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Thursday, September 26, 2019
RBA heeds global ‘shift’, hints at more cuts
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Microsoft releases out-of-band security update to fix IE zero-day & Defender bug
Catalin Cimpanu · Sep 23, 6:00 PMMicrosoft has released an emergency out-of-band security update today to fix two critical security issues -- a zero-day vulnerability in the Internet Explorer scripting engine that has been exploited in the wild, and a Microsoft Defender bug.
The updates stand out because Microsoft usually likes to stay the course and only release security updates on the second Tuesday of every month. The company rarely breaks this pattern, and it's usually only for very important security issues.
This is one of those occasions, and Windows users are advised to install today's updates as soon as they become available in their operating system's update section.
The IE zero-day
Of the two bugs, the Internet Explorer zero-day is the most important, mainly because it's already been exploited in active attacks in the wild.
Details about the attacks are still shrouded in mystery, and Microsoft rarely releases such details. What we know is that the attacks and the zero-day have been reported to Microsoft by Clément Lecigne, a member of Google's Threat Analysis Group.
This is the same Google team that has detected the attacks with iOS zero-days against members of the Chinese Uyghur community earlier this year. Those attacks also targeted Android and Windows users; however, it is unclear if the IE zero-day patched today is part of those attacks.
But what we know now is that IE zero-day is a very serious vulnerability. It is what researchers call a remote code execution (RCE) issue.
According to Microsoft, "the vulnerability could corrupt memory in such a way that an attacker could execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user."
"An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the current user," Microsoft said. "If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could take control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights."
The attack requires luring an Internet Explorer user on a malicious website, which is a rather trivial task, as it can be achieved by various methods such as spam email, IM spam, search engine ads, malvertising campaigns, and others.
The good news is that Internet Explorer usage has gone down to 1.97% market share, according to StatCounter, meaning the number of users vulnerable to attacks is rather small, and attacks should be pretty limited in scope.
The IE zero-day is tracked with the CVE-2019-1367 identifier. In a security advisory, Microsoft lists various workarounds for protecting systems if today's update can't be applied right away.
Microsoft Defender DoS bug
The second issue fixed today is a denial of service (DoS) vulnerability in Microsoft Defender, formerly known as Windows Defender, the standard antivirus that ships with Windows 8 and later versions, including the widespread Windows 10 release.
According to Microsoft, "an attacker could exploit the vulnerability to prevent legitimate accounts from executing legitimate system binaries."
The good news is that this bug isn't such a big issue. To exploit this bug, an attacker would first need access to a victim's system and the ability to execute code.
The bug alows a threat actor to disable Microsoft Defender components from executing, but if the attacker already has "execution rights" on a victim's computer, then there are many other ways to run malicious code undetected -- such as fileless attacks.
Nevertheless, Microsoft has released update v1.1.16400.2 to the Microsoft Malware Protection Engine, a component of the Microsoft Defender antivirus, to fix this issue.
This bug is tracked as CVE-2019-1255. Microsoft credited Charalampos Billinis of F-Secure Countercept and Wenxu Wu of Tencent Security Xuanwu Lab with discovering this issue.
All the Chromium-based browsers
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Monday, September 23, 2019
Dynamic market conditions are resulting in changing first home buyer behaviour and needs
Monday, September 16, 2019
Increasing prosperity in Australia will be a function of productivity growth and investment
- a “simpler and more efficient tax system”;
- an investment allowance that would offer business accelerated depreciation for increases in investment (said to be “on the agenda” for both government and the opposition), which would “more directly target where stimulus in needed”;
- Long-term infrastructure planning and asset creation (such as transport links to support new housing developments);
- Long-term planning and investment in non-physical assets,such as education and training systems;
- reducing “unproductive regulation”; and
- activity that helps build greater confidence.
- a “simpler and more efficient tax system”;
- an investment allowance that would offer business accelerated depreciation for increases in investment (said to be “on the agenda” for both government and the opposition), which would “more directly target where stimulus in needed”;
- Long-term infrastructure planning and asset creation (such as transport links to support new housing developments);
- Long-term planning and investment in non-physical assets,such as education and training systems;
- reducing “unproductive regulation”; and
- activity that helps build greater confidence.
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Thursday, September 12, 2019
FHB - 6.8%; NON-FHB -14%; INVESTORS -25.5%
Our in-depth report, which has been produced in partnership with BIS Oxford
Economics, provides insights into the Australian residential housing market now and
over the next three years.
Residential property market analysis
Inside these pages, you’ll find expert commentary about the market and its drivers.
The centrepiece of the report is the three-year forecasts of our capital city house and
unit prices. We also delve into the shape of our market in regional Australia.
This year our Spotlight feature “High-density missing the mark?” examines whether
medium and high-density dwellings are a positive outcome for the residential property
market and housing affordability.
https://www.slideshare.net/GillandDebello/the-qbe-australianhousingoutlook20192022
Sunday, September 8, 2019
Housing has got significantly harder for the poor post GFC. “In 2018, the poorest fifth of Australian households spent 29 per cent of their gross incomes on housing costs. That burden has grown significantly over time - from 21.9 per cent in 1995 and 23.7 per cent in 2008.
Meanwhile, the relative cost housing has barely changed for the richest fifth of Australian households. In 2018, this group spent 9.4 per cent of gross income on housing costs, compared with 9.3 per cent in 1995.”https://www.smh.com.au/national/soaring-cost-of-housing-for-poorest-australians-is-driving-inequality-grattan-institute-20190906-p52ot2.html
Most Australians are spending more of their income on housing than they used to, but low-income households are being squeezed the hardest.
Many are in poverty, and many more are suffering financial stress. A growing number of Australians are becoming homeless.
A decade ago the Rudd federal government established the National Rental Affordability Scheme – NRAS. The scheme paid incentives to developers and community housing organisations that built new homes and rented them out for at least 20% below market rents for 10 years.
The Abbott government axed the scheme in 2014. Labor promised to reintroduce it if won the 2019 election. Now advocates of affordable housing are calling on the Morrison government to do the same.
But new research published by the Grattan Institute today concludes they are wrong. The NRAS was expensive, inefficient and mainly helped those not in greatest need.
Read more: On housing, there's clear blue water between the main parties
Other policies, such as building social housing and boosting Commonwealth Rent Assistance, would be better targeted and waste less money along the way.
Poor value for money
The value of the NRAS subsidy was set much higher than it needed to be.
NRAS developers still on the program receive about A$11,000 of public money per unit per year (the subsidy was set originally at A$8,000, but indexed).
The problem is, A$11,000 is much more money than the developers need to cover the cost of the rental discount.
In 2016 the value of the 20% rental discount was slightly less than A$4,000 a year in the typical suburb in which NRAS properties were built.
Read more: Ten lessons from cities that have risen to the affordable housing challenge
The leftover value of the subsidy – about A$7,000 a year – was essentially a windfall gain for developers.
We estimate it provided windfall gains to private developers of at least A$1 billion, or roughly one-third of the total cost of the scheme.
Community housing providers also received windfall gains, although they would have reinvested the funds into more affordable housing or deeper rental discounts for tenants.
The scheme was also poor value for money because the subsidy didn’t vary depending on location or type of dwelling: the same subsidy was offered for a one-bedroom apartment or a three-bedroom home. Not surprisingly, the scheme ultimately funded a lot of small, cheap-to-build units.
Not directed at those most in need
The eligibility criteria were far too loose.
Someone can qualify to live in one of the NRAS dwellings left on the scheme with an income of up to A$50,000 – a good deal higher than the median income.
A couple can qualify if their household income is below A$70,000.
It means about half of all households that rent can qualify to live in an NRAS subsidised home. Half of them would be ineligible for Commonwealth Rent Assistance because their incomes are too high.
Only one-third of the households living in an NRAS home at the scheme’s peak in 2016 had gross household incomes below A$30,000 a year, whereas one-third had incomes above A$50,000 a year.
No extra housing
There’s also little evidence the NRAS led to much more housing being built than otherwise.
Government subsidies don’t create extra housing if they crowd out housing that would have been built anyway. Crowding out is most likely when supply is already constrained, as it is in major Australian cities where land-use rules prevent greater density in established suburbs. International research suggests affordable housing crowds out private housing.
No useful stimulus
Nor was the NRAS a useful stimulus. It began in 2008 at the height of the global financial crisis, but most NRAS properties were only approved between 2013 and 2015, by which time housing construction was already booming.
Administrative difficulties and a complex design made housing constructed through NRAS anything but timely.
Better alternatives
Instead of reinstating the NRAS, state and federal governments should focus on policies that will do the most (at least cost) to better house low-income Australians.
A Rudd-era policy the Morrison government should introduce is the Social Housing Initiative, which built 20,000 new social housing units and refurbished another 80,000 over two years at a cost of A$5.6 billion.
The economic hit was immediate: construction approvals spiked within 12 months of the announcement. A repeat today would provide a more effective boost to declining housing construction than a reinstated NRAS.
Read more: Australia's social housing policy needs stronger leadership and an investment overhaul
Boosting Commonwealth Rent Assistance by 40%, and indexing it to changes in rents typically paid by people receiving income support, would be a fairer and more cost-effective way to help the much larger number of lower-income earners struggling with housing costs.
It shouldn’t push up rents much because only some of the extra assistance will be spent on housing.
The states should also fix planning rules that prevent more homes being built in inner and middle-ring suburbs of our largest cities. It would help a bit to make housing cheaper to buy and rent. Reforming tenancy rules would make renting more secure.
Read more: To make housing more affordable this is what state governments need to do
There is a powerful case for governments to do more to help house low-income Australians. But unless we learn from past mistakes, we will wind up with another expensive housing policy that does little to help those who most need that support.
Friday, September 6, 2019
The RBA has released a snapshot of Key Economic Indicators - bit.ly/2QpxiY8
The RBA has released a snapshot of Key Economic Indicators - bit.ly/2QpxiY8
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
The biggest issue remains access to finance for purchasers, and there is a need to continue to focus on this pressing issue.
Sunday, September 1, 2019
National home values grew by 0.8 per cent over August, suggesting the Australian property market may have turned a corner.
This is the first time the national index has increased since October 2017, the latest research from property analytics firm, CoreLogic has revealed. It came after a July which saw property values neither increase nor decrease.
Related story: This market will be the first to recover from the housing downturn
Related story: Building defects cost Aussie home owners an average $6,434
Related story: Revealed: Worst jobs to be in during a recession
And, research director Tim Lawless said, not only was this the turning point, but the percentage of growth was substantial.
“The significant lift in values over the month aligns with a consistent increase in auction clearance rates and a deeper pool of buyers at a time when the volume of stock advertised for sale remains low.
“It’s likely that buyer demand and confidence is responding to the positive effect of a stable federal government, as well as lower interest rates, tax cuts and a subtle easing in credit policy.”
The lift comes after a 12 month period which saw values decline 5.2 per cent, and an overall fall of 7.6 per cent since peak.
And, the increase in values also follows two consecutive interest rate cuts from the Reserve Bank of Australia in June and July.
Related story: RBA hands down August interest rate decision
How did each state perform?
Housing values increased across Sydney (1.6 per cent), Melbourne (1.4 per cent), Brisbane (0.2 per cent), Hobart (0.5 per cent) and Canberra (0.8 per cent).
However, across Adelaide (-0.2 per cent), Perth (-0.5 per cent) and Darwin (-1.2 per cent), prices fell.
“While the ‘recovery trend’ is still early, it does appear that growth trends are gathering some pace, particularly in the largest capital cities,” Lawless said.
Sydney prices are still 13.3 per cent less than they were at their peak, while homes in Darwin are valued 30.7 per cent less than they were at their peak.
In Perth, values are 20.6 per cent less than they were at their peak. And even Hobart is 0.3 per cent less valuable than it was at its peak - that’s despite regional Tasmania currently sitting at its peak.
Across the regions, only the Northern Territory, Tasmania and Victoria saw property values rise in August.
Expensive homes lead the charge
As the most expensive quarter of properties fell the most, they’ve also led the return to growth.
“The rapid recovery across higher valued properties makes sense considering this sector of the market recorded a more substantial correction,” Lawless said.
“Although values have fallen across the board over recent years, the larger declines amongst more expensive properties mean that they are relatively more affordable for those looking to upgrade,” he added.
Rents continue to fall
While dwelling values have changed direction, rents continue to fall, declining by 0.1 per cent in August. That’s the third month in a row of negative rent movements.
What does it all mean?
While CoreLogic had previously predicted a slow recovery, today it said that as home loan rates grow cheaper and housing credit restrictions soften, the recovery could occur as quickly as the market fell.
“No doubt, policy makers and regulators will be monitoring the housing market indicators very closely over the coming months.
“At the outset, it appears that a rapid recovery would confirm that low interest rates and a loosening in credit policy is reigniting some market exuberance, despite housing affordability remaining a significant challenge, rising unemployment, low wages growth and near record-high levels of household debt.”
http://www.ljgrealestate.com.au