Today
WiseTech’s Richard White not hiding from the headlines
White’s oration will surely be like this year’s Business Council speeches, only if delivered by a man presently trying to bankrupt his alleged ex-lover.
- 1 hr ago
- Myriam Robin
- Opinion
- Australian economy
Our one-trick pony economy can’t keep behaving like this
Population, employment, and government spending are growing faster than the economy can absorb. It is the spending that has to give for a while.
- Tony Shepherd
IMF puts Chalmers on notice over rates, super tax and spending
In its annual health check of Australia’s economy, the International Monetary Fund said more unexpected expenditure rises will force the RBA to keep rates high.
- Michael Read
Yesterday
Victoria slumps for business, as execs warn: ‘It’s really struggling’
CSL chairman Brian McNamee and former NAB CEO Ross McEwan warn that the state is in financial peril, as new business starts fell behind the rest of the country.
- Gus McCubbing and Patrick Durkin
- Opinion
- Investing
A narrow window to change the fortunes of the ASX
The cost and regulatory burden of a public listing is driving companies and investors into the arms of private capital. The ASX needs to fix itself.
- Peter Swan and Dimitri Burshtein
- Opinion
- Interest rates
RBA should spell out rules on private meetings with market movers
The holding of confidential meetings can backfire when some people think that others are getting advantaged access to the central bank’s thinking.
- John Kehoe
- Exclusive
- RBA
RBA barred Westpac in third case of briefing leak
A suspected leak of an off-record briefing from Michele Bullock led to the bank being black-listed for 12 months.
- Mark Di Stefano, John Kehoe and Cecile Lefort
This Month
- Opinion
- The AFR View
RBA must make rules of engagement explicit
The central bank should keep on talking to bankers, market economists, and politicians. But it needs transparent rules to guide it when it does.
- The AFR View
- Updated
- Home loans
CBA’s Comyn backs APRA’s mortgage buffer rules amid intense criticism
The chief executive of the country’s biggest lender said critics – who say the regulations make loans unattainable – were looking for an easy but ineffective fix.
- Updated
- Michael Read and Lucas Baird
Warm weather lifts spending on booze, gardening and camping gear
Retail sales may have finally turned a corner, as unseasonably warm weather pumped up demand for products normally bought in spring.
- John Kehoe
Debt hits seven-year low before decade of deficits
Federal government net debt has fallen to its lowest level since 2017, but economists say the coming decade of deficits will send borrowing levels higher.
- Michael Read
- Opinion
- Monetary policy
Don’t turn the RBA’s private talks into a fishbowl
Not allowing the central bank to test its thinking with people in financial markets will leave us with much less well-informed monetary policy decision-makers and, thus, worse monetary policy decisions.
- John Simon
- Exclusive
- RBA
RBA gives RBC Capital Markets private briefing, bars bank after leak
The incident is the second off-the-record discussion between the central bank and traders that has been made public. It was held after a February rate decision.
- Mark Di Stefano and John Kehoe
September
- Opinion
- Federal budget
Our fiscal strategy strikes the right balance
We are repairing the budget without hurting an already weak economy, putting people under more pressure or ignoring urgent and unavoidable spending.
- Jim Chalmers
- Opinion
- Federal budget
Why budget surplus is up, up, up
Jim Chalmers is claiming credit for delivering two budget surpluses in a row. He’s less keen to explain how much the high level of income tax helped.
- Jennifer Hewett
Lending laws locking out home buyers: Bendigo bank
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has rebuffed calls to ease mortgage lending laws after Coalition MPs and ANZ warned prospective home buyers were struggling to get finance.
- Michael Read and Lucas Baird
- Opinion
- Federal budget
Spending pressures make third surplus unlikely
The treasurer has delivered a solid second budget surplus of $15.8 billion on the back of booming income tax receipts, but future spending pressures are emerging.
- John Kehoe
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Why the strong housing market is still a problem for the RBA
Booming credit demand from wealthier borrowers is more proof that housing is still humming along. That could crimp the RBA’s ability to cut.
- James Thomson
Income tax hits 25-year high in Chalmers’ surplus
The treasurer’s second budget in the black has been underwritten by the highest share of wages taxation since before the GST was introduced in 2000.
- John Kehoe and Michael Read
- Exclusive
- Home loans
Own home becoming ‘just for rich’: Coalition weighs lending overhaul
Housing has become a key battleground for the major parties, as record prices and high interest rates combine to significantly reduce affordability.
- Michael Read