ABC Business Daily

Justin Wolfers has spent 25 years in the United States watching the world’s biggest economy from close range - and from the useful distance of an Australian accent that still cuts through the absurdity. A former Reserve Bank economist and now Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Michigan, Wolfers has become one of America’s sharpest economic communicators. He joins Alan Ko...

Telstra’s outage has caused dismay and anger across the country. And as problems continue into a second day, questions are being asked about whether further regulations are needed.  So what are the business costs of this chaos? And what could the impact be for Telstra’s bottom line? And the latest rental data confirms a troubling tale for those looking for somewhere to live. While the property con...

The Telstra outage has caused disruption across the country - and highlighted just how dependent businesses and households have become on systems that are meant to work, seamlessly and constantly. At the same time, AI is spreading fast through workplaces and the economy, promising productivity gains while raising harder questions about reliability, regulation, and the future of jobs.  Carrington C...

A multi-billion-dollar broadcast deal is in the works for the NRL - and if it goes through (as it's expected to), it would become the biggest media rights deal in Australian history. So what does the sheer amount of money on the table say about the state of Australia’s media industry? And with Nine, Foxtel and Stan all in the mix, who is actually going to foot the bill? Carrington Clarke and ABC C...

With the financial year officially over, it's time to take stock of the Australian stock exchange, which saw a record number of Exchange Traded Funds added to its board last year. So what explains this spike in ETFs on the ASX? And who is actually utilising them? And while the value of Australian stocks did increase last financial year, the ASX lags far behind the gains of other global indexes.  ...

With the 50 per cent fuel excise cut now over, it's a good time to take stock of where the energy crisis stands - from the price of Brent crude, to the still-fragile movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz. So how do things now compare with where they were before the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February? Has the disruption in Hormuz permanently reshaped other critical shipping routes...

The war between Iran, the US and Israel has forced the world to confront just how fragile energy supply still is. Even with a memorandum of understanding now in place, the Strait of Hormuz remains a live fault line - and the shock has again exposed how quickly fuel security can become an economic and political question. Matt Halliday runs Ampol, one of Australia’s biggest fuel retailers and the ow...

We've heard a lot about negative gearing and investment properties recently, so if you own property, what will the changes mean for you? In this episode Carrington Clarke and Emily Stewart get into the nitty-gritty of the new rules for investment properties: from indexation to negative gearing, grandfathering to offsetting. Listen in to hear what these changes mean for new build dwellings or the h...

Fresh financial disclosure documents gave the world a window into just how much money United States president Donald Trump has made during his first year back in the White House. And the numbers might shock you. Is it right for a leader to be making such serious cash while in office - particularly when some of those riches came from Trump's controversial meme coin, despite a lot of private investo...

Do you own shares or ETFs? The proposed CGT changes could affect your investments. In this episode Carrington Clarke and Emily Stewart explain CGT tax changes in store for Australians who own EFTs and direct shares. Listen in to hear how the system used to work, how the new system is set up, and when the switchover will go into effect.  Be sure to check out Emily's ABC Newsletter, Your Money Expla...

The monthly property data we've been waiting for is here. And the numbers tell us that national property prices are, in fact, falling.  Meanwhile, rents are rising at an extraordinary clip - what part does this play in the affordability picture? And in the wake of a wave of scandals at the big four consulting firms, the government has proposed potential regulations to respond to an industry occupi...

You might have heard about the new $1,000 tax deduction for work-related expenses... but how will it actually work? In this episode of Tax Week with ABC Business Daily, Carrington Clarke and Emily Stewart unpack everything you need to know about the new $1,000 dollar work-related tax deduction: what it is, what it isn't, and who it makes sense for.  Be sure to check out Emily's ABC Newsletter, You...

Tech titans are spending trillions of dollars as they compete to be crowned winner of the ongoing artificial intelligence race.   But this raises a fundamental economic question: is the expenditure actually going to be worth the prize? And will there be anything left over for those who come runner up? You can read Ian's AI analysis here .   Be sure to catch our bonus tax-week episode here - a what...

Not sure what to do with all those tax receipts? How will the new $1000 tax deduction actually work? And what about changes to negative gearing and the CGT discount?  Welcome to Tax Week with ABC Business Daily, a special bonus series hosted by Carrington Clarke and ABC finance reporter Emily Stewart, aka ‘Sensible Emily’, editor of the Your Money Explained newsletter.   In this episode Carrington...

American drivers will have one less electric vehicle maker to choose from, with the news that EV company Polestar has been banned from selling in the US. So why is the Swedish brand seemingly paying the price for its Chinese tech? And what questions does this raise for a booming Australian EV market - packed with Chinese cars?   Meanwhile here at home, a long-time-coming piece of legislation that...

The US struck Iran over the weekend following Iran’s drone attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz late last week. Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s national security commission, responded to US President Donald Trump on social media saying, “the Strait of Hormuz is governed by Iran, so: Respect the rules” and do “not mistake control for escalation.” Iran is effectively contro...

4DMedical has become one of the most closely watched healthcare companies on the ASX this year, as investors and hospitals alike pay attention to an Australian technology company trying to change how lung disease is detected and treated. Andreas Fouras is the mechanical engineer behind it. He took technology originally developed to study airflow in wind tunnels and adapted it to measure airflow an...

It's been a big week for economic data - with fresh jobs numbers in from the ABS, showing that employment increased in May. But how do these numbers relate to the bigger economic picture in light of yesterday’s CPI data and the RBA's July decision? And while the data says that some Aussies are starting jobs, another media shake-up appears to be brewing. What do you need to know about media reports...

The latest CPI numbers showed headline inflation easing thanks in part to falls in fuel prices. But the trimmed  figure - which helps to measure underlying inflation came in hotter than the previous month. So where does this leave the RBA on the question of  'where to next' on interest rates? Meanwhile - there’s been a budget deal with Labor and the Greens. What do you need to know about it?  And...

Today brings tales of Australian business turmoil.  After criticism and pressure, more heads are rolling at KPMG, while one-time tech darling, WiseTech Global, saw its share price pummelled yesterday - hitting a 5 year low following reporting surrounding founder Richard White. And while this unfolds at home - is SpaceX shaking up business as usual on the stock market internationally? Carrington Cl...

Fresh data from Cotality shows that property sales continue to slow with a drop in auction clearance rates while the rental market remains hot. Meanwhile a new report into Australia’s tax system says young people are carrying more than their fair share of the load. And did Friday’s senate inquiry into KPMG mark a major milestone in holding the professional services firm to account?  Carrington Cla...

The fighting may have eased, but the picture in the Strait of Hormuz is still murky - with conflicting claims about whether oil is really moving through one of the world’s most critical shipping routes. At the same time, the federal government has extended the fuel excise cut, but at a smaller discount. So what does that say about fuel security, petrol prices, and how worried Canberra still is? Ca...

Voice AI is one of the clearest fronts in the fight over what artificial intelligence will actually do to human work. Not in theory, and not eventually - but right now, in one of the most routine, repetitive and heavily staffed parts of the economy: the call centre. Will Bodewes is the Melbourne graduate behind Phonely.ai, a now San Francisco-based startup building voice agents for businesses that...

There's a lot of heated debate about Australia's immigration program. And so when a new report on the economic outcomes of skilled worker visa holders hit host Carrington Clarke's inbox - he was eager to find out more. Today on the podcast, Carrington is in conversation with Dr. Peter Varela,  research fellow at the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute at the Australian National University - one of t...

The RBA’s decision to leave rates on hold might have triggered a collective sigh of relief from Australia’s mortgage holders, but there was a clear warning from RBA governor Michelle Bullock that the board stands ready to hike further if necessary. And after months of negotiation, ARN Media has reached a settlement with its former radio star Kyle Sandilands. While Sandilands gets a multimillion-do...