Today
Blackstone wants bigger Australia bet as brighter economy beckons
Jon Gray says the US private capital giant will look to increase its exposure to Australia ahead of what he expects will be an economic upswing.
- 1 hr ago
- James Thomson
Yesterday
Transport costs up 10 per cent nationwide as petrol stokes inflation
The rising cost of diesel in the past three years has put a dent in Jesse Bradley’s removalist business based in Queensland.
- Gus McCubbing
This Month
Petrol, strong jobs market stoking inflation: RBA
The central bank on Tuesday upgraded its near-term forecasts for headline inflation and pushed back the likelihood of interest rate relief until mid-2025.
- Ronald Mizen
- Updated
- Interest rates
Reserve Bank on high alert for rate rise
The RBA is “very alert” to the cost of stubbornly high inflation lingering in the economy, signalling interest rates will need to stay higher for longer.
- Ronald Mizen
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
The four key themes dominating Macquarie’s talkfest
Macquarie chief Shemara Wikramanayake is the perfect person to open the biggest investor conference of the year with the last of her issues a sleeper for a lot of us in Australia.
- Updated
- Anthony Macdonald
Macquarie bets big on data centres in AI revolution
Shemara Wikramanayake expects the biggest tech companies to consume more data in their quest to sharpen AI platforms.
- Aaron Weinman
- Exclusive
- Interest rates
Philip Lowe warns rates could rise again
The former RBA governor says with data surprising on the strong side getting back to a 2.5 per cent inflation level sustainably is not yet guaranteed.
- Patrick Durkin and John Kehoe
- Opinion
- Opinion
Look to South America to see Made in Australia in practice
The Albanese government’s Peronist-like policies won’t add to growth and investment, despite the prime minister and treasurer’s rhetoric.
- Alexander Downer
‘Made in Australia’ won’t trigger subsidy arms race, minister says
Industry subsidies used to be taboo in the trade world. But Tim Ayres, spruiking the government’s new industrial policy in Europe, says things have changed.
- Hans van Leeuwen
- Analysis
- Jim Chalmers
‘Made in Australia’ risks higher interest rates and a poorer future
The old rules of economics still apply and the consequences of Albanese’s big gamble could be widely felt.
- John Kehoe
High inflation may last another two years unless rates rise again
If Jim Chalmers does not use the budget to cool the economy, the RBA will have little chance of achieving its target without raising interest rates, say economists.
- Michael Read
Boosting investment needs more than taxpayer cash: Wesfarmers boss
Rob Scott said he was making major investments in value-added processing for lithium, but faced serious barriers from approvals processes.
- Carrie LaFrenz and Ronald Mizen
OECD warns sticky inflation means rates higher for longer
The warning came as CEOs deliver upbeat assessment of the economy and financial markets push out expectations for rate cuts to May or June 2025, potentially after the next federal election.
- Ronald Mizen, James Eyers, Lucas Baird, Simon Evans, Tess Bennett and Carrie LaFrenz
How three economists would fix the housing crisis
An economic adviser to the government has suggested a “quick win” to encourage older Australians to downsize and free up housing for younger families.
- John Kehoe
- Opinion
- Opinion
Chalmers’ recipe for friendly foreign investment ignores the basics
The treasurer has a grand new take on industrial policy, but there’s little evidence of the reforms that international investors seek.
- Jennifer Hewett
Chalmers: ‘Our job is to strike a series of fine balances’
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Wednesday took part in a Q&A at the Lowy Institute where he talked about economic security and Australia’s opportunities.
- Opinion
- Opinion
PM must pick his winners with more care
The Prime Minister has never seen a hi-viz project he didn’t like. But industry policy must be far more discriminating in a labour-short economy.
- John Quiggin
April
Budget surplus of $13b tipped, but Labor needs a ‘credible’ plan
It could be the second consecutive surplus for Labor and the first time that has happened in almost 20 years. But the longer-term outlook is increasingly bleak.
- Ronald Mizen
- Opinion
- Federal budget
Labor’s reforms will de-risk foreign investment
The overhaul in the budget will strengthen the review framework where we need to, streamline it where we can, and make it more transparent, writes Jim Chalmers.
- Jim Chalmers
- Opinion
- Opinion
Magic debt thinking collides with inflation and higher rates
Since the GFC, economists have suggested that using debt to finance government spending is a free lunch. But the tide has turned in the past two years.
- Kenneth Rogoff
