Global uncertainty denting the confidence of Australia's chief bean counters, Deloitte says
Deloitte's biannual CFO sentiment report on Thursday gathered responses from over 60 chief bean-counters across Australia and found the share of respondents feeling optimistic about the economy had nearly doubled in just six months.
At the same time, sentiment dipped in the first half of 2025, with net optimism in CFOs' own business prospects falling 16 percentage points to 49 per cent.
The consulting firm said this was a step back from the levels of optimism recorded throughout 2024, suggesting CFOs have tempered expectations around their own business prospects for the next 12 months.
Some 59 per cent of CFOs remain optimistic or highly optimistic about their financial prospects, down 12 percentage points from six months ago.
Deloitte said several factors were likely to have contributed to the fall in optimism. US President Donald Trump's tariff chaos have increased uncertainty around global economic outlook and business conditions remained tough as thin margins and weak consumer spending weighed on profits.
Many businesses were also grappling with challenges around implementing strategies aimed at boosting operational efficiency.
Deloitte Access Economics partner David Rumbens said CFOs were unarguably more optimistic about the Australian economy than they have been in years.
'But just because the economy is doing better than it was, does not mean that it's yet in fantastic health,' he said.
'There are a number of economic factors contributing to the business pressures being felt by CFOs.
'However, there are green shoots — we are firmly within a rate-cutting cycle, inflation appears to be under control, the labour market is relatively resilient and the results of the recent Federal election provide for policy certainty.'
These should help CFOs 'forward plan investment and could help lift business sentiment in the coming months', Mr Rumbens said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Advertiser
3 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Stocks dip, dollar slumps as Trump deal deadline looms
Stocks have slipped despite record highs for Wall Street overnight as US President Donald Trump's deadline for trade deals looms. The dollar retraced some of Thursday's gains with US markets already shut for the holiday-shortened week as traders considered the impact of the sweeping spending bill that Trump is expected to sign into law later in the day. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.6 per cent on Friday, driven in part by losses on spirits makers such as Pernod Ricard and Remy Cointreau after China said it would impose duties of up to 34.9 per cent on brandy from the European Union starting July 5. US S&P 500 futures edged down 0.5 per cent following a 0.8 per cent overnight advance for the cash index to a fresh record closing peak. Wall Street is closed on Friday for the Independence Day holiday. Trump said Washington would start sending letters to countries on Friday specifying what tariff rates they would face on exports to the United States, a clear shift from earlier pledges to strike scores of individual deals before a July 9 deadline when tariffs could rise sharply. Investors were "now just waiting for July 9", said Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG, with the market's lack of optimism for trade deals responsible for some of the equity weakness in export-reliant Asia, particularly Japan and South Korea. At the same time, Thursday's jobs data showed "the US economy is holding together better than most people expected, which suggests to me that markets can easily continue to do better" from here, Sycamore said. Investors cheered the surprisingly robust jobs report on Thursday, sending all three of the main US equity indexes climbing in a shortened session. Following the close, the House narrowly approved Trump's signature, 869-page bill, which would add $US3.4 trillion ($A5.2 trillion) to the nation's $US36.2 trillion debt, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. Trump said he expected "a couple" more trade agreements after announcing a deal with Vietnam on Wednesday to add to framework agreements with China and Britain as the only successes so far. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this week that a deal with India was close. However, agreements with Japan and South Korea, once touted by the White House as likely to be among the earliest to be announced, appear to have broken down. The US dollar rallied overnight, taking it up as much as 0.7 per cent versus a basket of major peers after the robust payrolls data saw traders take any expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in July off the table. It ended Thursday with a 0.4 per cent rise. On Friday, the US currency gave back a little of those gains, slumping 0.4 per cent to 144.31 yen and sliding 0.2 per cent to 0.7936 Swiss franc. The euro added 0.2 per cent to $US1.1773, while sterling held steady at $US1.3662. The US Treasury bond market is closed on Friday for the holiday, but 10-year yields rose 4.7 basis points to 4.34 per cent while the two-year yield jumped 9.3 bps to 3.882 per cent. Gold firmed 0.4 per cent to $US3,339 per ounce, on track for a weekly gain as investors again sought refuge in safe-haven assets due to concerns over the US's fiscal position and tariffs. Brent crude futures fell seven cents to $US68.73 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was last seen flat at $US67.02. Stocks have slipped despite record highs for Wall Street overnight as US President Donald Trump's deadline for trade deals looms. The dollar retraced some of Thursday's gains with US markets already shut for the holiday-shortened week as traders considered the impact of the sweeping spending bill that Trump is expected to sign into law later in the day. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.6 per cent on Friday, driven in part by losses on spirits makers such as Pernod Ricard and Remy Cointreau after China said it would impose duties of up to 34.9 per cent on brandy from the European Union starting July 5. US S&P 500 futures edged down 0.5 per cent following a 0.8 per cent overnight advance for the cash index to a fresh record closing peak. Wall Street is closed on Friday for the Independence Day holiday. Trump said Washington would start sending letters to countries on Friday specifying what tariff rates they would face on exports to the United States, a clear shift from earlier pledges to strike scores of individual deals before a July 9 deadline when tariffs could rise sharply. Investors were "now just waiting for July 9", said Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG, with the market's lack of optimism for trade deals responsible for some of the equity weakness in export-reliant Asia, particularly Japan and South Korea. At the same time, Thursday's jobs data showed "the US economy is holding together better than most people expected, which suggests to me that markets can easily continue to do better" from here, Sycamore said. Investors cheered the surprisingly robust jobs report on Thursday, sending all three of the main US equity indexes climbing in a shortened session. Following the close, the House narrowly approved Trump's signature, 869-page bill, which would add $US3.4 trillion ($A5.2 trillion) to the nation's $US36.2 trillion debt, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. Trump said he expected "a couple" more trade agreements after announcing a deal with Vietnam on Wednesday to add to framework agreements with China and Britain as the only successes so far. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this week that a deal with India was close. However, agreements with Japan and South Korea, once touted by the White House as likely to be among the earliest to be announced, appear to have broken down. The US dollar rallied overnight, taking it up as much as 0.7 per cent versus a basket of major peers after the robust payrolls data saw traders take any expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in July off the table. It ended Thursday with a 0.4 per cent rise. On Friday, the US currency gave back a little of those gains, slumping 0.4 per cent to 144.31 yen and sliding 0.2 per cent to 0.7936 Swiss franc. The euro added 0.2 per cent to $US1.1773, while sterling held steady at $US1.3662. The US Treasury bond market is closed on Friday for the holiday, but 10-year yields rose 4.7 basis points to 4.34 per cent while the two-year yield jumped 9.3 bps to 3.882 per cent. Gold firmed 0.4 per cent to $US3,339 per ounce, on track for a weekly gain as investors again sought refuge in safe-haven assets due to concerns over the US's fiscal position and tariffs. Brent crude futures fell seven cents to $US68.73 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was last seen flat at $US67.02. Stocks have slipped despite record highs for Wall Street overnight as US President Donald Trump's deadline for trade deals looms. The dollar retraced some of Thursday's gains with US markets already shut for the holiday-shortened week as traders considered the impact of the sweeping spending bill that Trump is expected to sign into law later in the day. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.6 per cent on Friday, driven in part by losses on spirits makers such as Pernod Ricard and Remy Cointreau after China said it would impose duties of up to 34.9 per cent on brandy from the European Union starting July 5. US S&P 500 futures edged down 0.5 per cent following a 0.8 per cent overnight advance for the cash index to a fresh record closing peak. Wall Street is closed on Friday for the Independence Day holiday. Trump said Washington would start sending letters to countries on Friday specifying what tariff rates they would face on exports to the United States, a clear shift from earlier pledges to strike scores of individual deals before a July 9 deadline when tariffs could rise sharply. Investors were "now just waiting for July 9", said Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG, with the market's lack of optimism for trade deals responsible for some of the equity weakness in export-reliant Asia, particularly Japan and South Korea. At the same time, Thursday's jobs data showed "the US economy is holding together better than most people expected, which suggests to me that markets can easily continue to do better" from here, Sycamore said. Investors cheered the surprisingly robust jobs report on Thursday, sending all three of the main US equity indexes climbing in a shortened session. Following the close, the House narrowly approved Trump's signature, 869-page bill, which would add $US3.4 trillion ($A5.2 trillion) to the nation's $US36.2 trillion debt, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. Trump said he expected "a couple" more trade agreements after announcing a deal with Vietnam on Wednesday to add to framework agreements with China and Britain as the only successes so far. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this week that a deal with India was close. However, agreements with Japan and South Korea, once touted by the White House as likely to be among the earliest to be announced, appear to have broken down. The US dollar rallied overnight, taking it up as much as 0.7 per cent versus a basket of major peers after the robust payrolls data saw traders take any expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in July off the table. It ended Thursday with a 0.4 per cent rise. On Friday, the US currency gave back a little of those gains, slumping 0.4 per cent to 144.31 yen and sliding 0.2 per cent to 0.7936 Swiss franc. The euro added 0.2 per cent to $US1.1773, while sterling held steady at $US1.3662. The US Treasury bond market is closed on Friday for the holiday, but 10-year yields rose 4.7 basis points to 4.34 per cent while the two-year yield jumped 9.3 bps to 3.882 per cent. Gold firmed 0.4 per cent to $US3,339 per ounce, on track for a weekly gain as investors again sought refuge in safe-haven assets due to concerns over the US's fiscal position and tariffs. Brent crude futures fell seven cents to $US68.73 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was last seen flat at $US67.02. Stocks have slipped despite record highs for Wall Street overnight as US President Donald Trump's deadline for trade deals looms. The dollar retraced some of Thursday's gains with US markets already shut for the holiday-shortened week as traders considered the impact of the sweeping spending bill that Trump is expected to sign into law later in the day. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.6 per cent on Friday, driven in part by losses on spirits makers such as Pernod Ricard and Remy Cointreau after China said it would impose duties of up to 34.9 per cent on brandy from the European Union starting July 5. US S&P 500 futures edged down 0.5 per cent following a 0.8 per cent overnight advance for the cash index to a fresh record closing peak. Wall Street is closed on Friday for the Independence Day holiday. Trump said Washington would start sending letters to countries on Friday specifying what tariff rates they would face on exports to the United States, a clear shift from earlier pledges to strike scores of individual deals before a July 9 deadline when tariffs could rise sharply. Investors were "now just waiting for July 9", said Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG, with the market's lack of optimism for trade deals responsible for some of the equity weakness in export-reliant Asia, particularly Japan and South Korea. At the same time, Thursday's jobs data showed "the US economy is holding together better than most people expected, which suggests to me that markets can easily continue to do better" from here, Sycamore said. Investors cheered the surprisingly robust jobs report on Thursday, sending all three of the main US equity indexes climbing in a shortened session. Following the close, the House narrowly approved Trump's signature, 869-page bill, which would add $US3.4 trillion ($A5.2 trillion) to the nation's $US36.2 trillion debt, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. Trump said he expected "a couple" more trade agreements after announcing a deal with Vietnam on Wednesday to add to framework agreements with China and Britain as the only successes so far. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this week that a deal with India was close. However, agreements with Japan and South Korea, once touted by the White House as likely to be among the earliest to be announced, appear to have broken down. The US dollar rallied overnight, taking it up as much as 0.7 per cent versus a basket of major peers after the robust payrolls data saw traders take any expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in July off the table. It ended Thursday with a 0.4 per cent rise. On Friday, the US currency gave back a little of those gains, slumping 0.4 per cent to 144.31 yen and sliding 0.2 per cent to 0.7936 Swiss franc. The euro added 0.2 per cent to $US1.1773, while sterling held steady at $US1.3662. The US Treasury bond market is closed on Friday for the holiday, but 10-year yields rose 4.7 basis points to 4.34 per cent while the two-year yield jumped 9.3 bps to 3.882 per cent. Gold firmed 0.4 per cent to $US3,339 per ounce, on track for a weekly gain as investors again sought refuge in safe-haven assets due to concerns over the US's fiscal position and tariffs. Brent crude futures fell seven cents to $US68.73 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was last seen flat at $US67.02.
Sky News AU
5 hours ago
- Sky News AU
‘Incredibly tough': Calls for PM to address over-regulation and over-taxation in business
Wilson Asset Management founder Geoff Wilson says one of Australia's largest business problems is over-taxation and over-regulation, calling upon the Albanese government for an end to the 'pleasantries'. This comes amid Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's address at Australia's Economic Outlook 2025. 'It's an incredibly tough environment,' Mr Wilson told Sky News host Danica De Giorgio. 'What we need the government to do is to not overtax and overregulate – and that's the problem that all Australian companies have got at the moment. 'We don't want any more pleasantries, our small, medium-sized, and even large companies in Australia need some action by this government. 'Something has to be done.'
Perth Now
8 hours ago
- Perth Now
ASX closes at fresh record high
Australia's sharemarket cracked a new record close on Friday, with strong job numbers out of the US offsetting fears of a slower global economy. The benchmark ASX 200 index eked out a small gain of 7.2 points or 0.08 per cent to finish the week at 8603 points. The broader All Ordinaries also closed marginally higher up 8.3 points or 0.09 per cent to 8841.90. Australia's dollar slipped 0.06 per cent and is now buying 65.73 US cents. The Australian market followed the US to a record high on Friday. Photo: Gaye Gerard / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia On an overall positive end to the week, eight of the 11 sectors finished in the green, led by consumer discretionary shares which added 1.00 per cent during Friday's trading. Wesfarmers shares finished up 0.81 per cent to $84.37 while Aristocrat Leisure finished up 1.44 per cent to $67.82 and JB Hi-Fi ended in the green up 0.64 per cent to $110.02. WiseTech Global jumped 1.10 per cent to $112.10, Xero gained 0.86 per cent to $178.01 and Life360 leapt 1.94 per cent to $33.11. It was a mixed day for the major banks. While CBA dropped 0.94 per cent to $178 the other three all finished in the green. NAB shares are up 0.62 per cent to $39.15, Westpac shares 0.45 per cent to $33.63 and ANZ rose 0.80 per cent to $30.32. Australia's sharemarket followed a strong lead in from Wall Street thanks to stronger than expected economic data. AMP chief economist and head of investment strategy Shane Oliver said markets mostly pushed higher over the last week, with US shares rising 1.7 per cent to a record high helped by hopes for trade deals, solid US jobs data and as Congress passed Trump's tax cut bill. 'The strong US lead along with expectations for another RBA rate cut in the week ahead also pushed the Australian share market to a new record high with around a 1 per cent gain for the week,' Dr Oliver said. Eight of the 11 sectors finished up for the week. Picture NCA Newswire/ Gaye Gerard. Credit: News Corp Australia But the economist cautioned against further rises as markets factor in trade tariffs which are set to start next week. 'With the 9th July tariff deadline just a few days away the US is likely to announce more trade deals and Trump has indicated he will start sending letters to countries without deals notifying what their tariff rate will be, with a range of 'maybe 60 or 70 per cent ...to 10 and 20 per cent' commencing from 1 August, Dr Oliver said. 'So after a few months of relative calm, it could all be back on again.' In company news G8 Education continues its slide having fallen every day since Tuesday after it came out a former employee has been charged with alleged child-related offences. Shares dropped a further 3.5 per cent to $0.96 on Friday and is now down 19.33 per cent for the week. On its second day of listing GemLife fell 5.8 per cent to $4.08. While it initially jumped on the opening bell, it is now below its listing price of $4.16.
