This Month
Soft wages, growth revive chances of first RBA rate cut in February
The Reserve Bank has signalled it could be ready to cut the cash rate early next year if upcoming data meets expectations, bolstering Labor’s re-election prospects.
- Michael Read
IMF calls for home lending crackdown when rate cuts arrive
The International Monetary Fund says regulators should consider tightening Australia’s already-stringent home lending laws, pushing back on a Coalition plan.
- Michael Read
‘Significant risk’ Australian inflation might stop falling: IMF
The IMF says the still-strong jobs market and rapidly rising government spending could cause disinflation to stall, leading to calls for fiscal restraint.
- Michael Read
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Macquarie’s Viktor Shvets nailed 2024. Here’s what he thinks will come next
No economic cycles? No mean reversion? Macquarie’s top global strategist’s radical view of markets challenges investors to consider how the world has changed.
- James Thomson
10 suburbs for property investors to target in 2025
Investors can still score six-digit equity gain in 2025 despite the current housing market slowdown, but it requires thorough due diligence and smart property and area selection.
- Nila Sweeney
Bank of England pauses rate cuts as inflation picks up
The BoE did not join its rate-cutting peers in the US and Europe because, despite a flatlining economy, prices and wages have gathered pace.
- Hans van Leeuwen
Shares, dollar slammed after Fed walks back rate cut plans
The Australian dollar tumbled to a two-year low and investors sold off stocks after US policymakers predicted just two rate cuts in 2025 – fewer than the market hoped for.
- Updated
- Cecile Lefort
Traders dial up bets for February RBA rate cut
Money markets are slowly dialling up expectations for an early cut from the Reserve Bank in 2025. It’s a different story for New Zealand, which is now in a recession.
- Updated
- Cecile Lefort and Sarah Jones
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
The Fed just killed the Santa rally
Jerome Powell gave investors a rate cut. But what sent Wall Street plunging was his message for 2025.
- James Thomson
The 10 biggest surprises to wrong-foot investors this year
No rate cuts, surging bank valuations and resilient iron ore prices are some of the calls that the market and experts were incorrect on over the last 12 months.
- Updated
- Alex Gluyas
- Opinion
- Opinion
Why RBA rate cut could come from Jim Chalmers’ subsidies
There is a quirk in the measurement of underlying inflation in the December quarter that may put pressure on the RBA to cut interest rates early next year.
- John Kehoe
Why Australians should ditch Europe this Christmas
After a dire year for the currency, those heading to the northern hemisphere should consider looking elsewhere to get the most bang for their buck.
- Updated
- Cecile Lefort
Home sellers rake in record profits despite slowing market
More home sellers scored bigger profits in the September quarter, boosted by a broader lift in values nationally, but this could change next year, experts say.
- Nila Sweeney
US November retail sales rev higher on new motor vehicles
Retail sales jumped 0.7 per cent last month, more than expected, and October’s sales were revised higher, consistent with the economy’s underlying momentum.
- Lucia Mutikani
Star pick for RBA board backed lower interest rates
Renee Fry-McKibbin was a monetary policy dove in 2022, according to Barrenjoey, backing in a low cash rate even as the central bank delivered supersized hikes.
- Michael Read
How CBA’s $3 fee gambit nearly blew up the bank’s political capital
Bankers inside Commonwealth Bank’s retail division figured a small branch cash withdrawal charge was innocuous. They were wrong.
- Lucas Baird and James Eyers
What economists think about the RBA’s board shake-up
Renee Fry-McKibbin and Marnie Baker’s appointments were met with mixed reaction, with markets still betting on a one-in-two chance of an early 2025 rate cut.
- Cecile Lefort
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
10 curveballs for investors (and no, they’re not all bad)
The market is heading into 2025 with a spring in its step. But Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid sees risks to both the downside and the upside.
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Monetary policy
Credible appointments will improve Reserve Bank board
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has selected two good candidates and should be congratulated for shoring up the RBA at a pivotal time in the inflation fight.
- John Kehoe
Chalmers brings former bank CEO, economist on board in RBA overhaul
The appointment of ANU professor Renée Fry-McKibbin and former Bendigo Bank boss Marnie Baker sets the scene for the biggest shake-up of the central bank in decades.
- Updated
- Michael Read and John Kehoe