Australia

Australian retail sales eked out a meagre gain in February after wild swings around year-end holidays, indicating shoppers are reining in spending in the ...

[Markets](/markets/) Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Tuesday showed retail sales rose 0.2% in February from January, when they picked up a revised 1.8%. [The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.](https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en/about-us/trust-principles.html)

Support for UNHCR and UNRWA: In 2021, the Australian Government contributed USD 22.7 million to UNHCR and USD 7.5 million to UNRWA, with an additional USD 23.7 ...

[Visa statistics: Humanitarian Program](https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-statistics/statistics/visa-statistics/live/humanitarian-program); RCOA (2022). [Visa statistics: Humanitarian Program](https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-statistics/statistics/visa-statistics/live/humanitarian-program) [[18]](#_ftnref18) RCOA (2019). [Annual Report 2021](https://wphfund.org/annual-report-2021/). [Trust Fund Factsheet: Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund](https://mptf.undp.org/factsheet/fund/HAF10); Women’s Peace & Humanitarian Fund (2021). [Australia, Government of 2021](https://fts.unocha.org/donors/4391/flows/2021) [[5]](#_ftnref5) RCOA (2022). [Submission on the New International Development Policy](https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/new-international-development-policy/) [[6]](#_ftnref6) The Trust Fund for Victims (2021). [Administrator’s Report on Financial Status](https://www.artf.af/sites/default/files/ARTF/ARTF%20Financial%20Status%20Memo%20January%2020-2022.pdf); Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (2022). [TFV Management Brief Q4/2021](https://www.trustfundforvictims.org/sites/default/files/reports/TFV%20Management%20Brief%20Q4_2021%20%28October%20-December%29_1.pdf); Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (2022). [Executive Committee of the High Commissioner’s Programme](https://www.unhcr.org/afr/6228afe24.pdf); UNRWA (2021). [[2]](#_ftnref2) UNHCR (2022). [[13]](#_ftn13) [[5]](#_ftn5)

Australian retail sales were subdued in February, adding to evidence that household spending is beginning to slow in response to higher interest rates and ...

By Ambar Warrick. Investing.com-- Australian retail sales grew at a slightly bigger-than-expected pace in February as they stabilized after three months of ...

By Stella Qiu SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian retail sales levelled off in February after wild swings around the year-end holidays, suggesting shoppers ...

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Tuesday showed retail sales rose just 0.2% in February, compared to a revised 1.8% rise in January. Australia employment rebounded strongly in February, the jobless rate eased back to near 50-year lows, and business conditions remained resilient, with sales and employment strong. Investors have all but priced out any chance of a further hike in the cash rate, and even forecast a chance of a cut later in the year. The soft print countered some recent strong data releases, painting a mixed economic picture for a data-dependent Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), which has said it would consider pausing at the April policy meeting to assess the impact of 10 consecutive rate hikes. “On average, retail spending has been flat through the end of 2022 and to begin the new year,” said Ben Dorber, ABS head of retail statistics. SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian retail sales levelled off in February after wild swings around the year-end holidays, suggesting shoppers are reining in spending in the face of higher living costs and rising interest rates.

By Stella Qiu SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian retail sales levelled off in February after wild swings around the year-end holidays, suggesting shoppers are ...

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Tuesday showed retail sales rose just 0.2% in February, compared to a revised 1.8% rise in January. Australia employment rebounded strongly in February, the jobless rate eased back to near 50-year lows, and business conditions remained resilient, with sales and employment strong. Investors have all but priced out any chance of a further hike in the cash rate, and even forecast a chance of a cut later in the year. The soft print countered some recent strong data releases, painting a mixed economic picture for a data-dependent Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), which has said it would consider pausing at the April policy meeting to assess the impact of 10 consecutive rate hikes. “On average, retail spending has been flat through the end of 2022 and to begin the new year,” said Ben Dorber, ABS head of retail statistics. SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian retail sales levelled off in February after wild swings around the year-end holidays, suggesting shoppers are reining in spending in the face of higher living costs and rising interest rates.

Australian retail sales levelled off in February after wild swings around the year-end holidays, suggesting consumers are reining in spending in the face of ...

[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]))) (( Investors have all but priced out any chance of a further hike in the cash rate, and even forecast a chance of a cut later in the year.

The seeds of a shock have been planted. The question is whether that will grow into a threat to bank stability and the broader economy.

The health of Australia’s big and small banks is intimately tied to mortgages, which are their main money spinners. I think interest rates are going to stay high.” I think inflation is going to stay high. Those homeowners might also be stuck on an uncompetitively high mortgage rate. The seeds of a shock to the sector have been planted; the question now is whether that will grow into something big enough to pose a threat to bank stability and the broader economy. But the swift fall of SVB and Credit Suisse, and selling pressure on Deutsche, shows that banks are susceptible to a swift change in sentiment, especially if enough people withdraw their savings, which the banks rely on to operate.

Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers will convene a meeting of the country's financial regulators to check how the volatility in financial markets could affect ...

Authorities around the world are on high alert for contagion among banks following the collapse of U.S. Chalmers said he had been speaking to the CEOs of the Big Four banks in Australia and gets briefed by authorities multiple times a day about the latest events in the markets. SYDNEY – Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers will convene a meeting of the country’s top financial regulators to check how the latest volatility in global financial markets could affect the country, an official in the treasurer’s office said on Tuesday.

The collapse of SVB this month triggered the worst banking shock since 2008, sending bank stocks globally on a wild ride and raising fears of systemic stress ...

and Britain during the 2008 global financial crisis, thanks in part to tighter lending standards and a more resilient economy. bank's loan book was concentrated on too many high-risk assets. Register for free to Reuters and know the full story

Australia's financial system is well equipped to deal with the disruptions and challenges in the global economy, Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones said on ...

(( [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]); +61 29171 7126;)) (Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Chris Reese)

In his first public speech, the chair of bank, insurance and super regulator APRA moves to reassure Australians that our banks are safe amid the recent ...

At worst, what we'll see in Australia is a hit to the earnings of the banks," he argued. But there's another form of safety, the ongoing supervision by APRA. But the duration I think will have an implication for how many people need help. "And that is not a 'set and forget', it's not a 'point in time', they look at the banks on an on-going basis, around all parts of their business, because they want to ensure that they are sustainable for the future." Australian banks are heavily reliant on the property market, because the majority of loans are not for cars or business expansion, but the dirt, bricks and mortar of dwellings. Created in the late 1990s, the regulator focuses on the overall stability of the financial system. "The economics team are saying a rate cut in the first quarter of 2024 and a couple more later on, so it feels like 2023 is the hard piece we need to help people through." The concept is called 'contagion' and it's one of the factors that propelled the global financial crisis that swept the world in 2008 and 2009. With an up to three-month lag in official interest rate rises hitting the cost of people's monthly repayments, "a lot of what the RBA has already announced has yet to play out," she observed. But after a year in which the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has hiked interest rates at the steepest and quickest pace in history, Australian Banking Association chief executive Anna Bligh sounded a warning of how stretched some borrowers are. Mr Lonsdale told summit guests that Australia was not infected with the same kinds of issues we're seeing in the US and Switzerland. "Their banking system is among the strongest and most resilient in the world, with prudential safeguards above and beyond minimum international requirements."

CANBERRA: The Australian government took a major step toward implementing a key climate policy that would force chief greenhouse gas polluters to reduce ...

But the emission limits were so high that the 215 major polluters, which account for 30 percent of Australia's emissions, were able to increase their emissions by 4 percent. Greens leader Adam Bandt said a "hard cap" on emissions would mean that half of the 116 new coal and gas projects proposed in Australia would not go ahead. The reforms would create a ceiling on the nation's emissions and force Australia's 215 biggest polluting facilities to reduce their emissions over time.

The plan now includes curbs on new gas and coal investments, as well as caps on total GHG emissions that the country's biggest polluters can produce. It also ...

Previously, the Greens had demanded a block on all new fossil fuel projects. The opposition Greens Party had previously blocked all proposals that included approval for new fossil fuel projects. The plan now includes curbs on new gas and coal investments, as well as caps on total GHG emissions that the country’s biggest polluters can produce.

Australia's lower house on Monday passed an emissions reduction plan with curbs on some new gas and coal investments and a cap on total greenhouse gas emissions ...

But, he said the hard cap on emissions, will stop about half the planned future coal and gas projects. This does not include the emissions from customers burning the gas. The updated legislation requires all new gas projects in the Beetaloo Basin to have net zero carbon emissions and new gas fields supplying existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants to have net zero reservoir emissions, imposing new costs.

But the Greens failed in their bid to force Labor to ban new coal and gas projects. Labor did give ground in setting a hard cap on emissions which should – if ...

[safeguard mechanism](https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r6957) to cover more of the economy. [new coal and gas projects](https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/tanya-plibersek-gives-santos-gas-expansion-project-green-light/news-story/4a1b015eff04f63df15ab47c145a8548). The Greens had a record four members elected to the House of Representatives and gained the balance of power [in the Senate](https://theconversation.com/good-timing-and-hard-work-behind-the-elections-greenslide-183719). They have capitalised on this, making sure to capture the media narrative by claiming the win – and flagging political fights to come over new fossil fuel projects. At present, the mechanism only covers about 30% of Australia’s emissions and is limited to industrial facilities emitting over 100,000 tonnes a year. Greens leader Adam Bandt says the cap will mean only half of the 116 proposed coal and gas projects can proceed. They advocate stronger oversight by the Climate Change Authority and other regulators. This, the government made clear, was not going to happen, and it didn’t. The Liberal and National parties voted against the reforms, even though it is their own – indeed their only – climate policy. The Greens and Teals were extremely sceptical. The resulting negotiations have lasted months, and left Now we’re seeing a tussle between the urgency of the Greens, Teals who want to ban fossil fuels and the Labor government as it balances demands from industry, climate voters and the unions.

The deal struck this week by the Federal Government and the Greens to pass safeguard mechanism reform through the Senate has ratcheted up the risk of ...

IPA analysis presented to the Senate’s inquiry into the safeguard mechanism reforms found that 84 per cent of the businesses targeted will be in regional Australia, and that close to nine out of every 10 facilities targeted are in industries critical to our prosperity, such as coal, gas, mining, transport, and manufacturing. These concessions are purposefully handicapping our ability to trade while there’s a massive gap in the global gas market. The trigger is, in effect, a backdoor method to allow the cancellation of all future coal and gas projects by a simple ministerial decree, a core goal of the Greens from the election last year. This threatens our immediate trading future, especially considering there’s a global gas shortage due to the war in Ukraine and tensions in the Asia-Pacific. The energy policy deal struck by the Greens and Labor is purposefully handicapping our ability to trade while there's a massive gap in the global gas market, writes Saxon Davidson. The concessions the Federal Government made to the Greens present a significant clear and present danger to Australia’s future economic prospects.

Saudi Aramco boosts China investment with two refinery deals; UK: Company behind Poole oil leak has a long record of leaks and pollution incidents; COP veteran: ...

The [Daily Telegraph](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/03/26/major-incident-declared-oil-leak-dorset/) and the [Daily Mirror](https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/poole-harbour-oil-spill-sees-29564447) are among other outlets covering the story. [Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/27/older-people-climate-protest-banks-ipcc) under the headline: “Older people like me need to start protesting for our planet.” He says last week’s [IPCC report](https://www.carbonbrief.org/qa-ipcc-wraps-up-its-most-in-depth-assessment-of-climate-change/) “didn’t have the effect it should have had, or that its authors clearly intended” and suggests that the reason is “a disconnect between the dire words of the report and the actions most people feel they can effectively take”. [Caixin Global](https://www.caixinglobal.com/2023-03-28/saudi-aramco-boosts-china-investment-with-36-billion-refinery-deal-102012681.html), the [Financial Times](https://www.ft.com/content/9e091abb-9463-4f7c-a78f-1b95d0e1130b) and [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-27/saudi-aramco-takes-3-6-billion-stake-in-china-oil-refinery?sref=Oz9Q3OZU#xj4y7vzkg) also cover the news. And [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-oil-gas-firms-leave-years-worth-output-ground-with-tax-hikes-report-2023-03-27/) reports that “windfall taxes mean oil and gas producers in the British North Sea will likely leave 500m barrels of oil equivalent in the ground over the next decade”. [BBC News](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-65093274) covers a new report which finds that investment in North Sea oil and gas is falling, thanks to “the energy windfall tax, political uncertainty and increased costs”. [Read Article](https://inews.co.uk/news/poole-harbour-oil-spill-plant-leaked-barrels-reservoir-pollution-2236374) [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/climate-lockdown-anger-drives-swiss-grandmother-sue-bern-eu-court-2023-03-28/) reports on the first-ever climate case to be put before the European Court of Human Rights, in which more than 2,000 “elderly women” are suing the Swiss government for their “climate lockdown”. Separately, [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-28/eu-aims-to-give-members-option-to-block-russian-lng-imports?leadSource=uverify%20wall) reports that the EU “is targeting a way to let member states have the option to effectively ban Russian shipments of liquefied natural gas without implementing new energy sanctions”. Ahead of “green day” – a series of government announcements on energy security that are expected on Thursday – the Independent reports that shadow net-zero secretary Ed Miliband has urged the government to “scrap the ban on onshore wind farms and invest in making Britain’s homes more energy efficient”. [Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/27/its-not-perfect-but-the-labor-greens-climate-deal-should-limit-emissions-and-fossil-fuels-that-matters)’s climate and environment editor for Australia, says the deal is “not perfect”, but is “an improvement”. [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-27/eu-offers-germany-e-fuel-pledge-to-advance-zero-emissions-plan?leadSource=uverify%20wall) also covers the story. [Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/mar/27/unions-call-for-energy-transition-authority-to-help-workers-exiting-fossil-fuel-sector) reports that the president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions will make a speech today calling on the government to provide retraining, redeployment and compensation programmes for workers exiting the fossil fuel sector.

More trade and investment leads to better paying jobs and the type of economic future we want for Australians. In 2021 foreign direct investment in Australia ...

Valued at over $167 billion, technology is now the third largest contributing sector to Australia's GDP. We are positioned to become a renewable energy superpower with our critical minerals, wind, hydrogen and solar industries powering the global clean-energy transition. More trade and investment leads to better paying jobs and the type of economic future we want for Australians.

Perth, AUSTRALIA -- Fortescue welcomes the announcement of multi-party support for strengthening Australia's climate policy architecture. While there is more work to do on the existential need to transition to green energy, the negotiations have built ...

CANBERRA, Australia — The Australian government took a major step toward implementing a key climate policy that would force chief greenhouse gas polluters ...

The Australian government has taken, on Monday, March 27, 2023, a major step forward in implementing a key climate policy that would force major greenhouse gas polluters to reduce emissions with the minor Greens party pledging their support. SunStar website welcomes friendly debate, but comments posted on this site do not necessarily reflect the views of the SunStar management and its affiliates. But the emission limits were so high that the 215 major polluters, which account for 30 percent of Australia’s emissions, were able to increase their emissions by four percent. Greens leader Adam Bandt said a “hard cap” on emissions would mean that half of the 116 new coal and gas projects proposed in Australia would not go ahead. The reforms would create a ceiling on the nation’s emissions and force Australia’s 215 biggest polluting facilities to reduce their emissions over time. The cap would be reduced over time as polluters scaled back their emissions.

large gold nugget found in Australia in the hand of valuer Darren Kamp. Credit: Lucky Strike Gold.

One gram (0.035 ounces) of gold currently costs about 94 AUD ($63). A lot of the time, people go to the shop with a rock that looks like gold but is not, he added. The discovery of rich gold deposits in the Ballarat and Bendigo regions of Victoria in 1851 led to a series of gold rushes in Australia in the 1850s. The man who found the rock initially only took half of it to be valued and asked Kamp if there could be 10,000 AUD ($6,675) worth of gold in it. Once-in-a-lifetime find." Kamp has been in the business of gold prospecting for 43 years and said he has "never seen a rock of this size with that amount of gold in it."

The specimen was found with a budget metal detector and weighed in at 4.6kg.

Normally people come in with fools gold or other rocks that look like gold, Mr Kamp says. The man then proceeded to tell him the rock in Mr Kamp's hand was only half the find. "I was just gobsmacked...

An Australian man using a budget metal detector has hit the score of a lifetime in Victoria– a giant gold nugget worth $160000.

About 40 miles west of Bendigo is where the largest gold nugget in the world was found by two miners in 1869. And for the Australian miner who just found a welcome stranger of his own, the timing is perfect. This location has a rich history of mining and was central to Australia's gold rush in the 1800s. "And he said, 'Oh wow, the wife's going to be happy with that.' " ](https://www.9news.com.au/national/st-arnaud-prospector-finds-240k-gold-nugget-in-victoria/3e35045e-0ce9-4653-8c21-4d4dee1ea42f?ocid=Social-9News&fbclid=IwAR23VLHfl6Rmylqjs3QtB9qGnR0XDm9jaeb2iECRIODSUoKIMAQjutKx3ss) He was using a Minelab Equinox 800 metal detector, a budget model that retails for about $900, when it hovered over the rock.

The man who did not wish to be named had found the nugget in Victoria's "Golden Triangle" area.

"When he dropped it into my hand my jaw dropped with it. but to find it with a detector, it's the biggest one I've seen." He was armed with a budget metal detector.

SYDNEY, March 29 (Reuters) - Australian inflation slowed to an eight-month low in February, thanks in part to a sharp retreat in holiday travel and ...

The monthly CPI index rose 0.2% in February, from January. That compared with 7.4% the previous month and market forecasts of 7.1%. Register for free to Reuters and know the full story [employment](/markets/australia-employment-rebounds-feb-jobless-drops-back-near-50-yr-lows-2023-03-16/) rebounded strongly in February, the jobless rate eased back to near 50-year lows, and [business conditions](/markets/australia-business-activity-strong-feb-even-confidence-wanes-2023-03-14/) remained resilient, although [consumer spending](/business/retail-consumer/australia-retail-sales-level-off-feb-shoppers-rein-spending-2023-03-28/) has levelled off. Prices excluding volatile fruit, vegetables and fuel rose 6.9% in the year to February, down from 7.5% in January. SYDNEY, March 29 (Reuters) - Australian inflation slowed to an eight-month low in February, thanks in part to a sharp retreat in holiday travel and accommodation, adding to the case for a pause in interest rate hikes next month.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's Labor government, which has legislated more ambitious action on greenhouse gases since winning office in May, wants global ...

A measure of Australian consumer prices rose by less than expected in February thanks in part to a sharp retreat in holiday travel and accommodation.

The monthly CPI index rose 0.2 percent in February, from January. Prices excluding volatile fruit, vegetables and fuel rose 6.9 percent in the year to February, down from 7.5 percent in January. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed its monthly consumer price index (CPI) rose 6.8 percent in the year to February, compared to 7.4 percent the previous month and market forecasts of 7.1 percent.

Australian inflation decelerated more than expected in February, driven by an easing in housing construction costs, bolstering the case for the Reserve Bank ...

The consumer price index rose at annual pace of 6.8% last month, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Wednesday. Economists had expected the annual ...

Travel and and accommodation rose at annual pace of 14.9% in February. There’s some relief on another energy front, though, with automotive fuel prices rising an annual rate of 5.6% last month, the slowest pace in two years. The RBA’s minutes for its 7 March meeting showed board member were prepared to consider a pause in coming months. The biggest contributors to February’s annual increase included the cost of housing, which rose 9.9% from a year earlier. The moves indicate that investors trimmed their bets on the Reserve Bank lifting its key interest rate next week. Economists had expected the annual rate would have dropped to about 7.2% from

Australia bond markets continue witnessing the week-start buying as traders brace for the key Aussie Monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for Febru.

Since then, the L2 narrative that was once the talking point of 2022 has exploded again. Gold stays defensive around $1,972, after snapping a two-day losing streak the previous day, as bulls seek more clues amid a cautious mood ahead of the top-tier data. USD/JPY struggles around intraday high as the key moving average challenges the Yen pair buyers during early Wednesday. The author makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of this information. The author will not be held responsible for information that is found at the end of links posted on this page. The author has not received compensation for writing this article, other than from FXStreet. In doing so, the risk barometer pair snaps two-day winning streak. AUD/USD drops 20 pips to 0.6690 as Aussie inflation disappoints during early Wednesday. On the same line could be the much-debated $5.4 million Credit Default Swap (CDS) trade of Deutsche Bank. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. That said, the benchmark 10-year Australia Treasury bond yields seesaw around 3.53% after posting a two-day recovery from the lowest levels since August 2022, marked on the last Friday.

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed the growth of the monthly consumer price index (or CPI) fell slightly in February, signalling ...

"We now expect a pause in April to be followed by a final increase of 0.25 per cent at the May meeting," he said. "The annual increase for the Housing group in February (+9.9 per cent) was lower than January (+10.4 per cent)," she said. "New dwellings grew 13.0 per cent in the 12 months to February which is the lowest annual growth since February 2022 as price rises for building materials continue to ease. "This month's annual increase of 6.8 per cent is lower than the 7.4 per cent annual rise reported in January 2023," she said. "This marks the second consecutive month of lower annual inflation, also known as 'disinflation', from the peak of 8.4 per cent in December 2022." [inflation rate](https://www.9news.com.au/inflation)has risen 6.8 per cent in the year to February 2023, down slightly on the 7.4 per cent annual rise reported in January.

Wildfires in Australia can be devastating, destroying homes and habitats across the country. CNN meets two members of the volunteer fire service in New ...

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian inflation slowed to an eight-month low in February, due in part to a sharp retreat in prices for holiday travel and ...

The monthly CPI index rose 0.2% in February from January. That compared with 7.4% the previous month and market forecasts of 7.1%. Wednesday's data showed inflation in February had been dragged down by a monthly 14.6% drop in costs for holidays and travel, as well as the slowest annual increases in a year for new dwellings and a levelling off in rent increases at 4.8%. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed its monthly consumer price index (CPI) rose 6.8% in the year to February, the slowest rise since June of last year. [Saved Items](/members-admin/saved-items) SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian inflation slowed to an eight-month low in February, due in part to a sharp retreat in prices for holiday travel and accommodation, bolstering the case for a pause in interest rate hikes next month.