Home
Search
thewest.com.au‌‌
BusinessChevron Right Icon

Economy

Mark Walthaus and Rachel Dohnt have been confronted with just how much of a long slog homeownership will be. 

EconomyVideoPremiumInterest rate hike threatens to lock families out of Perth

Mounting financial pressure on families in Perth has only intensified with the fourth interest rate hike of the year causing more challenging circumstances by the day.

Brooke Rolfe

Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock addresses the media following the announcement that the RBA will increase interest rates to 4.6 per cent.

opinion
opinion
EditorialVideoPremium
opinion
Broken model delivers economic pain for borrowers

Like a headmaster caning a schoolboy for something he did not do, the Reserve Bank of Australia has hammered home loan borrowers again by taking the cash rate to a 15-year high of 4.6 per cent.

Executive search managers from a Sydney-based firm are on the case for ICWA yet again. Here’s hoping the new recruit sticks around.

Herd on the TerracePremiumHeadhunters back on the tools for key WA Government post

After a surprise defection just a year in, the experts at Derwent Search are back on the case for the WA Government. Plus: Michele Bullock’s awkward economic assessment

Michele Bullock says a tight jobs market pressures business costs, eventually increasing prices.

RBAPremiumRBA’s Bullock tells business to ‘step up’ on productivity

Michele Bullock has told Australian businesses to lift productivity or risk weaker real wage growth, as the RBA raises rates again and cost pressures threaten investment, hiring and prices.

Ryan Johnson

Not Supplied

WORLD ECONOMYPremiumTrade chief to ‘defend’ Australia in $78 trillion talks

Australia’s trade chief faces his toughest diplomatic test yet, as he heads to G20 talks to challenge a 12.5 per cent tariff threatening Aussie exporters.

Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer

Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock addresses the media following the announcement that the RBA will increase interest rates to 4.6 per cent.

opinion
opinion
Analysis
opinion
RBA has dropped the ball over Middle East war’s deep impact

AARON PATRICK: The RBA are meant to be the adults in the room when it comes to running the economy, which is why Tuesday’s interest-rate-rise press conference by governor Michele Bullock was deeply worrying. 

Aaron Patrick

Not Supplied

MARKET WRAPPremiumASX up despite 15-year high interest rates

The Australian sharemarket has risen despite interest rates being hiked to a 15-year high.

Blair Jackson

Not Supplied

updatedPremiumFirst major lender passes on rate hike

The Reserve Bank of Australia has officially lifted the cash rate to its highest point since 2011. Here is what it means for mortgage holders.

Cameron Micallef, Paige Fryer

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been criticised for not reining in government spending to help the fight against inflation. NewsWire/ Tertius Pickard

LIVEPremiumRBA figure not seen in Australia in 15 years

The Reserve Bank of Australia has made a critical cash rate call, as higher than expected inflation forces the central bank’s hand.

Cameron Micallef, Joanne Williamson, Blair Jackson

Homeowners have been dealt another blow after the RBA hiked rates to a 15-year high.

RBABullock warns of recession risk following fourth RBA hike

Homeowners will bear the brunt of the Reserve Bank’s fight against inflation as it hits mortgage holders with a fourth rate hike this year.

Stephen Johnson

Reserve Bank board member Melinda Cilento

RBAPremiumNew RBA board member disagrees with Michele Bullock

A new Reserve Bank monetary policy board member has expressed a disagreement with Governor Michele Bullock on a key development in Australia.

Stephen Johnson

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Australia is in talks with US about President Donald Trump’s diesel threat. NewsWire / Handout / Prime Minister’s Office

PoliticsPremiumAustralia in talks with US amid Trump diesel threat

Anthony Albanese has broken his silence on Donald Trump’s latest threat that even his own energy secretary says “definitely doesn’t work” long term.

Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer

Households shelled out more at the bowser after fuel excise was fully restored from August 3, even though experimental Australian Bureau of Statistics figures suggest they bought less fuel.

updated
updated
EconomyPremium
updated
‘Cracks show’ as households trim extras while fuel jumps

Australians hit the brakes on discretionary spending in August, with an 8.1 per cent jump in fuel costs keeping overall household spending from going backwards.

Ryan Johnson

Not Supplied

BREAKINGPremiumAussie household budgets just hit the wall

Australian household spending has flatlined in August, but it would have fallen if it wasn’t for a key cost rising.

Cameron Micallef

Homeowners are again facing rising interest rates.

RBARBA RECAP: Bullock concedes war has ‘made us all poorer’

Australian households have been hit with a fourth interest rate hike, adding further pressure to budgets already buckling under the strain of sky-high fuel prices.

Daniel Newell

Not Supplied

ECONOMYPremiumTreasurer warns Iran war ‘turbocharged’ inflation after rates rise

The Treasurer has bemoaned the Iran war following another rates rise, as Pauline Hanson and the Coalition blame spending.

Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer and Nathan Schmidt

Mortgage holders are bracing for another blow with an expected interest rate rise on the horizon. (Susie Dodds/AAP PHOTOS)

BusinessPremium‘That’s a fact’: Chalmers points the finger as rates set to rise

The Treasurer says the Federal Government is not to blame for inflation, which will likely give way to the highest interest rates in well over a decade.

Lucinda Garbutt-Young and Jacob Shteyman

Not Supplied

FINANCEPremiumMillions of Aussies face $6.5k blow

Mortgage holders could have to stretch their wallets even further, as markets predict the RBA has no option but to rapidly lift rates on Tuesday.

Paige Fryer

Not Supplied

MARKET WRAPPremiumASX defies rate hike fears to edge higher

Rising oil prices, a potential rate hike and falling miners could not stop the Australian sharemarket from closing in the green on Monday.

Cameron Micallef

Oil prices could jump back above $US150 a barrel should the US and Iran war continue. NewsWire / Christian Gilles

COST OF LIVINGPremium‘Unacceptable’: Oil prices surge on Trump move

Aussie motorists have been warned they could face sky-high petrol prices within weeks as global oil inventories rapidly deplete amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict.

Cameron Micallef

RBA governor Michele Bullock.

opinion
opinion
Your Money
opinion
The brutal truth on why rates will just keep on rising

The RBA is at pains to say each time the cash rate is increased to fight inflation that rising costs hurt everyone. What’s not acknowledged is that the pain isn’t proportional. And households aren’t to blame.

Daniel Newell

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says there will still be a role for backpackers. NewsWire / Hilary Wardhaugh

NewsPremium‘At sea’: Treasurer lashes ON amid pleas

Treasurer Jim Chalmers claims Barnaby Joyce is “all at sea” on questions on migration as farmers raise fears about worker shortages.

Nathan Schmidt

Not Supplied

UPDATEDPremium‘Universal’: Chalmers braces for rate hike fate

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has made a telling confession on the eve of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s interest rate decision.

Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer

The final budget outcome for 2025-26 shows the deficit is ‘billions of dollars smaller than forecast’. NewsWire / Martin Ollman

UPDATEDPremium‘Higher taxes’: Chalmers takes swipe at Costello on tax record

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has faced Opposition accusations of “clawing more out of Australians” after the budget deficit came in $6bn better than expected.

Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer and Nathan Schmidt