RBA
Spotlight on unemployment as jobs market loses heat
18 June
Signs the labour market is easing will alleviate Reserve Bank concerns about inflation with Australia’s jobless rate tipped to remain at historic lows. Economists predict labour force figures for May – to be released by the Australian Bureau of...[Read More]
Housing set to grow from record high as rate cuts loom
4 June
Home prices have hit new highs and will likely continue to grow as lower interest rates send buyers piling back into the property market amid a lack of new housing supply. The median dwelling in Australia was worth $831,288 in May – a 0.5 per cent...[Read More]
Restaurants on the brink as business failures plateau
29 May
The future of many businesses struggling to stay afloat rests upon the Reserve Bank and Donald Trump. Business conditions in Australia remain perilously difficult, with insolvency levels at record highs in April, CreditorWatch reported in its...[Read More]
Rate cut could fuel further ‘modest’ house price growth
7 May
Australian home values have continued to soar and an expected post-election rate cut is likely to fuel further growth. Defying economic uncertainty caused by US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs, the national median dwelling price rose 0.3...[Read More]
Working women key to future economic growth: bank boss
16 April
Women’s participation in the Australian economy has been remarkably transformed in the past 40 years but more progress is needed, the head of the central bank says. Michele Bullock made history in 2023 when she became the first woman appointed...[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]
Living pressures ease for employee households
7 February
Working families are still under acute financial pressure but fewer cash rate hikes of late has tempered growth in their overall living costs. In the 12 months to the December quarter, living costs rose 6.9 per cent for employee households, down...[Read More]
Women gradually cracking the glass ceiling
25 January
Women are still woefully under-represented in top jobs but female leaders are becoming more common in Australia’s economic and financial institutions. Within Treasury, the government department responsible for economic policy, the federal budget...[Read More]
New building activity slows as rates bite
18 January
New home building starts have plummeted by more than 20 per cent in 12 months as labour and material shortages continue to weigh on the construction industry. New building activity fell further in the September quarter after softening moderately in...[Read More]
ACCC probe to ensure savers get fair deal
11 January
The consumer watchdog has been asked to look into interest rates for savers amid concern banks aren’t offering their customers a fair deal. Treasurer Jim Chalmers urged the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to investigate the matter,...[Read More]
Earnings, yield to drive returns in 2023
4 January
It’s been a tough year for most equities and investors will likely have to accept lower returns in 2023 – but Australia will still likely outperform its global peers, according to a boutique fund manager. SG Hiscock portfolio manager Hamish...[Read More]
RBA hikes interest rates 25 basis points
2 November
The central bank has pulled the trigger on another 25 basis point rate rise and upgraded its peak inflation forecasts off the back of higher-than-expected inflation. The seventh hike in the Reserve Bank of Australia’s policy tightening cycle...[Read More]
RBA decision risks higher cash rate peak
5 October
The surprise slowdown in the pace of rate rises risks dragging out the rate hiking cycle and forcing the central bank to go even higher than expected to dampen demand. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s 0.25 percentage point lift is the sixth...[Read More]
Rate hikes could help home buyers: RBA
21 September
It takes around two years for elevated interest rates to dampen house prices enough to offset higher mortgage repayments, a senior RBA official says. Interest rate hikes diminish the amount buyers can borrow, which the Reserve Bank of...[Read More]
Consumer spending slowdown starts to show
14 September
Rate hikes and the soaring cost of living are finally starting to weigh on household spending. Non-essential outgoings decreased in August, according to CommBank’s household spending intentions index, with sectors such as travel,...[Read More]