Weekend reading and media appearances

International Reading:

• Kevin O’Leary blasts health insurance execs for hiring security guards instead of listening to Americans’ ‘frustration’ – Yahoo
• Apple agrees to pay $95 million to settle lawsuit alleging Siri eavesdrops—some customers eligible for pay – Fortune
• Mortgage demand dives nearly 22% to end 2024 – CNBC
• Famously Generous Company Gifts Employees Nearly 2 Years Worth of Pay as New Year’s Bonus – Latin Times
• US credit card defaults soar to highest level in 14 years – NY Post
• European gas prices soar after Russian gas flow via Ukraine stops – Euro News
• Economists are already worried Trump’s ‘Maganomics’ will hurt growth in 2025 – Fortune
• An annual reminder from the Wall Street Journal that Americans need to skip breakfast to survive financially. – WSJ
• 79% of Americans feel burned out as they put most vacation time toward errands, doctor visits, and family care – Fortune
• China’s Xi Jinping asked ‘What’s so bad about deflation?’ amid economic slowdown, report says – Fortune
• Treasury’s sanctions office hacked by Chinese government, officials say – Washington Post
• Average 30-year mortgage rate hits 6.91%, Freddie Mac says, the highest since July – ABC
• AI-Driven Health Care Is Turning Us Into Numbers on a Spreadsheet – Vanity Fair

Local Reading:

• We’re becoming a nation of prudes, our nude beaches shut by the nanny state – The SMH
• Australian airlines more delayed than foreign competitors, but government decides not to nudge laws – The Guardian
• Academics say China studies sector in ‘crisis’ amid a funding shortage and ‘climate of fear’ – ABC
• Clive Palmer seeks trademark on raft of terms relating to ‘teal’ for political and advertising usage – The Nightly
• Victoria loses almost 25,000 rentals as investor sell-off heats up – ABC
• Australian property prices fall for the first time in two years – The Guardian
• Independent review of Hobart’s proposed Macquarie Point stadium flags ‘mismanagement’ and $1.1 billion cost – ABC
• How having a baby makes it more likely Australian couples rely on the man’s income – The Conversation
• Heatwave looms as BOM confirms 2024 was second-hottest year on record – ABC
• Cabinet papers reveal we are living rerun of unfixed problems – New Daily
• Median dwelling values down for ten consecutive months – Interest.co.nz
• New car sales at nine year low for a December month – Interest.co.nz

MB Media Appearances:

Australia’s housing crisis will only worsen

Gravity catches up with Australian house prices

Saturday extra

Dr Liz Allen clearly maps the Population Ponzi for us

And people wonder why Australians are angry with immigration volumes…….