybacks and dividends. Shares of Bank of America edged up 0.8 per cent while rivals JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo added 1.5 per cent and 1.9 per cent. Juniper Networks rose 8.3 per cent after the US Justice Department settled its lawsuit challenging server maker Hewlett Packard Enterprise's all-cash acquisition of the networking gear maker for $US14 billion. Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares soared 9.6 per cent. Shares of Oracle rose 6.4 per cent after the company said the new cloud services agreement is expected to contribute more than $US30 billion to annual revenue starting in fiscal year 2028. The S&P 500 posted 25 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 61 new highs and 37 new lows. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.56-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, while by a 1.7-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
