ECONOMY

"Conditions in the labour market have eased since late 2022, but our assessment is that the labor market is still tight relative to full employment. We expect the demand for labour to grow at a slower pace relative to the supply of labour in the coming quarters, gradually bringing the labour market into better balance. Our view is that some of this slowing in labour demand is likely to occur via a decline in average hours," said Sarah Hunter.

While the Westpac–Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index dipped by 0.5% to 84.6 in September from 85.0 in August, the NAB business confidence survey was down to -4 index points in August.

Lending by first-time home buyers increased by 0.8% in July, and was 19.7% higher compared to July 2023. July also recorded a national average of new owner-occupier loans and new investor loans at AU$641,000.

Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz said the council was set to find solutions to the issues plaguing homebuyers for a long time and will also stress the critical need for a stronger course of action to increase the housing supply.

The June quarter was driven by increased spending by the government and foreign students, while household consumption took a beat due to high inflation and interest rates. Consumer spending, which declined to 0.2% in the June quarter, was the lowest since the global recession.

In addition, the goods and services balance decreased by AU$3.9 billion, sharply diving to AU$12 billion.

The survey, dating back to July, involved 1,074 participants, among which 37% said they would turn to borrowing or selling assets to foot any bill of AU$500 or more.

The treasurer's remarks on Sunday followed weeks of rumors regarding tensions between the RBA and the government, sparking concerns about the economy's direction.

According to the Super Members Council (SMC), 2.8 million Australian workers were not paid their full amount of superannuation in 2021–2022, which amounted to AU$5.1 billion.

"Overall, it's clear there was little momentum behind consumer spending at the start of the quarter. And while it is early days, the data broadly reinforce our view that Australian households are not rushing to spend their newfound tax cuts," economist Abhijit Surya said.

Denouncing Greens' proposed 40% tax on excessive corporate profits as "insidious populism," Matt Comyn suggested that prioritizing popularity over genuine reform will only erode trust in institutions.

In July, energy prices dropped to 6.4%, compared to the usual 0.9% rise, and as the government announced rebates across the country, further drop in prices were expected.

According to the report, areas most prone to climate-related disasters, such as cyclones and floods, are experiencing a 30% surge in insurance premiums.

Those seeking three-year home loans are expected to get a competitive 5.89% interest rate, which is in line with Westpac's offer. Additionally, the new variable rate borrowers will be offered a reduction of up to 0.35 percentage points to ease financial strain

UK government borrowing jumped by far more than expected in July, official figures showed Wednesday, stoking fresh anxiety for the new Labour government ahead of its first budget in just over two months.

The RBA's reluctance to lower interest rates is a result of its worries about wages and employment.

Western Australia is fearing an economic downturn due to falling iron ore prices. However, the government's cautious budgeting may thwart the problem.

The central bank has extended its inflation rate target deadline to 2026 from the earlier forecast of achieving the target by 2025.

With recent data indicating the US economy remains in good shape as inflation slows and the labor market softens, there is widespread expectation the bank will finally start unwinding its long-running program of tight monetary policy next month.

The Kenyan government plans to raise about $1.2 billion by reinstating some unpopular taxes contained in a finance bill that was scrapped in the face of deadly street protests, a government minister said.

According to University of Melbourne Professor Tom Kompas, people between the ages of 30 and 49 contributed the most to the loss. "Workers in that age bracket contributed to a loss of 52 million worked hours, or more than 50% of the total labor and productivity lost in 2022," he said.

Britain's economy grew 0.6 percent in the April-June period, a slight slowdown compared with the first three months of the year, official data showed on Thursday.

The RBA's Andrew Hauser said, "As humans, we are all prone to overconfidence, particularly when forecasting the future. In many cases, the answer we ought to give is that we simply do not know."

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected criticism that his government's spending was adding to inflation. He said the Labor government's two budget surpluses and several measures, which were aimed at reducing the living expenses, have helped to bring down the prices.

Although the overall inflation rate has slightly increased to 3.8%, the measure of core inflation, also known as the "trimmed mean," has decreased slightly to 3.9% from 4%.

The first quarter of 2024 had seen a noticeable decline of 3.0% reduction in job ads, and the advertisements decreased by 7.1% in the second quarter of the year.

While you may not initially expect it to have such a large impact on the business landscape

British house-building fell at the sharpest pace since May 2020 last month as the cost of higher interest rates outweighed an easing in supply chain difficulties that bolstered other types of construction, according to a survey released on Thursday.

Australia on Monday revealed that China has remained unresponsive to its pleas to ease tension between the two states.