Economy
Trust tax set for inquiry as businesses question costs
14 October
Businesses will get a chance to air their grievances over Labor’s proposed tax on discretionary trusts, which they warn could set them back billions of dollars in restructuring costs.In a bid to placate the business community by offering a...[Read More]
Economists to pore over jobs data, Reserve Bank minutes
14 October
Unemployment data will give the Reserve Bank an idea of how its interest rate hikes are affecting Australia’s economy, as a readout of its last meeting informs economists of its thinking.The Reserve Bank’s decision to raise the cash rate to 4.6...[Read More]
More rate hikes loom as inflation tops rich nation list
14 October
Inflation is expected to stay above the Reserve Bank’s target range until the end of 2027, with only six other developed countries having a higher rate than Australia’s.The extended period of high inflation has left the door open for more...[Read More]
Housing supply must be fixed ‘hard way’, not with caps
14 October
Homes are likely to keep getting cheaper for about a year, but the downturn in house prices has not been replicated in rentals.Property prices are tipped to fall between eight and 11 per cent from their March peak and will only start to recover by...[Read More]
Population growth not stopping ‘recession-like’ economy
7 October
Australians face “recession-like” conditions as the nation’s increasing reliance on population growth over productivity catches up with policy-makers.The economy is likely to avoid a technical recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of...[Read More]
Consumer confidence plunges to worst level since 1990s
7 October
Australian households are the most persistently pessimistic they have been since the early-1990s recession, after a fourth Reserve Bank rate rise.Following the RBA’s decision to lift interest rates to the highest level since 2011, confidence among...[Read More]
More pain brews for borrowers as rates hit 15-year high
30 September
Cash-strapped borrowers are being warned of more hikes to come by the Reserve Bank of Australia after it lifted interest rates to a 15-year high.In a unanimous decision, the central bank’s nine-member board lifted the cash rate target by 25 basis...[Read More]
Headline inflation jumps back to four per cent
30 September
Australia’s annual headline inflation rate has climbed to four per cent as higher oil prices continue to filter through the economy.The consumer price index rose 0.4 per cent in August, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Wednesday, a...[Read More]
Debt concerns: treasurer’s era of cheap-money ending
30 September
Because everyone wants your money, you can charge them more for it.That’s the issue facing governments forced to pay investors more for borrowing cash in the form of bonds.The eye-watering sums being raised by artificial intelligence...[Read More]
Labour pains: jobs market too hot for inflation fight
23 September
Australia’s unemployment rate probably needs to edge a little higher to help get inflation back under control, Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock says.Prefacing her remarks by saying the RBA does not want to see high unemployment, Ms Bullock...[Read More]
Albanese to advocate AI slowdown calls to Trump at UN
23 September
Anthony Albanese will make the case to Donald Trump for more guardrails to be placed on AI, ahead of a potential meeting with the US president on the sidelines of the United Nations.The prime minister will be in New York for the UN General Assembly,...[Read More]
September hike firms as RBA inflation fears come true
23 September
Economists at one of Australia’s big four banks expect the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates imminently after the central bank’s governor issued a dire warning about inflation.Michele Bullock told a parliamentary hearing in Canberra that it...[Read More]
Soft landing botched: IMF backs more rate rises
23 September
A global financial body has given the Reserve Bank the green light to hike interest rates and urged Treasurer Jim Chalmers to be bolder on tax reform.With a break-out in price growth hitting Australians’ living standards, returning inflation to...[Read More]
Iran and iPhones add to Reserve Bank’s inflation pickle
16 September
The rising cost of oil and iPhones is concerning the Reserve Bank of Australia as it approaches a crucial interest rate decision, the central bank’s chief economist says.With rising inflation pressures from the Middle East and more broadly around...[Read More]
Surprise downfall for rich state atop economic rankings
16 September
Queensland has usurped Western Australia at the top of Australia’s state economic rankings, as cracks emerge in the resource-rich state’s performance.WA slid two places to third in CommBank’s revamped State of the States rankings for the June...[Read More]