Melbourne's first hatted lasagne restaurant, 1800 Lasagne, enters administration
Founded by Joey Kellock, 1800 Lasagne began as a humble home delivery service during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Operating out of Kellock's home kitchen, the business quickly gained cult status for its Italian comfort food.
Riding the wave of that success, Kellock opened the restaurant's first physical venue in August 2020, on High Street in Thornbury.
The niche restaurant earned a coveted chef's hat in 2023, with Good Food critic Besha Roddell raving, 'There is simply nothing about it not to love.'
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Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Firing people can't save Trump from the US economy's unflattering reality
In response, a group of statistical agencies that goes by the name The Friends of the Bureau of Labour Statistics released its own, more factual, statement that read: 'This escalates the President's unprecedented attack on the independence and integrity of the federal statistical system. The President seeks to blame someone for unwelcome news,' it said. It's also worth noting that the group statement was issued by William Beach, who was McEntarfer's Trump-appointed predecessor at the bureau. It's hard to overstate what Trump has done. Imagine if Anthony Albanese decided to sack the nation's chief statistician because the latest inflation data was not what the government wanted. There would, rightly, be an outcry. Naturally, the Trump apologists have been out defending the indefensible, ignoring the fact that the bureau has always revised job numbers (up and down), no matter the occupant of the White House. Last year, while Joe Biden was still in office, the bureau revised its jobs figures between January and July down by 340,000. But the single largest downward revision came in March and April 2020, during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the number of jobs was cut by almost 925,000. Loading Revisions are part and parcel of what the Bureau of Labour Statistics does. Every month it updates its numbers as it receives more information. The monthly release, plus the revisions, are vital to policymakers (like the Federal Reserve) and investors so they can see how the economy is travelling in as close to real time as possible. Ever since he declared a record crowd at his 2017 inauguration, Trump and reality have been at odds. In the grand scheme of things, crowd size does not really matter. But using a Sharpie to extend the expected landfall of a hurricane, gutting agencies responsible for tracking climate change, and ignoring employment data have very real consequences. Economists and policymakers have, for years, been worried about the statistics coming out of nations where the political leaders meddle with the numbers. In Argentina during the 1990s, the government fired bureaucrats who released less-than-flattering inflation figures and began releasing their own (sound familiar?). Understandably, this made international investors wary and increase their premiums as protection. By 2001, the government was in a full-blown debt crisis and defaulted on $US93 billion of debt. Greece, Turkey, Russia and China have also tried to play fast and loose with statistics over the years. It got to such a point in the case of China that outside economists used electricity consumption or satellite pictures taken at night (to see artificial light) as a de facto measure of GDP because their trust in the official numbers was so low. As financial analyst Ned Davis told The Wall Street Journal, ' Your initial thought is, 'Are we heading toward what you see in Latin America or Turkey, where if the data doesn't look good, you fire someone, and then eventually stop reporting it?'' Just a few days before McEntarfer's sacking, Trump was saying how great the economy was travelling – and demanding the Federal Reserve cut interest rates because it was going so well. Of course, the GDP figures did not show that (growth is slowing while inflation, at 2.7 per cent, is above the Fed's 2 per cent target rate). But Trump couldn't admit that, so he told his own story. Loading Around the same time, the president claimed that his government had cut pharmaceutical prices by '1200, 1300, 1400, 1500 per cent. I don't mean 50 per cent, I mean 1400, 1500 per cent'. And he's the one who thought the Bureau of Labour Statistics was making up numbers. The problem with making up your own numbers, or installing people who will make the numbers show what you want, is that they will be at odds with the lived experience of voters. Just as Biden struggled to convince Americans that the cost of living was getting better while they could see the price of everyday essentials going up, saying the economy is great to people lining up for unemployment benefits has a short shelf life. There's an adage used by economists to describe the models they use to understand the economy: Put crap in, and you get crap out.
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
Firing people can't save Trump from the US economy's unflattering reality
In response, a group of statistical agencies that goes by the name The Friends of the Bureau of Labour Statistics released its own, more factual, statement that read: 'This escalates the President's unprecedented attack on the independence and integrity of the federal statistical system. The President seeks to blame someone for unwelcome news,' it said. It's also worth noting that the group statement was issued by William Beach, who was McEntarfer's Trump-appointed predecessor at the bureau. It's hard to overstate what Trump has done. Imagine if Anthony Albanese decided to sack the nation's chief statistician because the latest inflation data was not what the government wanted. There would, rightly, be an outcry. Naturally, the Trump apologists have been out defending the indefensible, ignoring the fact that the bureau has always revised job numbers (up and down), no matter the occupant of the White House. Last year, while Joe Biden was still in office, the bureau revised its jobs figures between January and July down by 340,000. But the single largest downward revision came in March and April 2020, during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the number of jobs was cut by almost 925,000. Loading Revisions are part and parcel of what the Bureau of Labour Statistics does. Every month it updates its numbers as it receives more information. The monthly release, plus the revisions, are vital to policymakers (like the Federal Reserve) and investors so they can see how the economy is travelling in as close to real time as possible. Ever since he declared a record crowd at his 2017 inauguration, Trump and reality have been at odds. In the grand scheme of things, crowd size does not really matter. But using a Sharpie to extend the expected landfall of a hurricane, gutting agencies responsible for tracking climate change, and ignoring employment data have very real consequences. Economists and policymakers have, for years, been worried about the statistics coming out of nations where the political leaders meddle with the numbers. In Argentina during the 1990s, the government fired bureaucrats who released less-than-flattering inflation figures and began releasing their own (sound familiar?). Understandably, this made international investors wary and increase their premiums as protection. By 2001, the government was in a full-blown debt crisis and defaulted on $US93 billion of debt. Greece, Turkey, Russia and China have also tried to play fast and loose with statistics over the years. It got to such a point in the case of China that outside economists used electricity consumption or satellite pictures taken at night (to see artificial light) as a de facto measure of GDP because their trust in the official numbers was so low. As financial analyst Ned Davis told The Wall Street Journal, ' Your initial thought is, 'Are we heading toward what you see in Latin America or Turkey, where if the data doesn't look good, you fire someone, and then eventually stop reporting it?'' Just a few days before McEntarfer's sacking, Trump was saying how great the economy was travelling – and demanding the Federal Reserve cut interest rates because it was going so well. Of course, the GDP figures did not show that (growth is slowing while inflation, at 2.7 per cent, is above the Fed's 2 per cent target rate). But Trump couldn't admit that, so he told his own story. Loading Around the same time, the president claimed that his government had cut pharmaceutical prices by '1200, 1300, 1400, 1500 per cent. I don't mean 50 per cent, I mean 1400, 1500 per cent'. And he's the one who thought the Bureau of Labour Statistics was making up numbers. The problem with making up your own numbers, or installing people who will make the numbers show what you want, is that they will be at odds with the lived experience of voters. Just as Biden struggled to convince Americans that the cost of living was getting better while they could see the price of everyday essentials going up, saying the economy is great to people lining up for unemployment benefits has a short shelf life. There's an adage used by economists to describe the models they use to understand the economy: Put crap in, and you get crap out.
9 News
6 hours ago
- 9 News
World's longest suspension bridge to connect Sicily to Italian mainland in $24b project
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Italy cleared the way on Wednesday to build the world's largest suspension bridge linking the Italian mainland with Sicily in a massive 13.5 billion euro ($24 billion) infrastructure project that has been long delayed by debates over its scale, earthquake threats, environmental impact and the spectre of mafia interference. The Strait of Messina Bridge will be "the biggest infrastructure project in the West," Transport Minister Matteo Salvini told a news conference in Rome, after an interministerial committee with oversight of strategic public investments approved the project. Salvini cited studies showing the project will create 120,000 jobs a year and accelerate growth in economically lagging southern Italy, as billions more in investments are made in roads and other infrastructure projects accompanying the bridge. Artist impression of the Strait of Messina Bridge from the Calabrian coast (WeBuild) Preliminary work could begin between late September and early October, once Italy's court of audit signs off, with construction expected to start next year. Despite bureaucratic delays, the bridge is expected to be completed between 2032-2033, Salvini said. The Strait of Messina Bridge has been approved and canceled multiple times since the Italian government first solicited proposals in 1969. Premier Giorgia Meloni's administration revived the project in 2023, and this marks the furthest stage the ambitious project— first envisioned by the Romans — has ever reached. "From a technical standpoint, it's an absolutely fascinating engineering project,'' Salvini said. The Strait of Messina Bridge would measure nearly 3.7 kilometres, with the suspended span reaching 3.3 kilometres, surpassing Turkey's Canakkale Bridge, currently the longest, by 1277 metres. Artist impression of the Strait of Messina Bridge from the Calabrian coast (WeBuild) With three car lanes in each direction flanked by a double-track railway, the bridge would have the capacity to carry 6000 cars an hour and 200 trains a day — reducing the time to cross the strait by ferry from up to 100 minutes to 10 minutes by car. Trains will also save transit time, Salvini said. The project could provide a boost to Italy's commitment to raise defense spending to 5 per cent of GDP targeted by NATO, as the government has indicated it would classify the bridge as defence-related, helping it to meet a 1.5 per cent security component. Italy argues that the bridge would form a strategic corridor for rapid troop movements and equipment deployment to NATO's southern flanks, qualifying it as a "security-enhancing infrastructure." Salvini confirmed the intention to classify the project as dual use, but said that was up to Italy's defence and economic ministers. A group of more than 600 professors and researchers signed a letter earlier this summer opposing the military classification, noting that such a move would require additional assessments to see if it could withstand military use. Opponents also say the designation would potentially make the bridge a target. Environmental groups have lodged complaints with the EU, citing concerns that the project will impact migratory birds, noting that environmental studies had not demonstrated that the project is a public imperative and that any environmental damage would be offset. The original government decree reactivating the bridge project included language giving the Interior Ministry control over anti-mafia measures. But Italy's president insisted that the project remain subject to anti-mafia legislation that applies to all large-scale infrastructure projects in Italy out of concerns that the ad-hoc arrangement would weaken controls. Salvini pledged that keeping organised crime out of the project was top priority, saying it would adhere to the same protocols used for the Expo 2015 World's Fair and the upcoming Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games. "We need to pay attention so that the entire supply chain is impermeable to bad actors,'' he said. The project has been awarded to a consortium led by WeBuild, an Italian infrastructure group that initially won the bid to build the bridge in 2006 before it was later cancelled. WeBuild constructed the Canakkale Bridge using the engineering model originally devised for the Messina bridge. It includes a wing profile and a deck shape that resembles a fighter jet fuselage with openings to allow wind to pass through the structure, according to WeBuild. Addressing concerns about building the bridge over the Messina fault, which triggered a deadly quake in 1908, WeBuild has emphasised that suspension bridges are structurally less vulnerable to seismic forces. It noted that such bridges have been built in seismically active areas, including Japan. Turkey and California. WeBuild CEO Pietro Salini said in a statement that the Strait of Messina Bridge "will be transformative for the whole country." CONTACT US
