Today
This is Labor’s chance for real reform. Business must make the case
Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers have the chance to tackle big-picture reform in a way that was unimaginable a few days ago. Business should lean into that.
This Month
Next PM’s to-do list | Woodside hits go | Minecraft powers Woolies turnaround
This week, what the election means for investors, a telling $27 billion investment, and the latest weapon in the supermarket wars: cheap cardboard toys.
Budget will get worse before it gets better under Coalition
A surprise new $3.6 billion tax on vaping and a massive $17 billion cut to the public service will not prevent a Coalition government posting bigger budget deficits.
Chalmers didn’t know a key budget number. This is why it matters
Treasurer Jim Chalmers failed to recognise a $47 billion deficit figure in an oversight that economist Saul Eslake says exposes the government for glossing over so-called “off budget” spending.
April
Meat price rises could be just one (of some) unintended tariff hits to Australia
Australian business leaders are scrambling to understand the second- and third-order impacts of Trump’s trade war. And they might not play out as expected.
Is there a case for a jumbo-sized interest rate cut next month?
Given the cash rate is now 4.10 per cent, this suggests that the RBA board could deliver a 50 basis point cut in May and still leave policy mildly restrictive.
Voters are still fed up with major parties
Readers’ letters on the teal independents, Peter Dutton’s fears of bias at the ABC and Guardian Australia, defence policy and taxation on superannuation.
Labor’s missing $8b for housing makes a mockery of budget
More than 80 per cent of the $10 billion that the government committed to build 100,000 homes for first buyers was nowhere to be seen in its election costings.
Inflation result opens door to post-election rate cut
The RBA’s preferred measure of underlying inflation has dipped below 3 per cent for the first time in three years, opening the door to a likely interest rate cut for the second time this year.
Voting Green may be the greatest act of self-harm by a generation ever
Under the Greens’ housing proposal, rent could rise by an average $83 a week, on top of the rent increases likely to happen anyway.
Treasury to axe 250 jobs under Labor
The federal Treasury will cut 250 jobs over the next two years if Labor is returned, despite the government attacking Peter Dutton for proposed public service cuts.
Labor’s tax on unrealised gains could wreck your retirement
This new tax warrants rigorous scrutiny and a more comprehensive reassessment before it inflicts lasting damage on our nation’s financial well-being.
Labor must do more after the election
Readers’ letters on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the federal election, road-user charges for electric vehicles, Tasmanian salmon farming, Peter Dutton’s nuclear power policy.
Mocking S&P’s credit warning risks Australia’s prosperity
The nation’s AAA rating is not an ornament. It was hard-won through decades of careful fiscal management by successive governments.
Albanese scoffs at credit rating agency over AAA warning
The prime minister took aim at an S&P Global report that warned the highest government spending since World War II was risking the nation’s prized credit rating.
Trump tariffs cut deep for America’s trillion-dollar ASEAN partners
The damage to Washington’s image and its relationships with the rest of the world, including South-East Asia, may be lasting.
Gold fever | The CBA mystery | Trump insult shakes markets
This week, James and Jonathan Shapiro unpack gold’s surge, try to solve an ASX mystery, and assess the Treasurers debate.
Fed’s Waller will support rate cuts if Trump’s tariffs lead to job losses
US Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller says unemployment could rise, and quickly, if high tariffs come into play in July.
RBA says interest rates don’t hit households as hard as you’d think
The RBA wants you to know that changes in household cash flow from interest rates get too much attention.
Tax surge improves budget but deficits still loom
Strong jobs growth and robust commodity export prices have put the federal budget on track to record a deficit about half the size of the $27.6 billion forecast last month.
Dutton denies backflip on EV tax break. The transcript is clear
The opposition leader claims he was misunderstood when he said he would not scrap Labor’s signature tax break to encourage electric vehicle uptake.
Why Donald Trump and Xi Jinping will do a deal
This week on The Fin podcast, Australian Financial Review columnist and former ambassador to China Geoff Raby on the US-China trade war, what it means for Australia and how it might be resolved.
Trump’s shock-and-awe approach to China is working
The US president knew he needed to drop neutron bombs to shock his counterparties out of their stubborn stupor.
Dutton to pay for $21b defence boost through income tax hike
The statement comes less than a week after the opposition leader said his “aspiration” was to index tax brackets to eliminate bracket creep and lower income tax.