Travel and events lift May spending, but mortgage holders hit the brakes

The latest Commbank household spending insights shows May spending got a boost from travel and events, but CBA economists expect spending slowdown to continue.

Today's changes to interest rates

Here are the changes the main banks have made to retail interest rates on Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Breakfast briefing: Will money solve the US-Iran conflict?

US to buy its way out of the Iran conflict; US data weaker; Canada housing turns up; China data mixed; Japan hikes, Australia holds; UST 10yr at 4.42%; gold up and oil down sharply again; AU$1 = 70.7 USc

RBA holds fire in latest review

As widely expected, the RBA has made no change to its 4.35% cash rate target after the three previous rate hikes. Uncertainty on inflation direction is high as fuel costs are expected to retreat soon

SpaceX is the new East India Company

Alessio Terzi and Stefano Marcuzzi consider lessons from the three-century era when corporate monopolies operated beyond the reach of sovereign powers

The hidden cost of being the financially capable one

Lynda Moore says that whether at home, work, or with friends, if you are seen as 'the one best with money', this skill needs to come with boundaries and balance

Where is China's trillion-dollar trade surplus going?

Miao Yanliang thinks the answer to what China is doing with its gigantic trade surplus says a lot about its economy's trajectory, particularly its progress on financial deepening

April mortgage market analysis

Some banks are failing in the mortgage wars, some are just holding on, while one is going toe-to-toe with the upstart leader, Macquarie

Adoption of EVs a bright spot in a tepid new passenger car market

The new car market fell -1.2% in May from a year ago, bolstered by strong demand for EVs within that decline. ICE is out

Q1 GDP First Impressions: Data centres to the rescue as cost pressures moderate

Other than for data centers, investment and economic activity were weak in Q1-2026, with the pick‑up in household consumption offset by a fall in public demand

Fair Work Commission OKs a 4.75% hike to the National Minimum Wage

The minimum wage to rise to over $1000 per week on July 1, after the Fair Work Commission agrees the biggest rise since 20203

Bolting ahead

The main banks' muscle-up to the Macquarie challenge starts to show results for most of them. The rise of Bank Australia moves it out of the shadows too

'Grossly negligent' Westpac cops $26 mln penalty

After paying $1.7 mln in remediation to customers who did not get proper responses for their financial hardship claims, judge adds $26 mln civil penalty for the failures

What fiscal can learn from monetary

Westpac's Luci Ellis explores how policy makers can or should deal with bracket creep. Are periodic 'tax cuts' the right way? Or should tax rates be indexed?

The jobless rate rises, unexpectedly

The 2026 job market is tougher on women than men. There were fewer jobs for women in April, slightly more for men

2026–27 Australian Federal Budget

The 2026-27 Federal Budget delivers a fiscal impulse that is still slightly expansionary, and some significant tax changes and productivity reforms

Tackling high inflation with a third straight rate hike

For a third consecutive time, the Australian central bank has added another 25 bps cash rate target hike to 4.35%, reversing all of of its cuts since February 2025