The Shiller Price-Earnings ratio for US stocks to end 2025:
Meanwhile, Australia falls below Botswana in economic complexity, notes David Llewellyn-Smith at Macrobusiness.
Australia is ranked below Botswana and Russia on Harvard’s index of economic complexity because of a diminished manufacturing industry and an overreliance on iron ore and coal exports.
Why? Dismantling of manufacturing due to the resource curse and its effect on our floating paper currency, of course. And ever-increasing regulation, paperwork, and parasitic actors. But more recently, it is caused by our ridiculously high energy costs, which are exacerbated by stupid gas policy. The lion’s share of our natural gas is exported, leaving only a little, expensive domestic gas — which our New Class see as a good thing, because of their erroneous carbon theory:
It is a fantastic idea to aim for more value-added output in the economy. It raises living standards through stronger productivity gains and offers an economic ecosystem far less dependent on imports amid renewed economic imperialism.
But you have to do it right. What is the point of allowing a gas cartel to gut your natural endowment of cheap energy resources, such that you can’t even compete in basic manufactures like refining your own abundant minerals? Fix the source of the problem — that is, break the gas cartel — and then you won’t have a problem in minerals processing requiring subsidies.