Money and Monetary Policy

Nearly three-and-a-half decades after a catastrophic crash wiped out the Japanese asset bubble, its stock market has finally hit a record high. But the ASX is not following, amid a raft of mixed profit results. Follow the latest updates in our live blog.

Australian workers enjoyed an average base pay rise of 0.9 per cent in the December quarter, leading to an annual increase of 4.2 per cent over 2023, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Brad Banducci is retiring as the supermarket giant announces a massive loss and faces ongoing allegations of price gouging and unfair practices with suppliers.

The ASX closed down, Virgin CEO Jayne Hrdlicka announced she will step down and BHP CEO Mike Henry speaks with The Business.

Bank executives and economists expect the next move by the Reserve Bank will be a cut to the cash rate, rather than a hike.

The Reserve Bank of Australia did no independent modelling of the inflationary impact of the stage 3 tax cuts, the ABC has confirmed.

Economists and traders expect the US Federal Reserve to lead off a global round of interest rate cuts. But if you look at the recent economic data, there's a building argument for the Reserve Bank of Australia to beat them to it.

The Australian share market closed higher as miners benefited from a rise in commodity prices, while insurers IAG and QBE and Inghams closed lower after releasing their latest earnings results missing analyst profit expectations. After years in the making, the OECD has released Pillar Two of its global plan to collect more tax from multinationals. But will countries implement it?

Economists warn the next six months are going to be tough for job hunters, but some industries are worse than others

The ASX ended higher on Thursday despite data from the ABS showing the unemployment rate climbed to 4.1 per cent in January. Meanwhile, some major companies posted rising profits, including gas giant Origin and Wesfarmers. Read how the day unfolded.

Households are spending at a 15-year low as inflation and interest rates erode their budgets, but a "life-changing" employment result is in sight, according to Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy.

WA's revised GST deal is set to cost the federal government $50 billion over a decade, not $39 billion as estimated, economists say, warning that it's not justified and should be changed.

The Australian share market finished lower for the day as earnings season continued, while the price of bitcoin surged to $US50,000 for the first time in two years and AGL's Loy Yang A power station in Victoria suffers an outage.

Workers shoulder the burden of paying for the things we want: schools, hospitals and a civil, safe society. But as our population ages and more people need support, can income tax continue to fund our needs? 

RBA governor Michele Bullock says Australia doesn't need higher interest rates right now, despite calls from IMF and OECD.

RBA governor Michele Bullock said the central bank would consider cutting rates before inflation returned to 2.5 per cent if the economy was in good shape, while the ASX ended higher for the third-straight day after a subdued start.

US Fed member Loretta Mester says investors may have expected a rate cut in the US in March, but she wants to see more signs that inflation is definitely downwards before rates are lowered, and we're not there yet.

Disgruntled MP Bob Katter made headlines this week after his cash was rejected by a cafe — in Parliament House, of all places. The incident sparked national debate again, so what are your rights when it comes to paying in notes and coins?

Australian shares end higher after AGL posts a better than expected half-year profit and upgrades its forecast for the full year. Mainland Chinese shares shrug off the worst deflation numbers since the global financial crisis. Look back on how the trading day unfolded.

The Reserve Bank board says "a further increase in interest rates cannot be ruled out", but economists and financial traders still believe the next move in rates will be down.

The Australian share market rebounds from two straight sessions of losses led by heavyweight miners, while the Woodside-Santos merger collapses, and NAB promotes British-Canadian executive Andrew Irvine as its next CEO.

In just half a sentence, the Reserve Bank board dashed the rate cut hopes of millions of mortgage borrowers. Does it risk condemning the Australian economy to recession as well?

The Reserve Bank Board keeps interest rates at 4.35 per cent following inflation falling by more than expected towards the end of 2023.

RBA is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold today in the first rate decision of 2024.

The RBA has kept interest rates on hold at 4.35 per cent after its first two-day meeting, but says it cannot rule out future rate hikes to keep inflation in check. Look back on how the day unfolded with our blog.