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18 Oct The Latest on the US Trade Deficit as We Head to the US Mid-term Elections 17 Oct Has Australia's Jobs Market Taken a Turn? What Does This Mean for Interest Rates? 16 Oct Credit card surcharge ban: 7% of surveyed businesses consider refusing credit cards

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US Trade Deficit

The Latest on the US Trade Deficit as We Head to the US Mid-term Elections

The US trade deficit increased 13.7% in August as imports reached record levels. Yet the cumulative deficit for 2026 is nearly 20% smaller than last year. What does this mean for Trump's tariff policies ahead of the midterms?

Labour Market

Has Australia's Jobs Market Taken a Turn? What Does This Mean for Interest Rates?

Australian employment dropped sharply in September, but trend figures tell a more complicated story. With inflation still elevated, the RBA faces an increasingly difficult interest rate decision.

Card Surcharges

Credit card surcharge ban: 7% of surveyed businesses consider refusing credit cards

A Queensland business survey finds 7% considering abandoning credit-card payments. The ATO has already encountered the same cost problem. What happens next?

US Consumer Spending

Americans Are Spending More — But Their Incomes Are Stagnant

America's consumers are spending faster than their real incomes are growing. The latest BEA figures reveal a sharp reduction in household saving, raising questions about the sustainability of US economic growth.

Cyclone Reinsurance Pool Australia

Explainer: Australia's cyclone insurance pool — cheaper premiums, but who bears the risk?

Australia's cyclone reinsurance pool now protects approximately 3.2 million buildings, with cumulative claims reaching $1.65 billion. It is helping to reduce insurance premiums in cyclone-prone regions. But the scheme raises an important economic question: is Australia reducing cyclone risk, or simply changing who pays for

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Consumer Confidence

Did the RBA's rate rise shock Australian consumers?

Consumer sentiment was 86.9 before the RBA's September rate decision and just 67.2 afterwards. What does this mean for spending and economic growth?

AES Payment Terminal Upgrade

Why Australia may need to upgrade one million payment terminals

Around 970,000 payment terminals and 25,000 ATMs may need upgrading as Australia replaces its ageing TDES encryption with the stronger AES standard. Here's what the technology actually does — and why quantum computing raises the stakes.

Operational Risk

The next financial crisis could start with a technology outage

Australia's banks can hold ample capital and liquidity and still face serious stress if the infrastructure connecting them stops working. The RBA says operational risk is becoming a financial-stability risk.

The AI investment boom is becoming a financial stability issue

AI investment could reach trillions of dollars by 2030, and companies are increasingly turning to bonds, banks and private credit to fund it. The RBA says that is creating a new set of financial-system risks.

Australian Superannuation Financial Stability

Australia's $4.8 trillion super system has become financial infrastructure

Australian superannuation assets have reached almost $4.8 trillion — around one-third of the financial system. The RBA says super has historically stabilised markets, but its growing size and ageing membership create new financial-stability risks.

RBA

Will the RBA regulate the role of AI in making payments?

Artificial intelligence may soon do more than recommend what you buy. It could make the payment as well. This emerging system is called agentic commerce. A consumer could tell an AI agent to find the cheapest flight to Melbourne, choose an acceptable departure time and complete the purchase — without the

Private Credit

Private credit is growing rapidly. Why isn't the RBA worried about a financial crisis?

Private credit now provides around 10% of Australian business debt, yet represents less than 2% of financial-system assets. The RBA says that helps explain why investor losses need not become a banking crisis.

Inflation

US inflation is easing. Australia has the harder problem

Inflation remains above target in both the US and Australia, but America's underlying numbers have improved considerably more. The problem for both central banks is that labour markets are now weakening at the same time.

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