Virgin's return to the ASX means competition is taking off
ABC chief business correspondent Ian Verrender says in order to keep shareholders happy, Virgin will need to be competitive with Qantas, and that could mean cheaper airfares.
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News.com.au
39 minutes ago
- News.com.au
‘Decline or delay?': Unique struggle facing young Aussies
For much of Australia's history, each new generation has been better off than the last: better jobs, higher incomes, and improved living standards. But a new e61 Institute report reveals that promise may now be in doubt. The report found that young Australians were barely earning more than their predecessors yet were racking up markedly larger student debts and taking years longer to pay them off. Real average incomes for 30-year-olds increased just 6 per cent in a decade, from $59,496 in 2012 to $62,987 in 2022. Meanwhile, the average HELP debt jumped by 45 per cent, from $19,485 to $28,260, the analysis of tax return data found. The average age of final HELP repayment also rose from 33 in 2012 to 35 in 2022. The percentage of 30-year-olds with a HELP debt increased from 15 per cent to 23 per cent, The report said the story of young Australians today may not necessarily be one of decline but rather of delay. 'It is still unclear how many of these patterns will evolve. The challenge for policymakers is distinguishing between whether young Australians are reaching major life milestones – like moving out of home, starting families, and buying a home – later than prior generations, not reaching them at all, or changing their preferences,' it said. e61 Institute research economist Matthew Maltman said the intergenerational compact's growing disparity had its roots in the global financial crisis of 2008. Since then the wages of workers under 40 have grown at less than half the rate of older Australians. 'Some explanations include rising underemployment, a shift toward insecure and lower-paying service jobs, award decisions, and an oversupply of workers relative to available high-quality jobs – driven in part by older Australians working longer – which weakened bargaining power and suppressed wage growth,' he said. 'Rising employer concentration and a decline in job mobility may also have weakened young workers' ability to climb the job ladder and move into higher-paying positions.' The report stated that young Australians now had access to opportunities that were not available to their parents and grandparents. 'Today, they are achieving more in education, earning more in their early career stages, and participating in the labour market in new ways,' it said. 'Young people have also benefited from technological advancements, including greater access to information through the internet, improvements in the availability of digital goods and cheaper consumer goods. 'Whether young Australians will be better of than previous generations remains an open question, 'It depends, in part, on the choices policymakers make today. In the past, productivity growth has been the surest way to lift living standards for all and maintain the intergenerational bargain. 'However, Australia's recent lacklustre productivity performance means that policymakers cannot take for granted that the standard intergenerational pattern of improvement will operate as well as before.'
The Age
2 hours ago
- The Age
Virgin Australia shares take off on ASX despite Mid-East jitters
Virgin Australia shares took off on their return to the Australian sharemarket, lifting more than 11 per cent on their first day of trading, with investors keen to get a piece of the nation's second-biggest airline despite the uncertainty triggered by the war in the Middle East. After more than four years' absence, Virgin shares relisted on the ASX on Tuesday, rising to $3.23 by market close as investors bet that new management and more streamlined operations would bolster the company's profitability even amid volatile oil prices. Virgin sold $685 million worth of stock to fund managers and retail investors in an initial public offering this month, floating about 30.2 per cent of the company. Investors paid $2.90 for the stock in the IPO. Virgin, which now has a market value of more than $2.5 billion, is trading under the sharemarket ticker VGN. Demand from investors had outstripped the number of shares on offer in the IPO, according to Virgin CEO Dave Emerson, which explains the rise in the share price after the stock started trading. 'We were very pleased with the demand, and we definitely can say that the offer was oversubscribed,' Emerson said before the trading debut. An overall positive market also would have boosted the stock, with the S&P/ASX 200 gaining 1 per cent in its Tuesday session after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. The specific timing of the pause remains unclear, with Israel accusing Iran of violating the ceasefire on Tuesday evening AEST, which Iran has denied. Shares of Virgin's bigger rival Qantas Airways were also up strongly on Tuesday, closing with a gain of 2.4 per cent. Virgin was delisted from the ASX in 2020 amid mounting debts and losses. Having entered administration, it was bought by US-based Bain Capital, the private equity firm Emerson worked for before joining Virgin's management in 2021.
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Petrol stations issued stern warning not to hike fuel prices
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has read the riot act to petrol companies amid the crisis in the Middle East warning that it must not be used as an excuse for price gouging. The Treasurer has revealed he's now written to the consumer watchdog to 'make sure that Australians are treated fairly at the bowser'. 'We don't want to see service stations do the wrong thing by Australian motorists,'' he said. 'We want to make sure that the market is operating effectively when it comes to the petrol price and what's happening with this volatility in the global oil price. 'We call on the service stations to do the right thing by their customers. We've empowered and asked the ACCC to use its monitoring powers to make sure that the servos are doing the right thing by Australian motorists.' In his letter to the consumer watchdog, the ACCC, Mr Chalmers notes that events in the Middle East had pushed global oil prices up by over 25 per cent since the start of June, from around $62 per barrel to around $79 at the start of this week, before moderating this morning with news of a ceasefire. 'As you know, global oil prices are a primary driver of the cost of petrol at Australian bowsers,'' he wrote. 'Recent spikes in the barrel price on international markets and volatility associated with unfolding events should not be used as an excuse for retailers to gouge customers or to increase prices opportunistically above and beyond the impact of events in the Middle East. 'I would expect the ACCC as the independent regulator enforcing Australia's competition and consumer laws to investigate any concerns arising about misrepresentations regarding petrol prices, false and misleading conduct or anti-competitive conduct in petrol markets, and to take appropriate action.' Last week, the Treasurer warned Australians could face a 'perilous' threat to fuel prices as global supply chains are at risk from the heated Iran-Israel conflict. 'It's a perilous moment for the Middle East, but also a perilous moment for the global economy,' he told Sky News. 'The starkest way that we see the impacts of what's happening is with the oil price. Last Friday, the oil price jumped almost 11 per cent. 'This has big implications for the global economy. It has implications for inflation but also for global growth at a time when the global environment was already very uncertain.' He warned motorists should expect volatility. 'It's hard to imagine that any day-to-day movement in markets will be permanent,' the Treasurer said. 'We're seeing mostly volatility in the oil price. We're seeing the gold price shoot up because that's where people invest when times are uncertain. 'What that means for us is the potential of higher petrol prices usually takes a couple of weeks before the international barrel price reaches the bowser price in the suburbs and towns of Australia.' However, he also ruled out making any changes to the fuel excise to reduce the pressure on motorists. 'We haven't changed our position on the fuel excise,' Mr Chalmers said. 'We've already seen a lot of volatility in petrol prices. In some parts of Australia, people must have been – 12 months ago, 18 months ago – paying $2.40 at the bowser in lots of places. 'That got down to $1.50, $1 60.'
