The top 10 tips to boost your household budget
In this week's episode of It All Adds Up the team shares their top finance tips.
The Economy
Private equity giant's each-way bet on Aussie house prices
You don't buy a company with $7 billion or so of loans on the balance sheet if you think they're about to bite the dust. The deal suggests a view that Australia's economy is stronger than many outsiders recognise. But it's safe to hedge your bet.
Anaemic wage growth sends consumer mood to 16-month low
A measure of Australian consumer sentiment slipped to its lowest in more than a year in August as worries over family finances swamped increasing optimism about the economic outlook.
Business conditions best in a decade
Business conditions have reached their highest level in a decade while consumer confidence stagnates.
Australia a 'soft touch' for foreign bribery
Australia needs tougher laws to tackle foreign bribery and company directors should be held responsible for serious corporate crime, a federal inquiry has heard.
Job ads climb for fifth month to highest since 2011
Recent data points to jobs growth of 15,000 to 20,000 a month in the near term, ANZ's David Plank says.
Crisis in high school economics a threat to national wellbeing
Since 1992, the number of Year 12 students taking economics has declined by almost 70 per cent, from 40,000 to closer to 10,000.
Our IT systems aren't bound by commercial service standards, says ATO
The Australian Taxation Office said in its own report into the IT outage debacle that it is not bound by the same service standards as commercial organisations are when it comes to assessing its liability for repeated system crashes.
The six charts that prove why workers are feeling the pinch
Australians love to whinge about the cost of living. But they might finally have a point, writes Jessica Irvine.
Jobs being taken by robots? Where's your evidence
One problem to remember before we work ourselves into a complete tizz over the War on Wages.
RBA sees jobless rate edging lower, gradual wage growth
The RBA has cut its economic growth forecasts by half a percentage point for the rest of this year.
Some ethnic groups 'predisposed' to deal in cash: taskforce
Barring refugees awaiting decisions on their status from working increases the propensity for illegal cash economy activity, a government taskforce says.
The three things driving up electricity prices
Few subjects stir consumer passions like rising electricity bills. With power prices more than doubling after inflation over the past 10 years, that's hardly surprising.
Taskforce pushes for no more cash wages
Australians would no longer be able to receive wages in cash, and industries classified as being at "high risk" of illegally taking secret cash-in-hand payments including cafes and restaurants could be subject to a minimum rate of tax, which they could then claim a refund on if they can prove to the tax man that they should be paying a lower rate.
Building approvals jump 10.9 per cent in June
Approvals for the construction of new homes bounced 10.9 per cent in June, giving little indication the housing market is cooling.
RBA holds rates at record low 1.5%
The Reserve Bank has kept its cash rate on hold for the eleventh consecutive month, providing little indication of when it will allow rates to rise.
Home prices jump anew in July, testing regulators
Home prices in Australia's major cities rose strongly in July, putting a question mark over regulators' attempts to cool the market.
Labor's 'war on the rich' is firing blanks
Labor's policy in effect entrenches discretionary trusts as the vehicle of choice for the fortunate wealthy.
Australia's rates aren't as stimulatory as RBA thinks
For Australian central bank watchers, it seems no one is neutral on where neutral actually is.
Last charge of the rate-rise brigade
Do you realise the Reserve Bank board hasn't changed Australia's official interest rate from 1.5 per cent for almost a year? But that hasn't stopped people in the financial markets from speculating furiously about whether rates are about to go down – or go up.
The 10 jobs that claim the most tax deductions in Australia
Real estate agents and lawyers topped the league table, claiming $8634 and $7156 respectively.
Five myths about the housing market busted
In this week's episode of the Fairfax Media podcast "It All Adds Up", the team, Jessica Irvine, Matt Wade and Ross Gittins, respond to listener questions and bust these five myths about Australia's housing market.
RBA governor signals ignorance of the real world
If you were searching for reasons for stubbornly low wages growth, you'd think executive incentives and the decline of unionism would rate a mention.
Egg on faces as forecasters flunk on inflation
Only one of 24 forecasters surveyed ahead of this inflation result expected anything as low as 0.2%.
No rate rise on the cards as inflation disappoints
Inflation has come in well short of expectations, dampening talk of an an imminent increase in official interest rates.
RBA chief contradicts government on growing inequality
Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe has attempted to hose down talk of a hike in interest rates, saying Australia won't be blindly following central banks overseas.
'So cheap' - how fresh fruit is dragging on the economy
Sigrun Klatte is juggling a three kilogram bag of oranges under one arm and her son Caspar under the other.
The reality is the RBA has nowhere to move
For all those punters panicking about the prospects of an interest rate increase, the latest inflation data should allow them the opportunity to chill.
Bottom of the cliff? Investment boom is over
The completion of a series of huge gas facilities around the country is pulling back the value of major projects on the horizon, a study from Deloitte Access Economics has found.
Taking on family trusts a brave decision, Opposition Leader
The size and wealth of the beast means Bill Shorten could find himself facing a battle that would make the anti-mining tax fight look mild.
Small Business
Cashing in on the mummy market
Meet the women building empires in the fitness and wellness space designed for Australian mothers.
Meet the creative start-up kings
Five tips for emerging creative enterprises.