ABC Business Daily

The fighting may have eased, but the picture in the Strait of Hormuz is still murky - with conflicting claims about whether oil is really moving through one of the world’s most critical shipping routes.

At the same time, the federal government has extended the fuel excise cut, but at a smaller discount. So what does that say about fuel security, petrol prices, and how worried Canberra still is?

Carrington Clarke and Alan Kohler help you stay on top of the numbers behind the ongoing energy crisis on Fuelcast on ABC Business Daily.

Got a burning brent crude question?

Send an email to Carrington and the team [email protected]

Voice AI is one of the clearest fronts in the fight over what artificial intelligence will actually do to human work.

Not in theory, and not eventually - but right now, in one of the most routine, repetitive and heavily staffed parts of the economy: the call centre.

Will Bodewes is the Melbourne graduate behind Phonely.ai, a now San Francisco-based startup building voice agents for businesses that want phones answered instantly, cheaply, and at scale.

He joins Alan Kohler to talk about what that means for the millions of people who currently do that work, how much of this is really about productivity versus replacement, and why the pitch to business is as blunt as it sounds - lower costs, no wait times, and fewer missed opportunities.

But this interview does something extra too. Alan actually talks to the AI itself - testing what it sounds like, how natural it feels, where it stumbles, and what that reveals about both the promise and the limits of the technology.

They also get into the bigger questions: whether customers should always be told they are speaking to a machine, how close voice AI is to sounding fully human, the risks of scams and fraud, and whether tools like this are making life easier - or just quietly automating more people out of a job.

Will Bodewes, founder of Phonely.ai joins Alan Kohler to unpack it all on That's Business with Alan Kohler.

Got a burning business question?

Send a short voice recording to the ABC Business Daily team at [email protected]

There's a lot of heated debate about Australia's immigration program. And so when a new report on the economic outcomes of skilled worker visa holders hit host Carrington Clarke's inbox - he was eager to find out more.

Today on the podcast, Carrington is in conversation with Dr. Peter Varela,  research fellow at the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute at the Australian National University - one of the report's authors.

So what does the data tell us? And does it offer any solutions to improve the productivity of the Australian Labour market?

Also - the government unveils carve outs for CGT. We get Peter Varela's take after his appearance at the Senate Inquiry earlier this week. 

Carrington Clarke and Dr. Peter Varela, research fellow at the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute at the Australian National University, break it all down on ABC Business Daily.

Got a burning business question?

We'd love to hear your questions! If there’s business and economic news that has you stumped or you'd like further insight into, we're here to help. Send a short voice recording to Carrington and the team at [email protected] and we'll attempt to answer it.

The RBA’s decision to leave rates on hold might have triggered a collective sigh of relief from Australia’s mortgage holders, but there was a clear warning from RBA governor Michelle Bullock that the board stands ready to hike further if necessary.

And after months of negotiation, ARN Media has reached a settlement with its former radio star Kyle Sandilands.

While Sandilands gets a multimillion-dollar golden parachute. Could the deal mean he’s soon a competitor with the company that helped make him a very wealthy man?

Carrington Clarke and ABC Chief Business Correspondent Ian Verrender break it all down on ABC Business Daily.

Got a burning business question?

We'd love to hear your questions! If there’s business and economic news that has you stumped or you'd like further insight into, we're here to help. Send a short voice recording to Carrington and the team at [email protected] and we'll attempt to answer it.

After three rate hikes in 2026, the Reserve Bank has finally hit pause - leaving the cash rate unchanged at 4.35 per cent.

The Board says inflation is “still too high” and that higher fuel prices are “passing through to the prices of other goods and services”, but decided to hold steady while it assesses the impact of earlier increases.

Carrington Clarke and ABC News Business Editor Michael Janda unpack the unanimous decision on ABC Business Daily.

Got a burning business question?

We'd love to hear your questions! If there’s business and economic news that has you stumped or you'd like further insight into, we're here to help. Send a short voice recording to Carrington and the team at [email protected] and we'll attempt to answer it.

The Australian stock market has surged after US President Donald Trump declared that oil shipments will soon start flowing freely through the strait of Hormuz.

The announcement comes as Australia's Reserve Bank starts its deliberations about what to do with interest rates ahead of tomorrow afternoon's decision.

So does this Hormuz news lower the chance of further rate hikes?

Carrington Clarke and ABC Business Reporter Steph Chalmers  break it all down on ABC Business Daily.

Catch up on today's episode of Fuelcast here. 

Got a burning business question?

Send a short voice recording to Carrington and the team at [email protected]

“Ships of the world, start your engines. Let the oil flow!”

That was US President Donald Trump on Truth Social after news that the US and Iran had reached a ceasefire agreement - a deal Iran has also confirmed.

But we've been here before - and while the announcement is dramatic, plenty of questions remain. Will the oil really flow? How will we know when the Strait of Hormuz is truly open? How long will it take for fuel supply to normalise? And what happens next for oil prices?

Carrington Clarke and Alan Kohler help you keep on top of the numbers behind the ongoing energy crisis on Fuelcast on ABC Business Daily.

Got a burning brent crude question?

Send an email to Carrington and the team [email protected]

Katharina Mildren started her fashion label, Katharina Lou, at her kitchen table not long after finishing university. 

A few years on, the business is growing at 50 per cent a year, employs half a dozen full-time staff, and has built a customer base that extends well beyond Australia.

This is partly a classic founder story - how to start a business, manage cash flow, deal with stock, and grow without losing control.

But it is also a story about how a new generation of founders are rewriting the rules of retail: building brands through influencers, social media, scarcity, pop-ups, and direct relationships with customers rather than relying on permanent shopfronts.

Alan Kohler speaks to Katharina about how the brand grew from a kitchen-table idea into a fast-moving fashion business, what it takes to scale in a crowded market, and why modern retail is as much about identity, community, and online momentum as it is about the clothes themselves.

Katharina Mildren, founder and creative director of Katharina Lou joins Alan Kohler to unpack it all on That's Business with Alan Kohler.

Got a burning business question?

Send a short voice recording to the ABC Business Daily team at [email protected]

Inflation in the United States has jumped to a three-year high, with rising energy prices adding fresh pressure as the war in Iran escalates again.

So what does hotter US inflation mean for global markets, interest rates, and Australia?

And with SpaceX about to go public in what could be a historic market moment, how should investors think about the hype - and the growing security concerns around Starlink?

And we answer listener Phil's question.

Carrington Clarke and ABC News Business Editor Michael Janda break it all down on ABC Business Daily.

Catch up on The Business here.

Got a burning business question like Phil?

Send a short voice recording to Carrington and the team at [email protected]

Australian grocery giant Woolworths is expected to ship hundreds of corporate jobs offshore. Barbeques Galore says it's going to close up shop with hundreds of workers facing redundancy. What to make of these retail shakeups?

And why is Wesfarmers positive about the transformational power of AI?

Carrington Clarke and ABC Business Reporter Steph Chalmers break it all down on ABC Business Daily.

Catch up on today's episode of Fuelcast here. 

And you can read Steph Chalmers and David Taylor's article on Barbeques Galore here. 

Got a burning business question?

Send a short voice recording to Carrington and the team at [email protected]