Australia’s February Inflation Comes in Lower Than Expected
Kanebridge News
    HOUSE MEDIAN ASKING PRICES AND WEEKLY CHANGE     Sydney $1,822,183 (-0.43%)       Melbourne $1,078,813 (-0.33%)       Brisbane $1,264,391 (-0.87%)       Adelaide $1,112,777 (+0.12%)       Perth $1,149,218 (-1.55%)       Hobart $856,229 (+0.59%)       Darwin $886,634 (-5.18%)       Canberra $1,078,947 (-0.81%)       National Capitals $1,224,455 (-0.79%)                UNIT MEDIAN ASKING PRICES AND WEEKLY CHANGE     Sydney $821,384 (-0.41%)       Melbourne $550,948 (-0.31%)       Brisbane $839,757 (+0.74%)       Adelaide $560,009 (-3.62%)       Perth $677,037 (-0.51%)       Hobart $581,017 (-0.34%)       Darwin $465,561 (+5.05%)       Canberra $509,688 (+0.21%)       National Capitals $653,196 (-0.17%)                HOUSES FOR SALE AND WEEKLY CHANGE     Sydney 13,369 (+370)       Melbourne 16,279 (+411)       Brisbane 7,326 (+232)       Adelaide 2,642 (+103)       Perth 5,799 (+92)       Hobart 869 (+34)       Darwin 127 (+5)       Canberra 1,161 (+61)       National Capitals 47,572 (+1,308)                UNITS FOR SALE AND WEEKLY CHANGE     Sydney 9,191 (+212)       Melbourne 6,775 (+66)       Brisbane 1,471 (+54)       Adelaide 413 (+27)       Perth 1,179 (+39)       Hobart 165 (+5)       Darwin 178 (-3)       Canberra 1,188 (+7)       National Capitals 20,560 (+407)                HOUSE MEDIAN ASKING RENTS AND WEEKLY CHANGE     Sydney $830 ($0)       Melbourne $595 (+$5)       Brisbane $700 (+$10)       Adelaide $650 ($0)       Perth $750 ($0)       Hobart $640 (-$3)       Darwin $800 (-$10)       Canberra $720 (-$5)       National Capitals $719 (-$1)                UNIT MEDIAN ASKING RENTS AND WEEKLY CHANGE     Sydney $810 (-$10)       Melbourne $580 ($0)       Brisbane $650 ($0)       Adelaide $550 ($0)       Perth $700 (-$10)       Hobart $520 (-$30)       Darwin $605 (-$35)       Canberra $598 (-$3)       National Capitals $639 (-$10)                HOUSES FOR RENT AND WEEKLY CHANGE     Sydney 5,362 (+159)       Melbourne 7,007 (+228)       Brisbane 3,620 (+124)       Adelaide 1,477 (+64)       Perth 2,297 (+130)       Hobart 240 (+14)       Darwin 49 (+5)       Canberra 399 (+10)       National Capitals 20,451 (+734)                UNITS FOR RENT AND WEEKLY CHANGE     Sydney 8,450 (+241)       Melbourne 4,569 (+74)       Brisbane 1,844 (+33)       Adelaide 418 (-4)       Perth 652 (+14)       Hobart 77 (+9)       Darwin 76 (-4)       Canberra 640 (+41)       National Capitals 16,726 (+404)                HOUSE ANNUAL GROSS YIELDS AND TREND       Sydney 2.37% (↑)      Melbourne 2.87% (↑)      Brisbane 2.88% (↑)        Adelaide 3.04% (↓)     Perth 3.39% (↑)        Hobart 3.89% (↓)     Darwin 4.69% (↑)      Canberra 3.47% (↑)      National Capitals 3.05% (↑)             UNIT ANNUAL GROSS YIELDS AND TREND         Sydney 5.13% (↓)     Melbourne 5.47% (↑)        Brisbane 4.02% (↓)     Adelaide 5.11% (↑)        Perth 5.38% (↓)       Hobart 4.65% (↓)       Darwin 6.76% (↓)       Canberra 6.10% (↓)       National Capitals 5.08% (↓)            HOUSE RENTAL VACANCY RATES AND TREND       Sydney 1.4% (↑)      Melbourne 1.5% (↑)      Brisbane 1.2% (↑)      Adelaide 1.2% (↑)      Perth 1.0% (↑)        Hobart 0.5% (↓)       Darwin 0.7% (↓)     Canberra 1.6% (↑)      National Capitals $1.1% (↑)             UNIT RENTAL VACANCY RATES AND TREND       Sydney 1.4% (↑)      Melbourne 2.4% (↑)      Brisbane 1.5% (↑)      Adelaide 0.8% (↑)      Perth 0.9% (↑)      Hobart 1.2% (↑)        Darwin 1.4% (↓)     Canberra 2.7% (↑)      National Capitals $1.5% (↑)             AVERAGE DAYS TO SELL HOUSES AND TREND       Sydney 29.5 (↑)      Melbourne 29.5 (↑)      Brisbane 27.9 (↑)      Adelaide 24.4 (↑)      Perth 34.4 (↑)      Hobart 28.4 (↑)      Darwin 28.6 (↑)      Canberra 28.1 (↑)      National Capitals 28.8 (↑)             AVERAGE DAYS TO SELL UNITS AND TREND       Sydney 28.3 (↑)      Melbourne 28.4 (↑)        Brisbane 26.7 (↓)     Adelaide 21.8 (↑)        Perth 32.8 (↓)     Hobart 31.9 (↑)      Darwin 35.3 (↑)      Canberra 39.7 (↑)      National Capitals 30.6 (↑)            
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Australia’s February Inflation Comes in Lower Than Expected

The monthly consumer-price index indicator rose 3.4% in the 12 months to February

By JAMES GLYNN
Thu, Mar 28, 2024 11:28amGrey Clock 2 min

SYDNEY—Australia’s monthly inflation indicator came in below expectations in February, signalling that price pressures would likely continue to retreat over coming months.

The monthly consumer-price index indicator rose 3.4% in the 12 months to February, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Economists had expected a rise in February of 3.5% on year.

Some economists had expected the monthly CPI update to show a bigger rise, fuelled by services inflation which remains an area of concern for the Reserve Bank of Australia.

The better-than-expected inflation outcome will also help offset some of the uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates that arose in financial markets following news last week of a sharp drop in unemployment in February.

The most significant contributors to the February annual increase were housing costs, which climbed 4.6% on year, while food and nonalcoholic beverages rose 3.6% in the same period.

Alcohol and tobacco prices were up 6.1% and insurance and financial services rose 8.4%, the ABS said Wednesday.

Excluding volatile items from the data, the annual CPI rise in February was 3.9%, down from 4.1% in January.

Annual inflation excluding volatile items has continued to slow over the last 14 months from a high of 7.2% in December 2022, the ABS said.

Rents increased 7.6% for the year to February, up from 7.4% in January, reflecting a tight rental market and low vacancy rates across the country.

New dwelling prices rose 4.9% over the year with builders passing through higher costs for labor and materials. Annual new dwelling price increases have been around the 5% mark the past six months, the data showed.

The 3.6% rise in food prices in the 12 months to February was down from the 4.4% in January. It was the lowest annual growth since January 2022.

Insurance costs jumped 16.5% over the past 12 months to February, with rises in premiums across all insurance types due to higher reinsurance, natural disaster and claim costs, the ABS said.



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What Is Artemis II? The NASA Mission to Fly Astronauts Around the Moon

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It’s go time for the highest-stakes mission at NASA in more than 50 years.  

On April 1, the agency is set to launch four astronauts around the moon, the deepest human spaceflight since the final Apollo lunar landing in 1972.  

The launch window for Artemis II , as the mission is called, opens at 6:24 p.m. ET. 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration teams have been preparing the vehicles to depart from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on the planned roughly 10-day trip. Crew members have trained for years for this moment. 

Reid Wiseman, the NASA astronaut serving as mission commander, said he doesn’t fear taking the voyage. A widower, he does worry at times about what he is putting his daughters through. 

“I could have a very comfortable life for them,” Wiseman said in an interview last September.  

“But I’m also a human, and I see the spirit in their eyes that is burning in my soul too. And so we’ve just got to never stop going.” 

Wiseman’s crewmates on Artemis II are NASA’s Victor Glover and Christina Koch, as well as Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. 

Photo: NASA’s Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft being rolled out at night. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Getty Images

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Orion is designed to carry the crew around the moon and back. Myriad systems on the ship—life support, communications, navigation—will be tested with the astronauts on board. 

SLS and Orion don’t have much flight experience. The vehicles last flew in 2022, when the agency completed its uncrewed Artemis I mission . 

How is the mission expected to unfold? 

Artemis II will begin when SLS takes off from a launchpad in Florida with Orion stacked on top of it.  

The so-called upper stage of SLS will later separate from the main part of the rocket with Orion attached, and use its engine to set up the latter vehicle for a push to the moon. 

After Orion separates from the upper stage, it will conduct what is called a translunar injection—the engine firing that commits Orion to soaring out to the moon. It will fly to the moon over the course of a few days and travel around its far side. 

Orion will face a tough return home after speeding through space. As it hits Earth’s atmosphere, Orion will be flying at 25,000 miles an hour and face temperatures of 5,000 degrees as it slows down. The capsule is designed to land under parachutes in the Pacific Ocean, not far from San Diego. 

Water photo: NASA’s Orion capsule after its splash-down in the Pacific Ocean in 2022 for the Artemis I mission. Mario Tama/Press Pool

Is it possible Artemis II will be delayed? 

Yes.  

For safety reasons, the agency won’t launch if certain tough weather conditions roll through the Cape Canaveral, Fla., area. Delays caused by technical problems are possible, too. NASA has other dates identified for the mission if it doesn’t begin April 1. 

Who are the astronauts flying on Artemis II? 

The crew will be led by Wiseman, a retired Navy pilot who completed military deployments before joining NASA’s astronaut corps. He traveled to the International Space Station in 2014. 

Two other astronauts will represent NASA during the mission: Glover, an experienced Navy pilot, and Koch, who began her career as an electrical engineer for the agency and once spent a year at a research station in the South Pole. Both have traveled to the space station before. 

Hansen is a military pilot who joined Canada’s astronaut corps in 2009. He will be making his first trip to space. 

Koch’s participation in Artemis II will mark the first time a woman has flown beyond orbits near Earth. Glover and Hansen will be the first African-American and non-American astronauts, respectively, to do the same. 

What will the astronauts do during the flight? 

The astronauts will evaluate how Orion flies, practice emergency procedures and capture images of the far side of the moon for scientific and exploration purposes (they may become the first humans to see parts of the far side of the lunar surface). Health-tracking projects of the astronauts are designed to inform future missions. 

Those efforts will play out in Orion’s crew module, which has about two minivans worth of living area.  

On board, the astronauts will spend about 30 minutes a day exercising, using a device that allows them to do dead lifts, rowing and more. Sleep will come in eight-hour stretches in hammocks. 

There is a custom-made warmer for meals, with beef brisket and veggie quiche on the menu.  

Each astronaut is permitted two flavored beverages a day, including coffee. The crew will hold one hourlong shared meal each day.  

The Universal Waste Management System—that’s the toilet—uses air flow to pull fluid and solid waste away into containers. 

What happens after Artemis II? 

Assuming it goes well, NASA will march on to Artemis III, scheduled for next year. During that operation, NASA plans to launch Orion with crew members on board and have the ship practice docking with lunar-lander vehicles that Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin have been developing. The rendezvous operations will occur relatively close to Earth. 

NASA hopes that its contractors and the agency itself are ready to attempt one or more lunar landing missions in 2028. Many current and former spaceflight officials are skeptical that timeline is feasible. 

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