Today
UK inflation slows more than forecast, fuelling rate-cut bets
Consumer prices rose 3.9 per cent from a year earlier, down from 4.6 per cent in October, according to the latest monthly data.
- Tom Rees and Lucy White
Surprise fall in UK services inflation may hold key to rate cuts
Economists expect services inflation to continue subsiding, pushed lower by the drop in energy prices, the weakening jobs market and lacklustre demand.
- Tom Rees
Manufacturing sector mood hits lowest level since the GFC
A net 41 per cent of manufacturers expect conditions to worsen during the next six months, according to the ACCI-Westpac industrial trends survey.
- Michael Read
Yesterday
- Opinion
- Opinion
Beware economists who won’t admit they were wrong
From an economic point of view, 2023 will go down in the record books as one of the best years ever.
- Paul Krugman
This Month
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Red Sea oil spike is exactly what markets and central banks don’t need
Falling energy price have made the fight against inflation much easier, which in turn has boosted markets. The Red Sea attacks threaten to change that.
- James Thomson
RBA warns it may raise rates again, but markets predict cuts
Markets doubt the central bank will deliver any more rate rises, despite warning it may need to deliver another increase if inflation remains high.
- Michael Read
- Exclusive
- Health insurance
Labor rejects 6pc rise in health insurance premiums
Health Minister Mark Butler has rejected a request to lift premiums by 4 to 6 per cent, as Labor tries to quell voter discontent over cost of living pressures.
- Updated
- Michael Read
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
What’s behind Monday’s $5b deal frenzy
A burst of pre-Christmas deals isn’t unusual. But the impressive market rally in the past six weeks has helped unstick some deals that have been simmering for some time.
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Why it might be time to strap in for a wild end to 2023 on markets
Shares have rallied hard in the past six weeks, but more big moves in the dog days of December aren’t out of the question.
- James Thomson
Fed insider says talk of a March rate cut is premature
Federal Reserve Bank of New York president John Williams said it’s too early for officials to begin thinking about cutting rates as soon as March.
- Craig Torres
US rate cuts could aid Labor election strategy: Chalmers
Labor’s mission between now and the next election is to seize the mantle of superior economic manager, says Jim Chalmers.
- Phillip Coorey
Dow’s record outruns central banks, counts on aggressive rate cuts
The Fed is expected to be the first central bank to lower rates next year, ahead of the European Central Bank and Bank of England, and months before the RBA.
- Cecile Lefort and Joanne Tran
Ease income tax burden automatically, says Westpac’s Ellis
Tax brackets should be adjusted annually to help limit the squeeze on household incomes, former RBA assistant governor Luci Ellis says.
- John Kehoe
- Analysis
- Global economy
Anyone seen that US recession?
The US economy avoided a recession this year but, if history is any guide, it’s still a possibility.
- Matthew Cranston
- Opinion
- Interest rates
New Zealand’s recession is a warning for the rest of world
While markets are rejoicing about the prospect of lower interest rates next year, stagflation across the ditch points to very different possibilities.
- Christopher Joye
Range Rovers become thief magnets, causing prices to tumble
A surge in car thefts in Britain has made insuring high-end models prohibitively expensive, forcing down prices of second-hand luxury cars.
- Jamie Nimmo
Young renters to bear the brunt of personal insolvency surge
People aged 24 to 45 comprise the majority of people who declare personal insolvency, and a new wave is coming.
- Max Mason
BoE keeps rates at 15-year high despite economy fears
The central bank left the main rate at 5.25 per cent, where it has stood since August following the end of nearly two years of increases.
- Pan Pylas
We’ll be back in election mode on the other side of Christmas
Three-year terms mean that the government, after just 20 months in power, will start pulling down the new policy shutters, with the opposition dialling everything up to 11.
- Phillip Coorey
Traders double down on RBA rate cuts after Fed pivot
Bond markets are pricing more aggressive monetary easing in the US and Australia after the Federal Reserve flagged a peak in interest rates.
- Cecile Lefort
