Latest News from Mercury
Mercury
4 hours ago
- Mercury
Devastating fire destroys home of two renters in Baulkham Hills, NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from News. Followed categories will be added to My News. Two people have narrowly escaped with their lives after a home in Sydney's northwest went up in flames, with pictures capturing the extent of the horrific photos. In the images, the flames can be seen engulfing the Baulkham Hills home on Cameron Ave about 10.30pm on Saturday. The fires were still smouldering into the early hours of the morning. Two people have managed to escape a massive house fire on Cameron Ave in Baulkham Hills, in Sydney's northwest. Picture: Facebook Firefighters arrived to find the building well-consumed by fire, with 9 News reporting it took just over an hour to contain the fire. By the time it was under control, the property was completely destroyed. Two residents managed to get themselves out safely and were checked over by paramedics. Fire and Rescue NSW are probing the cause of the blaze, including whether it was caused by a log fire. Picture: Facebook It is understood the property had been rented out in the last month, with the current residents effectively rendered homeless. Fire and Rescue NSW will be on the scene for most of Sunday to determine the cause of the blaze, with a potential lead being a log fire burning inside the property at the time. Firefighters have urged residents to have a 'working fire alarm' with the onset of winter and a spike in house fires. Originally published as Two narrowly escape horror blaze after home in Baulkham Hills, NSW goes up in flames
Mercury
5 hours ago
- Business
- Mercury
Donald Trump calls for rate cuts amid looming fears of US recession
Economist and author James Rickards explores the potential for the US Federal Reserve to cut rates and the likelihood of a US recession under US President Donald Trump. 'The feds should cut rates because we're in danger of inflation,' Mr Rickards told Sky News host Ed Boyd. 'The feds are kind of irrelevant, the money supply that matters is created by commercial banks and not the Federal Reserve.'
Mercury
5 hours ago
- General
- Mercury
Mental health toll of affected farmers revealed
Farm Angels Chief Executive Jason Law highlights the toll on farmers' mental health during agricultural challenges like drought and flood, saying farmers are twice as likely to take their own lives as a result of severe conditions. 'Farmers are twice as likely to take their own lives due to these severe conditions,' Mr Law told Sky News Australia. 'By and large, farmers are the most resilient people we come across … but there's always a breaking point. '76 per cent of farmers feel unappreciated for the work that they do … they feed us, they clothe us, they water us, so, you know, we need to be thankful for the work that they do every day to make sure we've got food on our tables.'
Mercury
9 hours ago
- Business
- Mercury
Stock Tips: WTC could be a wise choice this week
Don't miss out on the headlines from Stockhead. Followed categories will be added to My News. It's no easy gig analysing share prices and company performance but somebody's got to do it. Every week two experts from our Share Tips columnist pool give us their recommendations. Andrew Eddy – Morgans Financial BUY WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC) Wisetech is acquiring E2open, expanding its market reach and capabilities, driving revenue and EBITDA growth, and offering a compelling opportunity to further extend the company's growth runway. Aurizon Holdings (ASX:AZJ) Earnings from the Network and Coal segments will continue to deliver higher cash returns to shareholders and investment into Bulk and Containerised Freight will provide longer term growth. HOLD Lovisa Holdings (ASX:LOV) Lovisa's recent milestone of opening its 1,000th store globally signifies its strong growth and global presence. It continues to have ambitious expansion plans. Regis Resources (ASX:RRL) Regis is well positioned to maintain significant share price torque to the price of gold, aided by a robust production profile and underappreciated organic growth at Duketon. SELL Telstra (ASX:TLS) Although having some defensive qualities, Telstra continues to trade above its long-term average multiple, which is hard to justify considering its minimal long-term growth and competition risk. Adriatic Metals (ASX:ADT) Adriatic's share price has bounced recently on takeover talk. While high-grade metal assets with compelling economics are rare, everything has a price. Dylan Evans – Catapult Wealth BUY Goodman Group (ASX:GMG) Goodman Group's portfolio of quality industrial properties and data centres should be well supported by long-term demand trends in online retail and data hosting. Steadfast (ASX:SDF) As the largest general insurance broker in Australia, Steadfast offer exposure to growth in insurance premiums, but without the underwriting risk of the insurers. HOLD Auckland International Airport (ASX:AIA) As New Zealand's primary overseas travel gateway, Auckland Airport is a key piece of infrastructure. Overseas travel still lags pre-covid levels, but is showing signs of recovery. Woolworths (ASX:WOW) Woolworths has been losing market share to its competitors over the last few years and is now going through another restructure to regain this lost share. We expect regaining this momentum will take several years. SELL A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) The Chinese infant formula market is a key part of A2 milk's product sales. Despite reporting growth in its 1H25 results, this market faces long-term challenges, including declining birth rates. BWP Trust (BWP) A solid property trust on most metrics, with modest debt, high occupancy, and a decent 5.2% yield. Concern is always with the potential influence and reliance on Wesfarmers, who have an ownership stake and contribute 85% of the rental income via Bunnings. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the interviews in this article are solely those of the interviewee and do not represent the views of Stockhead. Stockhead does not provide, endorse or otherwise assume responsibility for any financial advice contained in this article. Originally published as Stock Tips: WTC could be a wise choice this week
Mercury
16 hours ago
- Business
- Mercury
Locked out: Generation faces housing crisis catastrophe
Australia's housing affordability crisis has reached code red status as runaway construction costs threaten to permanently lock out a generation of potential homeowners. A new analysis reveals a construction sector in turmoil, with renovation expenses surging a staggering 43 per cent since late 2019 and building material prices remaining stubbornly elevated, sitting 35.4 per cent above pre-pandemic levels. The crisis, driven by a perfect storm of crippling labour shortages, supply chain disruptions, and soaring prices for essential materials is prompting urgent calls for government intervention to prevent a full-blown housing catastrophe. Exclusive data by the Housing Industry Association shows essential materials are bleeding budgets dry, with the cost of copper pipes and fittings skyrocketing by 14.4 per cent annually and 63.4 per cent since the end of 2019. The cost of electrical cable and conduit are equally alarming, jumping 9.5 per cent annually and a shocking 69.7 per cent since the end of 2019. Even the humble clay brick, a cornerstone of Australian construction, has surged by 8.3 per cent annually and 48.4 per cent since the end of 2019, while timber doors rose by 7.4 per cent annually. RELATED 17,000 ads: Aussie tradie jobs no one wants Demolition dilemmas: Aus homes under threat Build new for less: Top spots under $850K revealed Only materials like plywood, steel beams, plastic sanitary ware, reinforcing steel, sheet metal and other electrical equipment saw a reduction in cost between 4 per cent and 9 per cent. However, it's a drop in the ocean, considering the cost of skilled labour, which saw a 5.5 per cent increase over the 12 months to March, with those looking to build now paying 35.5 per cent more for a home than they did pre Covid. To put it in numbers, the average national build cost now is $484,315, according to March figures by the Bureau of Statistics, $18,832 more than the previous year and $152,969 more since pre-Covid in 2020, when the average build cost just $331,346. HIA senior economist Tom Devitt said while the numbers looked bleak, the cost of construction material was starting to stabilise. 'Some of the numbers shared do show a few materials are still going up really rapidly…but the average building materials have actually really slowed. They are still very much elevated from five years ago but they do look like they've stabilised. 'Labor costs are also still increasing quite rapidly but also not as much as they did three years ago. Our trade report two or three years ago had a single year where trade prices went up 10 per cent.' Mr Devitt said while the cost of materials would come down with time, the real concern going forward was ongoing labour shortages. 'The demand is still going to be outstripping the supply of trades unless the government follows through on what they've been paying lip service to in terms of fast tracking in-demand construction trades,' he said. '(So far) nothing has really progressed from that because the number of skilled trades that have been arriving, relative to overall overseas arrivals, has been minute.' The hidden cost behind Australia's homebuilding struggles An analysis by NextMinute, a leading project management software for tradies, recently shed light on the occupations with the highest vacancy rates and the most job ad listings across Australia, revealing a stark disparity between supply and demand in the trade sector. Official figures indicate that motor mechanics, electricians, and welders are among the most sought-after trades, with thousands of vacancies across all Australian states. However, SEEK job ad volumes suggest the demand is far greater, with listings for electricians alone exceeding six times the official vacancy count. Similarly, there are 9749 listings for mechanics and 2706 for welders, reflecting widespread recruitment challenges in the industry. Despite attractive salaries, several trades remain under-represented in global job searches, such as airconditioning and refrigeration mechanics, who earn over $2000 per week. The United Kingdom leads overseas demand, with UK-based workers conducting thousands of monthly searches for Australian trade jobs. NextMinute CEO Alex Jenks said the discrepancy highlighted the ongoing recruitment challenges faced by trade businesses. These shortages are slowing down projects, driving up costs, and putting pressure on business owners,' he said. 'Interestingly, the countries showing the most interest don't always align with the trades in greatest need. 'For example, airconditioning and refrigeration mechanics have over 500 official vacancies, but little international search activity, pointing to blind spots in global awareness of Australia's workforce needs.' Australia needs to think modular With Australia forecast to fall 262,000 homes short of its national 1.2 million housing target by 2029, Ray White Group senior economist Nerida Conisbee said a modular approach was needed to address ongoing construction concerns. 'It's taking things like trusses off site and making it more of a manufacturing process, as opposed to building them on site where you need far more skilled labour,' she said. 'Another example would be kitchens and bathrooms which are really time consuming and expensive to build on site. So if you just have to assemble them within a house, that makes it a lot cheaper…everything else can be done offshore. 'Another thing to look at would be the way we design houses. One of the reasons why it's so expensive to build is because Australians really love their houses to be different from their neighbours. 'And so, if we're looking at new areas, if we're starting to build houses that are very similar, then it becomes a lot quicker and cheaper to build houses.'
