Headline inflation picked up last month as energy prices jumped, while the underlying price pressures eased reducing the chances of another Reserve Bank rate rise in June. Consumer prices advanced 6.8% in April, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday, a rate higher than the 6.4% pace economists had expected, and the 6.3% reading… Continue reading Cost of Living Pressure continues to rise.
Category: Australian economy
Time to leave the table.
On Tuesday the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted the official cash rate to an 11-year high of 3.85 per cent. The last time Australia experienced a similarly aggressive tightening of monetary policy was also when Ray Price or Mr Perpetual Motion led the Paramatta Eels to a Premiership. Incidentally, this remains their most recent Premiership… Continue reading Time to leave the table.
Goodbye Low- & Middle-Income Tax Offset
This week we found out that more than 10 million Australians are facing a large tax rise. The tax hike comes from the removal of the Low- and Middle-Income Tax Offset (LMITO), which last year gave those with a taxable income of less than $126,000 tax relief of up to $1,500. The LMITO was paid… Continue reading Goodbye Low- & Middle-Income Tax Offset
Has the RBA paused the interest rate tightening cycle, or is it permanent?
After a record 350 basis points of rate increases, the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday wisely paused their monetary policy tightening cycle at 3.6 per cent. A position that we predicted that the RBA would take in an earlier post. This level also matches their internal scenarios that suggested about 1 in 7 Aussie borrowers,… Continue reading Has the RBA paused the interest rate tightening cycle, or is it permanent?
Labor considering a gas tax hike
Perhaps the federal government has identified a shift in public sentiment, as it is likely that they will impose a tax on the windfall profits of gas producers during the May budget. Which speaks to how confident the Albanese government is in its popularity within the electorate, considering the scarring from the Mining Tax experience… Continue reading Labor considering a gas tax hike
RBA to pause in April
This week the Reserve Bank Board’s minutes were released from their meeting on Tuesday, 7 March. One of the key points from the meeting was that the Board only considered the case for a 25-basis point increase, discarding both holding interest rates or a 50-basis point increase. The minutes noted that “Members agreed to reconsider… Continue reading RBA to pause in April
Silicon Valley Bank
What a week it has been Silicon Valley Bank going under, and Credit Suisse apparently teetering on the brink. One thing that might be hard for most Australians to comprehend is that the Americans have one bank for every 70,000 people, compared to our ratio of one bank for every 260,000 people. While this has… Continue reading Silicon Valley Bank
What do the superannuation changes mean for you?
Last week we spoke about the superannuation discussion paper and, the options that were being looked at by the federal government. Unless you have been engaged in a social media detox, you should have heard that the Federal Government will introduce legislation to change the tax concession caps for superannuation contributions. While we will wait… Continue reading What do the superannuation changes mean for you?
Superannuation Discussion Paper
On Monday, the Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers released a superannuation discussion paper with the exciting name of “legislating the objective of superannuation.” The paper suggested that superannuation’s objective “is to preserve savings to deliver income for a dignified retirement, alongside government support, in an equitable and sustainable way”. To achieve this goal means that the… Continue reading Superannuation Discussion Paper
Case Study: PayPal
This continues my earlier piece on business strategy, now there are three main business strategies exist. A cost strategy such as competing on having lower prices than your competitors examples of that could include Aldi, Bunnings and Office works. Whereas, a differentiated product or service strategy means identifying a product or service that you could do… Continue reading Case Study: PayPal