What we learned: Wednesday 31 July
That’s where we’ll leave the blog for today. Here is a recap of the main news:
Australia’s inflation rose as expected in the June quarter, to 3.8%, stoking hopes an RBA rate rise can be avoided.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, warned that inflation was “sticky and stubborn” in his reaction to the CPI figures.
The transport minister, Catherine King, said long-term solution needed for regional aviation, not ‘throwing money at the problem.’
Meanwhile, Chalmers said there have been “discussions” with Rex regarding a pathway forward for the airline.
Sam Freeman, one of the administrators brought in for Rex Airlines, said the decision to stop flights between capital cities was a permanent one.
A woman was bitten by a shark on an island off the coast of Western Australia, about 80km west of Geraldton.
NSW police have launched an internal investigation after the video of a shark attack, in which 23-year-old Kai McKenzie lost his leg, was reportedly leaked online.
The Albanese government will focus on improving job pathways for Australians with disabilities as part of a broad $371m package committed to improving lives after years of harrowing stories emerging from a royal commission.
Journalists from the Sydney Morning Herald, the Age, the Australian Financial Review, the Brisbane Times and WAtoday are gathering outside Nine Entertainment’s offices across the country after a five-day strike ended at 11am today.
The legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Melbourne saw another rise in cases, with 40 confirmed and 6 suspected cases notified since Friday afternoon, mostly in adults aged over 40.
The coalition accused the federal government of delivering a “school funding war” instead of an agreement after it released the document outlining the next 10 years of reform for the education sector.
The federal government is promising to change the law to force banks to compensate Australian customers who are tricked into transferring money to scammers, accusing them of doing too little to prevent people from being duped out of more than $2bn every year.
The aurora australis was observed in southern areas of the country overnight, including parts of Tasmania and Melbourne.
Australians are being urged to get regular tests for sexually transmitted infections amid warnings of a significant rise in cases across the country from the peak body for pathologists.
A number of weather warnings were issued for the New South Wales coast today, as a low pressure system in the southern Tasman Sea is generating large swells.
Indigenous artefacts held in a Canadian museum will return to Queensland communities in a historic move towards healing.
Updated
UBS ditches RBA August rate rise call in wake of inflation figures
In case you missed it earlier, the June quarter inflation figures were much as the Reserve Bank (and economists) expected, landing at 3.8% compared with a year earlier.
Investors who had dough on the line responded by slicing the value of the Australian dollar by about half a US cent to under 65 US cents. They were betting that the RBA wouldn’t lift its cash rate next month (and so the dollar was less attractive to hold).
Similarly, stocks jumped on anticipation that company earnings won’t be slugged with higher borrowing costs. The inflation figures weren’t the only bits of news around, but much of the day’s 1.75% jump in the ASX 200 share index reflected the inflation outcome.
Interestingly, all of the big four banks saw their shares rise, including about 2.5% for Westpac, while CBA reached a record close at $137.49 (up 1.1% for the day). Debt arrears and bankruptcies are typically made worse by interest rate rises, so all the better if there aren’t any more.
None of the big four banks expect another RBA rate rise but predictions for the timing of the first cut range from November (Westpac and CBA) to February (ANZ) and May (NAB). We’ll see if that changes after Tuesday’s RBA board decision.
Investment bank UBS had been among the hawks, predicting an August RBA rate rise. After today’s CPI figures, though, they’ve ditched that call. They are among the more pessimistic, though, when it comes to the timing of a rate. UBS doesn’t expect that to come until August 2025.
Updated
