economy
Consumer spending plunge brightens hopes of rate cut
15 January
Australians pulled back sharply on purchasing household goods after bringing forward spending during Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Consumer spending fell 1.8 per cent in December after a rise in November, with financially stretched households...[Read More]
Consumers feel finances slide but hold hope for future
15 January
Australians are feeling increasingly pessimistic about their household finances even as signs suggest the economy is set to improve. Consumer confidence slipped in the latest survey from Westpac and the Melbourne Institute, with sentiment declining...[Read More]
Twelve days’ reproductive health leave could save $26b
15 January
Australia’s economy is deprived of $26.6 billion annually due to lost productivity from untreated reproductive health conditions, a report reveals. The findings have fuelled calls for a national entitlement of 12 days of reproductive leave. The...[Read More]
Australia’s bullet-proof jobs market put to the test
15 January
Attention is poised to turn to the state of hiring and firing in Australia for signs the labour market is gradually unwinding as expected in a sluggish economy. Thursday’s labour force numbers for December from the Australian Bureau of Statistics...[Read More]
Early rate-cut hopes alive as core inflation eases
8 January
Mortgage-holders and a prime minister in election mode are hoping an encouraging step down in underlying inflation will pave the way for a February interest rate cut. Economists were generally heartened by official monthly inflation numbers, though...[Read More]
Inflation rate edges higher to 2.3 per cent
8 January
Australia’s headline inflation rate has bumped higher to 2.3 per cent in November, up from 2.1 per cent in October. The headline figure was broadly expected to shift higher to 2.2 per cent in the official monthly readout from the Australian Bureau...[Read More]
Coalition insists nuclear plan won’t blow up economy
8 January
A warning the coalition’s nuclear energy plan will shrink the Queensland economy by up to five per cent has been dismissed by the opposition, following a similar red flag for NSW. “Whichever way you want to look at it, this is a lower-cost...[Read More]
Rate cuts on horizon in mixed 2025 for the economy
1 January
Australians have endured taxing economic conditions in the past calendar year, but there is cause for cautious hope in 2025. Long-awaited interest rate cuts are broadly expected in the first half of the year, providing household budgets with...[Read More]
Energy suppliers use cold snap to fire up power prices
24 July
Power producers chasing profits during a cold snap have stoked wholesale electricity price rises in recent months, according to the latest data. Wholesale electricity prices have increased across all regions except Queensland as more expensive gas...[Read More]
Cash can’t crash: why physical money is here to stay
19 June
It’s said money talks, but the conversation about a cashless society has grown ‘coinvoluted’. From credit and debit cards, to digital wallets on mobile phones – the ways Australians now choose to pay has sparked questions about whether cash...[Read More]