Australian shares fall as volatility tipped to continue
Near noon on Friday the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 44.9 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 8,665.5, while the broader All Ordinaries had dipped by 44.5 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 8,934.5.
Overseas, the US market lifted after Google's parent company Alphabet spurred the technology sector, securing a $1.5 billion deal with software firm ServiceNow.
Tesla shares fell 8.2 per cent after its profit report disappointed, while US President Donald Trump denied on social media that he was seeking to destroy Elon Musk's companies.
In Australia, nine of the ASX's 11 sectors were down near midday, lifted only by energy climbing 1.17 per cent and with health care almost flat at 0.04 per cent.
With a few hours of trading left, the ASX200 was on track to fall 1.1 per cent for the week after breaking records multiple times the previous week.
Volatility in the local market looks set to persist as traders eye upcoming inflation data, and the local earnings season, Moomoo dealing manager Paco Chow said.
"Macro swings and stock-specific shocks are driving sharp moves across the region," he said on Friday.
"Heading into today's session, expect Asia to take its cues from Tesla's drama, US tech euphoria, and fresh energy headlines, such as China's mega dam plans."
The big four banks continued losing ground with CBA dropping 1.12 per cent, NAB shedding 1.21 per cent, Westpac down 1.29 per cent and ANZ losing 0.92 per cent.
For the week the financial sector was on pace to drop 4.2 per cent, which would be its worst week since a 4.6 per cent loss in early March.
Miners also disappointed with BHP losing 1.71 per cent, Fortescue dropping 3.05 per cent and Rio Tinto subtracting 1.28 per cent.
Goldminers slipped with the exception of producer Newmont, which rose 3.17 per cent after reporting a quarterly adjusted net income of more than $2.4 billion.
Energy was in the green after Woodside rose 2.45 per cent and Santos edged 0.5 per cent higher.
KMD Brands rose 6.52 per cent after Qantas executive Carla Webb-Sear was appointed the Kathmandu and Rip Curl parent company's chief financial officer.
The Australian dollar was buying 65.83 US cents, from 66.16 US cents about 5pm on Thursday.
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Australia isn't ready for EVs, says Suzuki distributor boss
Many Australians – particularly those in regional areas – simply aren't ready for electric vehicles (EVs), argues the boss of Suzuki Auto Co, the Japanese brand's distributor in Queensland and northern New South Wales. "I just don't think the Australian market wants them [EVs]," Suzuki Queensland general manager Paul Dillon told CarExpert. "Whilst the government wants everybody to have them, does everybody want to have one?" He argued EVs and emissions in general are "not a big concern for people in Australia, otherwise the number one selling car in Australia wouldn't be a three-ton 4×4 pickup". CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. Despite this, Suzuki is introducing an EV to Australia – the eVitara, which is due to arrive in the first quarter of 2026. Suzuki Queensland expects to offer it too, even if it cites a lack of enthusiasm from dealers in the Sunshine State. "[It] certainly is the intention [to offer the eVitara]. We're still waiting on final numbers from Japan," he said. "At the very least we've got pilot vehicles coming, and it's certainly our intention assuming the numbers from Japan stack up." Suzuki dealers will have charging facilities, but that's because generally Suzuki dealers are part of a multi-franchise operation. Therefore, Suzuki vehicles are typically sold alongside vehicles from other brands that do offer EVs. Mr Dillon doesn't expect strong demand in regional areas within the Sunshine State because of the long distances many vehicle owners drive. "I don't know if you've been to North Queensland, but if you get up there nobody too much is interested at all [in EVs]," said Mr Dillon. "If your kids play sports and you live in Cairns, at any sort of level, they might be playing a team in Townsville or Charters Towers, somewhere like that. "For their Saturday sport, you've got to think Friday night 'Have I got enough charge to get to Townsville?' It's three hundred and something kilometres – and then get back. "'Do I need to book to drive to Townsville, book accommodation, stay overnight, drive back the next day?' So your Saturday sport then becomes a weekend." When asked whether this specific regional example applies to customers in cities like Brisbane, Mr Dillon said: "There's still a lot of people down here, like a lot of our dealers that we talk to, that won't trade an electric car." And he says Suzuki buyers "aren't really early-adopter kind of [buyers]". "We haven't done direct surveys [about EV enthusiasm] or anything like that, but I think you'll find Suzuki customers generally speaking aren't cutting-edge," he said. He argued that EVs make more sense as urban runabouts. "If you're going to have an electric car, is a city car a better option rather than trying to hope that it's going to be somebody's everyday car," he said. "If you take away the goal of trying to achieve 1000km, if you're only going to use this car in the city, you'd only need to have a range of, whatever the number is, 200km or something. "If you can make that more affordable for that purpose, to me that probably is a more sensible discussion on electric cars than trying to think everybody's going to have an electric car for every use." Nevertheless, Suzuki Queensland is likely to offer an EV soon, though a full hybrid isn't on the table as the distributor has ruled out offering the Vitara Hybrid that will be released in other states in the first quarter of 2026. "We're certainly not at the leading edge of [hybrid] technology either," he said. Suzuki launched its first mild-hybrid model in Australia in 2024 with the Swift, but it has never offered a full hybrid in this country despite such a powertrain being available for a few years now in markets such as Europe. Still, Suzuki has been slower to embrace electrification than many rivals. "Suzuki is that kind of brand that they will test and test and test until they know people aren't going to have problems with their vehicles. They're super conservative in that," said Mr Dillon. "They want to make sure customers have a good experience when they buy a Suzuki product. They don't want to bring a product to market that's maybe got some question marks about reliability. "Suzuki's more inclined to go, 'How can we make this car as efficient as possible?' And weight is… if you follow Formula 1, saving an ounce here might mean a kilometre an hour down the straight or something like that. The less weight you've got, the less mass you've got to push, the less energy you need to use to push that mass." MORE: Australia's new emissions regulations are poorly thought out, says local car brand boss Content originally sourced from: Many Australians – particularly those in regional areas – simply aren't ready for electric vehicles (EVs), argues the boss of Suzuki Auto Co, the Japanese brand's distributor in Queensland and northern New South Wales. "I just don't think the Australian market wants them [EVs]," Suzuki Queensland general manager Paul Dillon told CarExpert. "Whilst the government wants everybody to have them, does everybody want to have one?" He argued EVs and emissions in general are "not a big concern for people in Australia, otherwise the number one selling car in Australia wouldn't be a three-ton 4×4 pickup". CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. Despite this, Suzuki is introducing an EV to Australia – the eVitara, which is due to arrive in the first quarter of 2026. Suzuki Queensland expects to offer it too, even if it cites a lack of enthusiasm from dealers in the Sunshine State. "[It] certainly is the intention [to offer the eVitara]. We're still waiting on final numbers from Japan," he said. "At the very least we've got pilot vehicles coming, and it's certainly our intention assuming the numbers from Japan stack up." Suzuki dealers will have charging facilities, but that's because generally Suzuki dealers are part of a multi-franchise operation. Therefore, Suzuki vehicles are typically sold alongside vehicles from other brands that do offer EVs. Mr Dillon doesn't expect strong demand in regional areas within the Sunshine State because of the long distances many vehicle owners drive. "I don't know if you've been to North Queensland, but if you get up there nobody too much is interested at all [in EVs]," said Mr Dillon. "If your kids play sports and you live in Cairns, at any sort of level, they might be playing a team in Townsville or Charters Towers, somewhere like that. "For their Saturday sport, you've got to think Friday night 'Have I got enough charge to get to Townsville?' It's three hundred and something kilometres – and then get back. "'Do I need to book to drive to Townsville, book accommodation, stay overnight, drive back the next day?' So your Saturday sport then becomes a weekend." When asked whether this specific regional example applies to customers in cities like Brisbane, Mr Dillon said: "There's still a lot of people down here, like a lot of our dealers that we talk to, that won't trade an electric car." And he says Suzuki buyers "aren't really early-adopter kind of [buyers]". "We haven't done direct surveys [about EV enthusiasm] or anything like that, but I think you'll find Suzuki customers generally speaking aren't cutting-edge," he said. He argued that EVs make more sense as urban runabouts. "If you're going to have an electric car, is a city car a better option rather than trying to hope that it's going to be somebody's everyday car," he said. "If you take away the goal of trying to achieve 1000km, if you're only going to use this car in the city, you'd only need to have a range of, whatever the number is, 200km or something. "If you can make that more affordable for that purpose, to me that probably is a more sensible discussion on electric cars than trying to think everybody's going to have an electric car for every use." Nevertheless, Suzuki Queensland is likely to offer an EV soon, though a full hybrid isn't on the table as the distributor has ruled out offering the Vitara Hybrid that will be released in other states in the first quarter of 2026. "We're certainly not at the leading edge of [hybrid] technology either," he said. Suzuki launched its first mild-hybrid model in Australia in 2024 with the Swift, but it has never offered a full hybrid in this country despite such a powertrain being available for a few years now in markets such as Europe. Still, Suzuki has been slower to embrace electrification than many rivals. "Suzuki is that kind of brand that they will test and test and test until they know people aren't going to have problems with their vehicles. They're super conservative in that," said Mr Dillon. "They want to make sure customers have a good experience when they buy a Suzuki product. They don't want to bring a product to market that's maybe got some question marks about reliability. "Suzuki's more inclined to go, 'How can we make this car as efficient as possible?' And weight is… if you follow Formula 1, saving an ounce here might mean a kilometre an hour down the straight or something like that. The less weight you've got, the less mass you've got to push, the less energy you need to use to push that mass." MORE: Australia's new emissions regulations are poorly thought out, says local car brand boss Content originally sourced from: Many Australians – particularly those in regional areas – simply aren't ready for electric vehicles (EVs), argues the boss of Suzuki Auto Co, the Japanese brand's distributor in Queensland and northern New South Wales. "I just don't think the Australian market wants them [EVs]," Suzuki Queensland general manager Paul Dillon told CarExpert. "Whilst the government wants everybody to have them, does everybody want to have one?" He argued EVs and emissions in general are "not a big concern for people in Australia, otherwise the number one selling car in Australia wouldn't be a three-ton 4×4 pickup". CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. Despite this, Suzuki is introducing an EV to Australia – the eVitara, which is due to arrive in the first quarter of 2026. Suzuki Queensland expects to offer it too, even if it cites a lack of enthusiasm from dealers in the Sunshine State. "[It] certainly is the intention [to offer the eVitara]. We're still waiting on final numbers from Japan," he said. "At the very least we've got pilot vehicles coming, and it's certainly our intention assuming the numbers from Japan stack up." Suzuki dealers will have charging facilities, but that's because generally Suzuki dealers are part of a multi-franchise operation. Therefore, Suzuki vehicles are typically sold alongside vehicles from other brands that do offer EVs. Mr Dillon doesn't expect strong demand in regional areas within the Sunshine State because of the long distances many vehicle owners drive. "I don't know if you've been to North Queensland, but if you get up there nobody too much is interested at all [in EVs]," said Mr Dillon. "If your kids play sports and you live in Cairns, at any sort of level, they might be playing a team in Townsville or Charters Towers, somewhere like that. "For their Saturday sport, you've got to think Friday night 'Have I got enough charge to get to Townsville?' It's three hundred and something kilometres – and then get back. "'Do I need to book to drive to Townsville, book accommodation, stay overnight, drive back the next day?' So your Saturday sport then becomes a weekend." When asked whether this specific regional example applies to customers in cities like Brisbane, Mr Dillon said: "There's still a lot of people down here, like a lot of our dealers that we talk to, that won't trade an electric car." And he says Suzuki buyers "aren't really early-adopter kind of [buyers]". "We haven't done direct surveys [about EV enthusiasm] or anything like that, but I think you'll find Suzuki customers generally speaking aren't cutting-edge," he said. He argued that EVs make more sense as urban runabouts. "If you're going to have an electric car, is a city car a better option rather than trying to hope that it's going to be somebody's everyday car," he said. "If you take away the goal of trying to achieve 1000km, if you're only going to use this car in the city, you'd only need to have a range of, whatever the number is, 200km or something. "If you can make that more affordable for that purpose, to me that probably is a more sensible discussion on electric cars than trying to think everybody's going to have an electric car for every use." Nevertheless, Suzuki Queensland is likely to offer an EV soon, though a full hybrid isn't on the table as the distributor has ruled out offering the Vitara Hybrid that will be released in other states in the first quarter of 2026. "We're certainly not at the leading edge of [hybrid] technology either," he said. Suzuki launched its first mild-hybrid model in Australia in 2024 with the Swift, but it has never offered a full hybrid in this country despite such a powertrain being available for a few years now in markets such as Europe. Still, Suzuki has been slower to embrace electrification than many rivals. "Suzuki is that kind of brand that they will test and test and test until they know people aren't going to have problems with their vehicles. They're super conservative in that," said Mr Dillon. "They want to make sure customers have a good experience when they buy a Suzuki product. They don't want to bring a product to market that's maybe got some question marks about reliability. "Suzuki's more inclined to go, 'How can we make this car as efficient as possible?' And weight is… if you follow Formula 1, saving an ounce here might mean a kilometre an hour down the straight or something like that. The less weight you've got, the less mass you've got to push, the less energy you need to use to push that mass." MORE: Australia's new emissions regulations are poorly thought out, says local car brand boss Content originally sourced from: Many Australians – particularly those in regional areas – simply aren't ready for electric vehicles (EVs), argues the boss of Suzuki Auto Co, the Japanese brand's distributor in Queensland and northern New South Wales. "I just don't think the Australian market wants them [EVs]," Suzuki Queensland general manager Paul Dillon told CarExpert. "Whilst the government wants everybody to have them, does everybody want to have one?" He argued EVs and emissions in general are "not a big concern for people in Australia, otherwise the number one selling car in Australia wouldn't be a three-ton 4×4 pickup". CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. Despite this, Suzuki is introducing an EV to Australia – the eVitara, which is due to arrive in the first quarter of 2026. Suzuki Queensland expects to offer it too, even if it cites a lack of enthusiasm from dealers in the Sunshine State. "[It] certainly is the intention [to offer the eVitara]. We're still waiting on final numbers from Japan," he said. "At the very least we've got pilot vehicles coming, and it's certainly our intention assuming the numbers from Japan stack up." Suzuki dealers will have charging facilities, but that's because generally Suzuki dealers are part of a multi-franchise operation. Therefore, Suzuki vehicles are typically sold alongside vehicles from other brands that do offer EVs. Mr Dillon doesn't expect strong demand in regional areas within the Sunshine State because of the long distances many vehicle owners drive. "I don't know if you've been to North Queensland, but if you get up there nobody too much is interested at all [in EVs]," said Mr Dillon. "If your kids play sports and you live in Cairns, at any sort of level, they might be playing a team in Townsville or Charters Towers, somewhere like that. "For their Saturday sport, you've got to think Friday night 'Have I got enough charge to get to Townsville?' It's three hundred and something kilometres – and then get back. "'Do I need to book to drive to Townsville, book accommodation, stay overnight, drive back the next day?' So your Saturday sport then becomes a weekend." When asked whether this specific regional example applies to customers in cities like Brisbane, Mr Dillon said: "There's still a lot of people down here, like a lot of our dealers that we talk to, that won't trade an electric car." And he says Suzuki buyers "aren't really early-adopter kind of [buyers]". "We haven't done direct surveys [about EV enthusiasm] or anything like that, but I think you'll find Suzuki customers generally speaking aren't cutting-edge," he said. He argued that EVs make more sense as urban runabouts. "If you're going to have an electric car, is a city car a better option rather than trying to hope that it's going to be somebody's everyday car," he said. "If you take away the goal of trying to achieve 1000km, if you're only going to use this car in the city, you'd only need to have a range of, whatever the number is, 200km or something. "If you can make that more affordable for that purpose, to me that probably is a more sensible discussion on electric cars than trying to think everybody's going to have an electric car for every use." Nevertheless, Suzuki Queensland is likely to offer an EV soon, though a full hybrid isn't on the table as the distributor has ruled out offering the Vitara Hybrid that will be released in other states in the first quarter of 2026. "We're certainly not at the leading edge of [hybrid] technology either," he said. Suzuki launched its first mild-hybrid model in Australia in 2024 with the Swift, but it has never offered a full hybrid in this country despite such a powertrain being available for a few years now in markets such as Europe. Still, Suzuki has been slower to embrace electrification than many rivals. "Suzuki is that kind of brand that they will test and test and test until they know people aren't going to have problems with their vehicles. They're super conservative in that," said Mr Dillon. "They want to make sure customers have a good experience when they buy a Suzuki product. They don't want to bring a product to market that's maybe got some question marks about reliability. "Suzuki's more inclined to go, 'How can we make this car as efficient as possible?' And weight is… if you follow Formula 1, saving an ounce here might mean a kilometre an hour down the straight or something like that. The less weight you've got, the less mass you've got to push, the less energy you need to use to push that mass." MORE: Australia's new emissions regulations are poorly thought out, says local car brand boss Content originally sourced from:
The Advertiser
28 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
Mortgage rate relief prospects welcome, says Chalmers
Another interest rate cut will be "welcome relief" for mortgage holders, says Treasurer Jim Chalmers, as a top central banker prepares to speak in the wake of a promising inflation result. Reserve Bank of Australia deputy governor Andrew Hauser will give a speech at an economic forum hosted by investment bank Barrenjoey on Thursday. It comes less than 24 hours after the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed the central bank's preferred measure of inflation, the trimmed mean, eased to an annualised 2.7 per cent in the June quarter. The outcome reflected the "remarkable progress" Australia has made in cutting inflation in the last three years, Dr Chalmers said. The result was slightly softer than economists had expected and was widely interpreted as being consistent with the RBA board lowering the cash rate to 3.6 per cent, from a current 3.85 per cent, at its next board meeting in August. "But it's never mission accomplished because the global environment is uncertain - we've got some persistent structural issues in our economy, growth in our economy is soft, and people are under pressure," Dr Chalmers told ABC television on Thursday. In a bid to address those structural issues in the economy, Dr Chalmers has convened a roundtable of experts, business and unions to discuss Australia's productivity woes. They will gather in late August. Building more homes sooner will be a central focus of the roundtable, the treasurer hopes. "That's the government's priority. The primary focus there, I think, at the roundtable will be around how we speed up approvals and get the zoning for housing right, because we desperately need more homes," he said. But fault lines have opened up between businesses and unions on artificial intelligence. Peak union body, the ACTU, has called for tougher regulations to ensure AI does not lead to job losses, while business groups have warned against regulation that could stifle the adoption of the technology. Independent MP Zali Steggall has called for the government to appoint a special envoy for AI and the future of work to drive adoption of the technology while addressing growing public distrust. "I am concerned it's going to be unions trying to put a lid on it," Ms Steggall told AAP. "Look, I am supportive of guardrails. It has to be done safely, but to suggest that you can put the genie back in the bottle is unrealistic." The former Winter Olympian on Thursday launched her economic plan to re-energise the economy while speeding the transition to net zero, by encouraging clean energy investment and reducing the cost of housing. The RBA stunned analysts by leaving rates on hold in July, with governor Michele Bullock telling an event last week that the board preferred a "measured and gradual" approach to easing interest rates. While less pivotal than inflation or jobs data, retail sales figures released by the ABS on Thursday will provide an update on the vitality of the Australian consumer. The recovery in household spending has been softer than the RBA had expected, the board said in minutes from its last meeting. But sales are expected to rebound to the highest level since the beginning of 2024, following a run of softer months. The retail print is the last the bureau will produce before it switches over to a more comprehensive measure of consumption, the monthly household spending indicator. Opposition frontbencher Michaelia Cash said while it was a good thing inflation was falling, Australians were still doing it tough because prices had grown faster and for longer compared to the rest of the world. "So Jim, take all the credit you like. But the bad news is you're the architect of the cost of living crisis that Australians live under your government," she told Nine television on Thursday. Another interest rate cut will be "welcome relief" for mortgage holders, says Treasurer Jim Chalmers, as a top central banker prepares to speak in the wake of a promising inflation result. Reserve Bank of Australia deputy governor Andrew Hauser will give a speech at an economic forum hosted by investment bank Barrenjoey on Thursday. It comes less than 24 hours after the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed the central bank's preferred measure of inflation, the trimmed mean, eased to an annualised 2.7 per cent in the June quarter. The outcome reflected the "remarkable progress" Australia has made in cutting inflation in the last three years, Dr Chalmers said. The result was slightly softer than economists had expected and was widely interpreted as being consistent with the RBA board lowering the cash rate to 3.6 per cent, from a current 3.85 per cent, at its next board meeting in August. "But it's never mission accomplished because the global environment is uncertain - we've got some persistent structural issues in our economy, growth in our economy is soft, and people are under pressure," Dr Chalmers told ABC television on Thursday. In a bid to address those structural issues in the economy, Dr Chalmers has convened a roundtable of experts, business and unions to discuss Australia's productivity woes. They will gather in late August. Building more homes sooner will be a central focus of the roundtable, the treasurer hopes. "That's the government's priority. The primary focus there, I think, at the roundtable will be around how we speed up approvals and get the zoning for housing right, because we desperately need more homes," he said. But fault lines have opened up between businesses and unions on artificial intelligence. Peak union body, the ACTU, has called for tougher regulations to ensure AI does not lead to job losses, while business groups have warned against regulation that could stifle the adoption of the technology. Independent MP Zali Steggall has called for the government to appoint a special envoy for AI and the future of work to drive adoption of the technology while addressing growing public distrust. "I am concerned it's going to be unions trying to put a lid on it," Ms Steggall told AAP. "Look, I am supportive of guardrails. It has to be done safely, but to suggest that you can put the genie back in the bottle is unrealistic." The former Winter Olympian on Thursday launched her economic plan to re-energise the economy while speeding the transition to net zero, by encouraging clean energy investment and reducing the cost of housing. The RBA stunned analysts by leaving rates on hold in July, with governor Michele Bullock telling an event last week that the board preferred a "measured and gradual" approach to easing interest rates. While less pivotal than inflation or jobs data, retail sales figures released by the ABS on Thursday will provide an update on the vitality of the Australian consumer. The recovery in household spending has been softer than the RBA had expected, the board said in minutes from its last meeting. But sales are expected to rebound to the highest level since the beginning of 2024, following a run of softer months. The retail print is the last the bureau will produce before it switches over to a more comprehensive measure of consumption, the monthly household spending indicator. Opposition frontbencher Michaelia Cash said while it was a good thing inflation was falling, Australians were still doing it tough because prices had grown faster and for longer compared to the rest of the world. "So Jim, take all the credit you like. But the bad news is you're the architect of the cost of living crisis that Australians live under your government," she told Nine television on Thursday. Another interest rate cut will be "welcome relief" for mortgage holders, says Treasurer Jim Chalmers, as a top central banker prepares to speak in the wake of a promising inflation result. Reserve Bank of Australia deputy governor Andrew Hauser will give a speech at an economic forum hosted by investment bank Barrenjoey on Thursday. It comes less than 24 hours after the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed the central bank's preferred measure of inflation, the trimmed mean, eased to an annualised 2.7 per cent in the June quarter. The outcome reflected the "remarkable progress" Australia has made in cutting inflation in the last three years, Dr Chalmers said. The result was slightly softer than economists had expected and was widely interpreted as being consistent with the RBA board lowering the cash rate to 3.6 per cent, from a current 3.85 per cent, at its next board meeting in August. "But it's never mission accomplished because the global environment is uncertain - we've got some persistent structural issues in our economy, growth in our economy is soft, and people are under pressure," Dr Chalmers told ABC television on Thursday. In a bid to address those structural issues in the economy, Dr Chalmers has convened a roundtable of experts, business and unions to discuss Australia's productivity woes. They will gather in late August. Building more homes sooner will be a central focus of the roundtable, the treasurer hopes. "That's the government's priority. The primary focus there, I think, at the roundtable will be around how we speed up approvals and get the zoning for housing right, because we desperately need more homes," he said. But fault lines have opened up between businesses and unions on artificial intelligence. Peak union body, the ACTU, has called for tougher regulations to ensure AI does not lead to job losses, while business groups have warned against regulation that could stifle the adoption of the technology. Independent MP Zali Steggall has called for the government to appoint a special envoy for AI and the future of work to drive adoption of the technology while addressing growing public distrust. "I am concerned it's going to be unions trying to put a lid on it," Ms Steggall told AAP. "Look, I am supportive of guardrails. It has to be done safely, but to suggest that you can put the genie back in the bottle is unrealistic." The former Winter Olympian on Thursday launched her economic plan to re-energise the economy while speeding the transition to net zero, by encouraging clean energy investment and reducing the cost of housing. The RBA stunned analysts by leaving rates on hold in July, with governor Michele Bullock telling an event last week that the board preferred a "measured and gradual" approach to easing interest rates. While less pivotal than inflation or jobs data, retail sales figures released by the ABS on Thursday will provide an update on the vitality of the Australian consumer. The recovery in household spending has been softer than the RBA had expected, the board said in minutes from its last meeting. But sales are expected to rebound to the highest level since the beginning of 2024, following a run of softer months. The retail print is the last the bureau will produce before it switches over to a more comprehensive measure of consumption, the monthly household spending indicator. Opposition frontbencher Michaelia Cash said while it was a good thing inflation was falling, Australians were still doing it tough because prices had grown faster and for longer compared to the rest of the world. "So Jim, take all the credit you like. But the bad news is you're the architect of the cost of living crisis that Australians live under your government," she told Nine television on Thursday. Another interest rate cut will be "welcome relief" for mortgage holders, says Treasurer Jim Chalmers, as a top central banker prepares to speak in the wake of a promising inflation result. Reserve Bank of Australia deputy governor Andrew Hauser will give a speech at an economic forum hosted by investment bank Barrenjoey on Thursday. It comes less than 24 hours after the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed the central bank's preferred measure of inflation, the trimmed mean, eased to an annualised 2.7 per cent in the June quarter. The outcome reflected the "remarkable progress" Australia has made in cutting inflation in the last three years, Dr Chalmers said. The result was slightly softer than economists had expected and was widely interpreted as being consistent with the RBA board lowering the cash rate to 3.6 per cent, from a current 3.85 per cent, at its next board meeting in August. "But it's never mission accomplished because the global environment is uncertain - we've got some persistent structural issues in our economy, growth in our economy is soft, and people are under pressure," Dr Chalmers told ABC television on Thursday. In a bid to address those structural issues in the economy, Dr Chalmers has convened a roundtable of experts, business and unions to discuss Australia's productivity woes. They will gather in late August. Building more homes sooner will be a central focus of the roundtable, the treasurer hopes. "That's the government's priority. The primary focus there, I think, at the roundtable will be around how we speed up approvals and get the zoning for housing right, because we desperately need more homes," he said. But fault lines have opened up between businesses and unions on artificial intelligence. Peak union body, the ACTU, has called for tougher regulations to ensure AI does not lead to job losses, while business groups have warned against regulation that could stifle the adoption of the technology. Independent MP Zali Steggall has called for the government to appoint a special envoy for AI and the future of work to drive adoption of the technology while addressing growing public distrust. "I am concerned it's going to be unions trying to put a lid on it," Ms Steggall told AAP. "Look, I am supportive of guardrails. It has to be done safely, but to suggest that you can put the genie back in the bottle is unrealistic." The former Winter Olympian on Thursday launched her economic plan to re-energise the economy while speeding the transition to net zero, by encouraging clean energy investment and reducing the cost of housing. The RBA stunned analysts by leaving rates on hold in July, with governor Michele Bullock telling an event last week that the board preferred a "measured and gradual" approach to easing interest rates. While less pivotal than inflation or jobs data, retail sales figures released by the ABS on Thursday will provide an update on the vitality of the Australian consumer. The recovery in household spending has been softer than the RBA had expected, the board said in minutes from its last meeting. But sales are expected to rebound to the highest level since the beginning of 2024, following a run of softer months. The retail print is the last the bureau will produce before it switches over to a more comprehensive measure of consumption, the monthly household spending indicator. Opposition frontbencher Michaelia Cash said while it was a good thing inflation was falling, Australians were still doing it tough because prices had grown faster and for longer compared to the rest of the world. "So Jim, take all the credit you like. But the bad news is you're the architect of the cost of living crisis that Australians live under your government," she told Nine television on Thursday.
