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“Breaking Aussies’ spirits”: Karl rips into Reserve Bank

Karl Stefanovic has ripped into the Reserve Bank for their decision to pause interest rates at an all time high. The Today host blasted their decision to freeze the cash rate at an 11-year high of 4.1 percent, as Aussies continue to struggle through the cost of living crisis. Karl Stefanovic has accused the Reserve Bank of “not giving a toss” about the millions of Australians struggling to keep their homes amid seemingly endless interest rate rises. On Thursday, Karl let loose on the RBA, slamming their decision to put Aussies under further financial strain. <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CuQTWInBqdU/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CuQTWInBqdU/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by thetodayshow (@thetodayshow)</a> </div> </blockquote> “They have single-handedly crushed, strangled Australian households,” he said. “Aussies who go to work, pay their bills, and just made the mistake of wanting to own their own home. Now you are being held to ransom.” “Everything you have built is now on the line because our central bank missed the inflation tidal wave. This is what's worse though.” “It's not over-spending respective governments carrying the can. It's you at home.” “It's you trying to put food on the table, pay your power bills and keep a roof over your family's head. It's no wonder it's breaking Aussies' spirits right now.” On Tuesday, the RBA moved to pause interest rates at an 11-year high of 4.1 per cent for the next month. Governor Philip Lowe hinted at more monetary policy tightening because inflation is still too high, even after the most aggressive rate rises since 1989. Even if interest rates don't rise again, mortgage repayments could still be hiked. Image credits: Today

RBA announces major interest rate rise

The Reserve Bank of Australia has lifted its official interest rate to 4.1 per cent, an increase not seen since early 2012. The bank’s board chose to lift the cash rate target by 0.25 of a percentage point for the second month in a row amid concerns that inflation is taking too long to decrease. The latest monthly consumer price index from the Australian Bureau of Statistics saw prices rise 6.8 per cent from 2022 to April 2023, up from the March reading due to statistical uncertainties caused by last year’s temporary fuel excise cut. Reserve Bank governor Phillip Lowe warned the public about rising costs of services including hospitality which are labour intensive and vulnerable to increased wages. "Recent data indicate that the upside risks to the inflation outlook have increased and the board has responded to this," he highlighted in his post-meeting statement. "While goods price inflation is slowing, services price inflation is still very high and is proving to be very persistent overseas. Unit labour costs are also rising briskly, with productivity growth remaining subdued.” Lowe noted the most recent and bigger than expected rise in minimum and award wages, which was the highest increase in decades. "Wages growth has picked up in response to the tight labour market and high inflation," he explained. "At the aggregate level, wages growth is still consistent with the inflation target, provided that productivity growth picks up.” The interest rate spike will add around $76 a month to the repayments on a $500,000 loan, and double that on a million-dollar 25-year mortgage. Someone with $500,000 owing on their home loan will see their monthly repayment increase by around $1,134 a month since the RBA started lifting rates from a record low of 0.1 per cent in May 2022. However, there is still the risk of another rate rise. "Some further tightening of monetary policy may be required to ensure that inflation returns to target in a reasonable time frame, but that will depend upon how the economy and inflation evolve," Lowe warned. Image credit: Twitter

Money & Banking

RBA boss' blunt suggestion for struggling renters

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Phillip Lowe is warning Aussies that the nationwide rental crisis will worsen before it gets better. Despite high interest rates and a good chance of another increase as inflation continues to skyrocket, the housing market is showing signs of recovery. However, renters are faced with a short supply and the possibility of the biggest rent hike in decades. Lowe urged people struggling with their payments to consider getting a flatmate or housemate or moving back home. He also suggested people rent out their spare rooms to help with the crisis. "The way that this ends up fixing itself, unfortunately, is through higher housing prices and higher rents," he said. "Because as rents go up people decide not to move out of home, or you don't have that home office, you get a flatmate. "The increase in supply can't happen immediately, but higher prices do lead people to economise on housing." Lowe explained that housing supply was the biggest challenge on the market and that rents were expected to increase by 10 per cent. That would be the biggest price hike since the 1980s. However, homeowners will be pleased to hear that the market is showing signs of recovery, with a 1.2 per cent growth recorded in May 2023. Image credit: Getty

Real Estate

RBA increases interest rates again

The Reserve Bank of Australia has increased interest rates by 0.5 per cent for the third month in a row. Interest rates are now 1.35 per cent with treasurer Jim Chalmers saying that inflation will only “get worse before it gets better”. "That's the brutal reality, unfortunately," he said. "A lot of people that I talk to around Australia are facing that same diabolical set of circumstances, where prices for everything are going up, people's wages aren't keeping up, it's harder and harder for small businesses to operate. "The government is doing what it can but really the only solution to this in the medium term is to try and build a budget and an economy which is as resilient as the Australian people themselves, and that's what we're working on." Mr Chalmers said it's expected that the interest rate will continue to go up and this will put a lot of pressure on people with mortgages. “Mortgage repayments are now eating up a bigger part of already stretched budgets,” he said. “Average homeowners owing $330,000 will now have to find another $90 a month at the same time as they try to keep up with the costs of petrol, electricity, groceries and other essentials.” RBA Governor Philip Lowe says Australians should expect further hikes to help with inflation. “Global inflation is high. It is being boosted by COVID-related disruptions to supply chains, the war in Ukraine and strong demand which is putting pressure on productive capacity,” he said. “Monetary policy globally is responding to this higher inflation, although it will be some time yet before inflation returns to target in most countries.” Images: Shutterstock

Money & Banking

Is it legal for businesses to accept only cash?

Have you ever walked into a shop and seen a “cash only” sign and thought “bugger, I don’t have any cash on me?” Is it even legal for shops to only accept cash? In a society where people predominantly use their cards to pay for items, it’s a bit rare. But the short answer is yes. It is legal for shops to accept only cash. According to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), businesses are “at liberty to set the commercial terms upon which payment will take place before the 'contract' for supply of the goods or services is entered into". So when you walk into a shop and see “cash only”, the business providing the goods has already set the terms of which payment will take place. Further to this is the possibility of providers who accept only cash are getting away with not paying their taxes. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) knows this often happens and that if you report everything, then you have nothing to worry about. Image: Shutterstock

Money & Banking

Government places restrictions on prescription meds while cash rate is cut to record low

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> Pharmacists are being told to dispense only one month’s worth of prescription medication and limit the purchase of some over-the-counter products starting from today. The deputy chief medical officer Paul Kelly said that there are no medicine shortages in Australia, but unprecedented demand is putting a strain on supplies. "There have been reports of people buying large quantities of these medications over the last few days," Dr Kelly said to <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-19/government-restricts-prescriptions-amid-coronavirus-panic-buying/12070682" target="_blank">The ABC</a>. "I recognise again that people are fearful about issues, particularly those that might affect their own families. "But I say again, as the Prime Minister said yesterday about panic buying, please do not buy more than you need." Pharmacists are required to put some medicines, including children’s paracetamol, behind the counter in order to tackle panic-buying. Dr Kelly called for calm in pharmacies as Australians respond to coronavirus. "It is not OK to be abusing people who are teaching our kids. It is not OK to be abusing people and being angry at people at Woolworths and Coles," he said. "It is not OK to be angry at people trying to do their best in healthcare. "This is a time for us to be working together and to be the best people we can in Australia." Calm is needed now more than ever as the Reserve Bank has just cut interest rates to a new record low of 0.25 per cent and has announced a money-printing program for the first time in its history. This is being done to prevent a recession as panicked investors continue wiping billions of dollars in value off the local stock market. In a statement, RBA governor Philip Lowe said that coronavirus was having a “very major impact on the economy and the financial system”. “The coronavirus is first and foremost a public health issue, but it is also having a very major impact on the economy and the financial system. As the virus has spread, countries have restricted the movement of people across borders and have implemented social distancing measures, including restricting movements within countries and within cities. The result has been major disruptions to economic activity across the world. This is likely to remain the case for some time yet as efforts continue to contain the virus,” he said in a statement this afternoon. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> At a meeting yesterday, the Reserve Bank Board agreed to a comprehensive package to support the Australian economy through the current challenging period - <a href="https://t.co/YYzRnpZGyO">https://t.co/YYzRnpZGyO</a> — RBA (@RBAInfo) <a href="https://twitter.com/RBAInfo/status/1240480672759889920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2020</a></blockquote> "As the virus has spread, countries have restricted the movement of people across borders and have implemented social distancing measures, including restricting movements within countries and within cities. "The result has been major disruptions to economic activity across the world. This is likely to remain the case for some time yet as efforts continue to contain the virus." Mr Lowe said that the board would not lift the cash rates until progress was being made “towards full employment” and when the RBA was confident inflation would be “sustainably within the 2 to 3 per cen target band”. </div> </div> </div>

News

“People are fed up”: Treasurer Josh Frydenberg asks ACCC to investigate banks who fail to pass on rate cuts

Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to investigate the banking sector for failing to pass on interest rate cuts to customers in full. This comes after three official rate cuts since January, meaning that the new rate is a record low of 0.75 per cent. Frydenberg has said that the big four banks, ANZ, NAB, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac have failed to pass on the rate changes in full to their customers. "It's costing someone with a $400,000 mortgage around $500 in higher interest payments than they otherwise should have to pay if these last three rate cuts were passed on in full," Frydenberg told Channel 9, according to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-14/josh-frydenberg-asks-accc-to-investigate-banking-sector/11598614">The ABC</a>. "But it's not just these last three rate cuts where the banks have failed to pass them on, it's actually what's happened previously under the Labor government, there were 14 different rate cuts and only five of them were passed on in full. "So clearly there's a structural challenge here, there's a pattern of behaviour and the Australian people are fed up." Frydenberg has said that the ACCC needs to use its “particular powers to compel documentation to lift the hood and get to the bottom of this issue”. Labor also welcomes the inquiry by the ACCC in principle, but is asking to see the details of the plan. "Labor has been calling for the ACCC to play a bigger role here," Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers told AM. "With record household debt and stagnant debt under the Liberals you can see why customers are frustrated at the banks for not passing through interest rate cuts. "The big banks are still very profitable by international standards so they shouldn't be doing the wrong thing by borrowers. "We want to make sure that those interest rate cuts can do good in the economy, that means having them passed onto consumers." ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliot welcomes the inquiry. "Despite intense competition, there is cynicism in the broader community about interest rates for home loans," he said. "We know we have not done a good job in explaining our position and we will be working hard to ensure this process delivers results." Mike Baird, chief customer officer for consumer banking at NAB agrees, saying that the inquiry is “an important opportunity to discuss the challenges of an increasingly low interest rate environment and engage in a broader discussion about how we support all our customers— both depositors and borrowers". Westpac has said it’s “too early to comment” and a spokesman for Commonwealth Bank has said that it was “currently digesting the implications”.

Money & Banking

Reserve Bank of Australia issues stern warning to homeowners

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has issued a stern warning to homeowners and mortgage holders that rising interest rates may hurt their hip pockets. RBA’s governor Philip Lowe issued the warning on Tuesday, saying that it's been eight years since the last interest rate hike and that “borrowers have never experienced a rise in official interest rates”. “Over recent times the Australian economy has been improving,’’ he said. “This is good news. “If we continue on this current improving track as we expect we will it is likely that the next move in official interest will be up, not down.” The RBA has kept the interest rate on hold at 1.5 per cent since August 2016. Mr Lowe said his advice to borrowers was to “make sure” they are in a good financial position for interest rates hike. The RBA is expected to increase interest rates in the second half of 2019, depending on inflation rates and the job market, the <a href="https://www.afr.com/markets/rba-governor-philip-lowe-tells-borrowers-to-prepare-for-rate-hikes-20180820-h148m3">Financial Review</a> reported. Mr Lowe also said homeowners should not assume the value of their homes will continue to rise. “Most of our cities have seen falls in housing prices at some point over the past decade,” he said. “While I would expect housing prices to trend higher over time as our incomes increase, there is no guarantee that your home will be worth more tomorrow than it is today. “So plan accordingly.”

Retirement Income

Australia has a new $5 note

The first in a new series of notes featuring native flora and fauna, the Reserve Bank of Australia has revealed a new design for the $5 note. <img width="500" height="268" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/18399/51_500x268.jpg" alt="51"/> <img width="500" height="268" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/18400/52_500x268.jpg" alt="52"/> The colourful new design keeps the original features of Queen Elizabeth and Parliament House but adds the Prickly Moses wattle and Eastern Spinebill bird. The note remains the same size, but has a new tactile feature to assist vision-impaired people differentiate notes and extra anti-counterfeiting measures. The new note will enter circulation in September. Related links: <a href="/news/news/2016/04/rats-of-tobruk-reunite-75-years-after-wwii-siege/">Rats of Tobruk reunite 75 years after WWII siege</a> <a href="/news/news/2016/04/senior-australian-of-the-year-freda-briggs-passes-away/">Former Senior Australian of the Year Freda Briggs passes away</a> <a href="/news/news/2016/03/2016-official-australian-olympic-team-uniform-revealed/">The official Australian Olympic team uniform revealed</a>

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Australia has a new $5 note

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“Breaking Aussies’ spirits”: Karl rips into Reserve Bank

RBA announces major interest rate rise

RBA boss' blunt suggestion for struggling renters

RBA increases interest rates again

Is it legal for businesses to accept only cash?

Government places restrictions on prescription meds while cash rate is cut to record low

“People are fed up”: Treasurer Josh Frydenberg asks ACCC to investigate banks who fail to pass on rate cuts

Reserve Bank of Australia issues stern warning to homeowners

Australia has a new $5 note

Australia has a new $5 note

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