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The infamous negative interest rate is basically that the Riksbank (Swedish central bank) charges an -0.25% per annum for holding deposits. It's being done to encourage other banks to lend money, rather than hoarding it as the British banks have done. The farming and mining sectors account...

Joye's comparison is disingenuous. Ireland and Spain are probably having the worst property crashes in Europe, possibly worldwide. Both are significantly down on their peak, and continuing to fall. Prices in the Netherlands are going down. Note that the country has a real shortage of land...

I'm not Chinese (but I've got a good friend who is a mainlander), and I get the impression that: Party officials have a reputation for being corrupt, and lining their pockets through bribes. I heard this from a translated conversation with a Beijing taxi driver, so I don't know have accurate...

Willair, I agree that immigration isn't going to stop, but it could well slow dramatically. However (to undermine my argument :)) Australia is still welcoming skilled professionals, and these will be relatively richer than the average local. Wibbly Pig, there was a similar trend in the UK...

In reply to various peoples' replies... Topcropper, the main attraction of Australia is that it's dodged the GFC. The UK is in a real mess right now, and I can't see it getting better in the short term. KeithJ, I'll have to take a longer look at the paper you linked to. But I don't think...

Australian property is seriously unaffordable on virtually any metric that you care to name. I'd expect it to fall back in value relative to earnings in the medium to long term. This could happen due to high inflation or a sharp collapse in prices, or even a soft landing where stagnant prices...