The October unemployment figures dropped this week, and predictably, the finance forums went into meltdown mode. The headline number came in at 4.4%, with the seasonally adjusted figure at 4.3%. Markets wobbled, someone joked it was barely “a light after dinner fart” (which, honestly, is the most Australian market commentary I’ve seen in ages), and within minutes, the usual chorus began: “RIP rate cuts.”

Here’s the thing that’s been getting under my skin lately – we’ve collectively become obsessed with interest rate cuts. Not just interested, not just hopeful, but genuinely dependent on them happening. It’s like we’ve built our entire economic psychology around the Reserve Bank coming to our rescue, and frankly, it’s a bit concerning.

The latest news about our dollar potentially dropping to pandemic-era lows has been making waves in financial circles, and it’s hard not to feel a bit uneasy about what this means for our economic future. The morning discussion over my batch brew at my local café turned pretty serious when this topic came up.

Let’s be honest - our economy has always had this peculiar relationship with rocks. Not just any rocks, mind you, but specifically the iron ore we’ve been digging up and shipping off to China for decades. This dependency has served us well during the mining boom, but now it’s starting to look like a double-edged sword. With China’s construction industry cooling off and their economy showing signs of struggle, our dollar is feeling the impact.

The political winds are shifting across the Pacific, and their effects are already rippling through our economic waters. Walking through the Queen Victoria Market yesterday, I overheard several traders discussing the potential impact of Trump’s likely return to power, and I’ve been mulling over what this means for our economic future.

Treasury officials are now bracing for what could be a perfect storm of higher interest rates and weaker growth. The prospect of massive tariffs - particularly the proposed 60% on Chinese goods - isn’t just another headline from overseas; it’s a direct threat to our economic stability.