Business Update – 21 February 2024

20/02/2024 | Love Your Numbers

Getting caught up on a week that got away? Here’s your Weekly Digest of some stories relevant to business and the economy.

Big reason interest rates will be cut – and soon

Rate cuts aren’t forecast until December 2024 but this prediction doesn’t tell the full story of what’s happening in Australia.

Australia’s economy likely to slow until stage-three tax cuts, lower interest rates and easing inflation kick in, CBA says

Australia’s economy is likely to slow until about the middle of 2024 until a combination of tax cuts, interest rate cuts and easing inflation begin to lift spending, according to Commonwealth Bank’s chief economist.

Australia’s unemployment rate hits two-year high of 4.1% as higher interest rates bite

Australia’s jobless rate jumped to a two-year high in January as employers barely added any jobs and more people started to look for work. The result, which is slightly above economists’ expectations, follows months of volatile labour market figures.

The outlook for inflation and employment

Reserve Bank of Australia’s Head of Economic Analysis Department, Marin Kohler, discussed the economic outlook in a recent speech.

Emissions measures would be first to face chop if economy weakens, say business

Nearly half of Australian businesses expect to reduce investment in cutting greenhouse gas emissions if economic conditions get worse, a survey shows.

Slowing business activity means Aussies will find it harder to land a job in coming months

Economists say the employment market has turned and it’s going to be harder to land a job during the next six months as the economy slows.

Super fees are not coming down like they were supposed to

The biggest industry superannuation funds are spending nearly 20 per cent more on administration costs than they were three years ago, dashing hopes that rapid growth and industry mergers would result in efficiencies that would be passed on to customers as lower fees.

Why the beloved beetroot is missing from your supermarket shelves

Australia is grappling with a beetroot shortage, leaving supermarket shelves bare and consumers struggling to find the beloved vegetable. The shortage started a year ago when Cyclone Gabrielle hit Golden Circle’s beetroot farms in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, a key supplier to Australia.

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