The ASX is holding up, but Australia’s economy is telling a harsher story

The real Australia economy outlook is not about one economy moving in one direction.

It is about two economies moving at different speeds.

One part of the country is still being supported by offshore demand, especially from China, and by sectors tied to commodities, infrastructure and selective technology spending. The other part is being squeezed by a much less forgiving domestic reality: high interest rates, low confidence, weak discretionary demand and fuel costs that are acting like another tax on households. That split is now wide enough that investors should stop treating the ASX as a clean read on the. . .