RBA
Economic backseat drivers are playing a dangerous game, warns RBA
The Reserve Bank has come under fire over interest rate settings, prompting RBA deputy governor Andrew Hauser to caution against economic “false prophets”.
- by Shane Wright and Millie Muroi
Latest
Opinion
Interest rates
Maybe only a recession will fix macroeconomic management
The reliance on interest rates to reduce demand is hugely unfair – and it is lacking in effectiveness.
- by Ross Gittins
Michele Bullock played down her intelligence at school. In year 9, something changed
Bullock was in the choir, played hockey and was unashamed about her flair with numbers. But she worries high school economics is “slipping off the radar”.
- by Christopher Harris
Opinion
Sharemarket
What does the sharemarket turmoil tell us about our economy? Not a lot
Why didn’t the central bank care when panic swept across financial markets earlier this week? In short: because the sharemarket isn’t the economy – or a good indicator of its health.
- by Millie Muroi
RBA ‘will not hesitate to raise rates’ if needed, Bullock says
Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock says the bank must walk a tightrope between taming inflation and preserving jobs, noting regional labour markets have been tighter than those in capital cities.
- by Millie Muroi
‘We’ve lost a cylinder in a four-cylinder engine’: Insolvency help soars as economy struggles
There’s been an “astonishing” increase in the number of administrators appointed to struggling firms, in a further sign the overall economy is struggling.
- by Shane Wright
‘Not what people want to hear’: RBA holds rates steady, douses hope of pre-Christmas cut
The bank board noted that getting inflation back to its 2-3 per cent target had been “slow and bumpy” as it confirmed the official cash rate would remain at 4.35 per cent.
- by Shane Wright and Millie Muroi
Updated
Sharemarket
ASX steadies after Wall Street has worst day since 2022
The Australian sharemarket steadied its losses from its worst two-day sell-off since 2020, as the Reserve Bank held the cash rate steady.
- by Sumeyya Ilanbey
Opinion
Interest rates
There’s a good case for cutting interest rates ASAP
Data for the two years since the RBA began increasing the cost of money shows a lot more evidence of downturn and pain than you may realise.
- by Ross Gittins
Rate rises will fail to tame inflation: $140b fund’s investment chief
The investment chief of UniSuper says monetary policy has run its course, and inflicting more pain on squeezed households is not the answer.
- by Clancy Yeates
No smiling matter: Chalmers’ inflation reprieve is hiding some economic frowns
Inflation figures this week have probably stopped the Reserve Bank from further interest rate rises, but the economy on Jim Chalmers’ watch is still struggling.
- by Shane Wright