Weekend Reads and Videos: 11 – 12 July 2026

Sunrise, Queenscliff, Victoria, Autumn 2026 

Reads

Near here

• Workers’ pay has not kept pace with productivity growth for 30 years, research suggests – ABC…..so in 2026 ‘research suggests’ when it has been obvious for more than a generation?….
• Telstra recently warned about timing issue linked to national outage – ABC
• Australians face record-high rents across all capital cities: Domain report – ABC
• Australia dock workers call for 28-hour week in AI talks – BBC
• NACC admits to be wrong on rorts, but ignores them anyway – Michael West…the NACC needs to be taken to the knackery…

Near there

• Germany: Record debt and a seismic policy shift – DW
• EU lawmakers pave way for ‘digital euro’ negotiations – DW
• Home prices across the U.S. surge to all-time high – CBS
• This thinktank exposed fat cats and obscenely high pay. Guess what has happened to it? – The Guardian
• Britain’s dysfunctional dynamic: the public wants change, but those in power always tell them it’s not possible – The Guardian
• IMF expects world economy to grow a sluggish 3% this year, weighed down by Iran war but helped by AI – AP
• EU demands Facebook and Instagram dismantle design features it calls addictive for users – AP
• Developing countries spend more repaying foreign debt than on education, UN reveals – The Guardian
• Is Germany looking again at coal-powered electricity? – BBC
• Canada says there’s no basis for Trump’s forced labour tariffs – CBC
• Dollar liquidity, gold reserves, and US monetary spillovers in a fragmenting world – VoxEU
• The economic footprint of Europe’s defence build-up – VoxEU
• Housing affordability is reshaping Europe’s social fabric – VoxEU

….And furthermore….

• Workplace depression is common. Managers can make it worse, or better – The Conversation
• Is the Strait of Hormuz still Iran’s trump card? – DW
• How cryptocurrencies are changing global politics – DW
• How bond markets have become one of the most powerful forces in modern politics – The Conversation
• Early-life experiences of labour markets faced by others can leave permanent scars on men’s willingness to work – VoxEU

Watches/Listens