Retailers continue to navigate a challenging environment in 2023 as the full impact of cost-of-living pressures and interest rate rises on consumer spending continues to unfold.
‘Mortgage stress’ has increased to its highest for 15 years since August 2008 with 29.2% of mortgage holders now ‘At Risk’ according to the Roy Morgan Mortgage Stress Indicator. The number of Australians ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has increased by 642,000 over the last year as the RBA delivered twelve interest rate rises.
In addition, Consumer Confidence remains at record lows thanks in part to ongoing uncertainty around when the interest rate rise cycle will end. At 78.7, the ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence weekly index has now spent 27 straight weeks below 80 – the longest period under 80 since the Index was first tracked weekly in 2008.
A fall in retail volumes and month-on-month sp.....
Describing the H-1B visa programme as a form of ‘indentured servitude, Indian-American Republican presidential aspirant Vivek Ramaswamy has vowed to gut the lottery-based system and replace it with meritocratic admission if he wins the race to the White House in 2024.
The H-1B visa, much sought-after among Indian IT professionals, is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.
Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
Ramaswamy himself has used the H-1B visa programme 29 times.
From 2018 through 2023, US Citizenship and Immigration Services approved 29 applications for Ramaswamy’s former company, Roivant Sciences, to hire employees under H-1B visas, Politico reported.
“Yet, the H-1B system.....
The Albanese Labor Government’s landmark legislation to deliver the single biggest investment in affordable and social housing in more than a decade has passed the Parliament.
The $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund will now be established, creating a secure, ongoing pipeline of funding for social and affordable rental housing.
This will be life changing legislation that will help generations of Australians.
The passage of this legislation delivers on the commitment the Albanese Government made to the Australian people before the election.
The Housing Australia Future Fund will help deliver the Government’s commitment of 30,000 new social and affordable rental homes in the fund’s first five years.
This includes 4,000 homes for women and children impacted by family and domestic violence and older women at risk of homelessness.
The Fund will also deliver the G.....
The Albanese Government is set to deliver the single biggest investment in social and affordable housing in more than a decade, with welcome new support today for the Housing Australia Future Fund meaning the legislation is set to pass the Senate later this week.
The passage of this legislation, along with the commitments made at last month’s National Cabinet, represents the most significant reforms to housing in a generation.
Delivering the Housing Australia Future Fund will ensure more Australians have a safe and affordable place to call home.
The $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund will create a secure, ongoing pipeline of funding for social and affordable rental housing, fulfilling the commitment the Government made to the Australian people.
In addition, today the Government confirms an additional $1 billion will be invested in the National Housing Infrastructure .....
September 7, 2023: The United Nations considers requests from countries to change their names as and when the world body receives them, a top UN official has said, amid a row over President Droupadi Murmu’s G20 dinner invites referring to her as 'President of Bharat' instead of 'President of India'.
Deputy Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Farhan Haq, on Wednesday cited the example of Turkey changing its name to Turkiye last year.
“Well, in the case of Turkiye, we responded to a formal request delivered to us by the Government. Obviously, if we get requests like that, we consider them as they come,” he said in response to a question on reports that India’s name could be changed to Bharat.
A row erupted in India on Tuesday after invitations for a G20 dinner were sent out by President Murmu, describing her position as 'President of Bharat' instead of .....
New Delhi, September 7: Asserting that India's G20 presidency became a people-driven movement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said its leadership of the bloc has striven to bridge divides, dismantle barriers and sow seeds of collaboration that nourish a world where unity prevails over discord and shared destiny eclipses isolation.
"As the G20 president, we had pledged to make the global table larger, ensuring that every voice is heard and every country contributes. I am positive that we have matched our pledge with actions and outcomes," Modi said in an article which appeared in several newspapers on Thursday.
He noted that the Voice of Global South Summit, which witnessed participation from 125 countries, was one of the foremost initiatives under India's presidency. He said, "Our presidency has not only seen the largest-ever participation from African countries but has also pu.....
Inflation in Australia has passed its peak, but at 7 per cent is still too high and it will be some time yet before it is back in the target range. This further increase in interest rates is to provide greater confidence that inflation will return to target within a reasonable timeframe.
The annual inflation rate in Australia dropped to 7.0% in Q1 of 2023 from an over-30-year high of 7.8% in the previous period, compared with market forecasts of 6.9%. It was the lowest print since Q2 of 2022, with food prices rising the least in 3 quarters. Furthermore, cost slowed for transport (4.3% vs 8.0%), housing (9.8% vs 10.7%), furnishings (6.7% vs 8.4%), and recreation (8.6% vs 9.0%). Inflation was stable for alcohol & tobacco (at 4.4%), while prices accelerated for health (5.3% vs 3.8%) and insurance & financial services (6.5% vs 5.0%).
High inflation makes life difficult for people and .....
Several Delhi University students who opted for Tamil and Telugu as their non-major subjects in BA programmes last year are reapplying for the Common University Entrance Test-UG (CUET-UG) fearing that they will fail the language exam due to its “advanced” syllabi.
The students have been given the choice to study different languages as per the New Education Policy (NEP).
The first-year students, also the first batch to be admitted to the varsity through CUET, said they were under the impression that they will be taught the basics of the languages but their syllabi are that of advanced level.
The university in its reply to the students said they should have seen the syllabus first, adding, “We cannot do anything as they have chosen the combination.” Students who opted for BA programmes (Pol Science+Tamil) and (Pol Science+Telugu) at Sri Venkateswara College have asked the .....
India is Australia’s fastest recovering international tourism market. It is currently our second largest market after New Zealand.
Despite international borders being closed until February, 303,000 Indian short-term visitors still arrived in Australia in 2022. This was 76% of the corresponding pre-COVID figure (Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2023, Overseas Arrivals and Departures, released 16 February 2023). Total visitor spend for the year to September 2022 recovered to $1.3 billion, 74% of pre-pandemic levels. (Source: Tourism Research Australia, International Visitor Survey, Year ending September 2022).
Australian airlines are also strengthening ties with India. Qantas now offers direct routes to Bengaluru and Delhi. A codeshare arrangement with Indian domestic operator IndiGo connects travellers to many more Indian destinations.
Since 2019, the Australian Tourism.....
Australian farmers and food producers will have an expanded footprint and access to more customers in Asia thanks to a major export deal facilitated by Austrade between Coles and Thai retailer, Central Food Retail.
Coles will provide the supermarket chain more than 200 products from its Coles Own Brand range, with more than 98 per cent of the offering either Australian-made or with Australian ingredients. The deal means more Australian farmers, agri-food and beverage producers now have the opportunity to supply their goods to a dynamic and desirable market.
Australian Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner in Bangkok, Mr Michael Helleman said he was thrilled that the Thai people, Australian tourists, travellers and expats longing for a taste of home will have access to Australian-made food and drinks – as well as giving a boost for farmers back home.
“Australia has a hard-.....
The Albanese government announced from 1 July 2025 a 30% concessional tax rate will be applied to future earnings for superannuation balances above $3 million.
This change announced today means 99.5 per cent of Australians with superannuation accounts will continue to receive the same generous tax breaks, and the 0.5 per cent of people with balances above $3 million will receive less generous tax breaks.
Currently, earnings from superannuation in the accumulation phase are taxed at a concessional rate of up to 15 per cent. This will continue for all superannuation accounts with balances below $3 million.
From 2025‑26, the concessional tax rate applied to future earnings for balances above $3 million will be 30 per cent.
This is expected to apply to around 80,000 people, and they will continue to benefit from more generous tax breaks on earnings from the $3 million below th.....
Union Budget 2023 Key Highlights: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2023-24 on February 1 which had a greater emphasis on the rural sector, social sector schemes, infrastructure creation, and the middle class.
The Budget for 2023-24 kept its focus on expanding Capex showing that the Modi government's priorities are building roads, highways, and railway lines. The middle class has been given some relief in terms of tweaks in the new income tax regime clearly pointing out that the government wants a shift towards the new regime from the older one. The FM stuck to the fiscal deficit roadmap in the Budget with a target of 5.9% in FY 24 and adhering to the target for the current year. This is a positive considering a bloated deficit will have caused worries about finding the gap.
“This is the first budget in Amrit kaal, it hopes to build on the foundation .....