ABC Business Daily

The Reserve Bank of Australia has raised rates, bringing the cash rate to the highest it’s been since 2011. 

And even though this latest hike doesn’t come as a surprise, the sting will still be felt by borrowers throughout the country.

So what does this mean for the Australian economy? 

And how likely is a fifth rate hike before the end of the year?

Carrington Clarke and ABC News Business Editor Michael Janda 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.

Is the era of US-dollar dominance on its last legs? 

Against the backdrop of the war in Iran, a trade war with Canada, and bond sell-offs, trust in the Greenback appears to be weakening. 

Meanwhile central banks around the world have been looking elsewhere to shore up reserves. 

So how does this all play into rising interest rates - here in Australia - and across the world?

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.

Australia's migration debate is once again ramping up, with Labor planning to cut backpacker and student visa numbers amid calls from One Nation to slash immigration by 750, 000 places over three years.

Beneath the political storm is a complicated history of changing economic and social policy governing who gets to come to — and who gets to stay in — Australia.

Mark Cully is a former chief economist for the Department of Immigration, a former chair of the OECD Working Party on Migration, and the author of a new book: Waves of Plenty: Immigration and the Making of Australia.

He sits down with Alan Kohler on That's Business to discuss the economics of migration, how we got here, and what we can learn from the immigration policies of the past.

Got a burning business question?

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

Got a burning business question?

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

The Australian Government is calling for stronger global rules around artificial intelligence. But as AI agents become more capable and autonomous, the question is becoming increasingly urgent: can governments regulate AI before it gets ahead of them?

This week, prime minister Anthony Albanese announced a swarm of OpenAI's agents appeared to work together to circumvent cybersecurity defences and access Medicare health data.

But the US President Donald Trump has rejected calls for more AI guardrails, arguing the technology should instead be embraced as "super intelligence".

Alan Kohler sits down with Andrew Charlton, Assistant Minister for Science, Technology and the Digital Economy, to discuss who stands to benefit from the AI boom, who should control the technology, and whether Australia can shape the future of AI or will simply have to adapt to it.

Got a burning business question?

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

New jobs data out today shows the unemployment rate has risen in Australia. 

But is it enough to halt the RBA's expected interest rate hike?

And an agent from Open AI has hacked into a Services Australia portal. 

Could this damage big tech's reputation at a time when it's asking for government support to invest in Australia? 

Carrington Clarke and ABC Finance Journalist Alicia Barry 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.

Reserve bank boss Michelle Bullock has made her final public appearance ahead of next week’s rate decision. 

And with the public eager to get some sense of which way rates will go, the message most people seemed to hear was clear: The fight against inflation isn’t over yet. And it may take a further lift in unemployment to get there.

So is a rate hike all but certain?

Meanwhile, Donald Trump recently took the stage to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York. 

Is the US president about to cut the world off from American diesel?

Carrington Clarke and Millie Muroi, Economics Writer at the The Sydney Morning Herald 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.

What will Australia’s economy be like forty years from now?

According to Treasury’s latest Intergenerational Report there will be about forty million of us. But will they be living better lives than the 28 million kicking around today?

And could AI finally turn around Australia’s flagging productivity problem?

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

You can read Ian's piece on the Intergenerational Report here. 

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 price of Brent Crude has climbed back above one hundred dollars a barrel in response to rising concerns that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East is spreading. 

Here in Australia, the Coalition is touting a new fuel excise proposal as the price of diesel climbs closer to spikes not seen since the beginning of the conflict.

Meanwhile, analysts from Australia's big four banks agree that a September rate hike from the Reserve Bank is looking increasingly likely.  

So what do the latest auction clearance rates do to fill in the Australian property picture? 

And just how deep a downturn is on the horizon?

Carrington Clarke and ABC News Business Editor Michael Janda 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.

For years governments and companies have been trying to figure out how to make more houses people can afford in Australia. 

In other parts of the world, building homes in factories and then assembling them onsite is part of the solution — but it's never really taken off in Australia. 

Now, construction firm Built has joined up with Bunnings' parent company Wesfarmers to create Built Living, a company making pre-cast concrete apartment parts ready to turn into affordable homes. 

But are Australians willing to embrace the model? And what's the price impact, really?

Built Living CEO Dale Connor joins Alan Kohler on That's Business to find out what it'll take to make pre-fab work in Australia, the lessons from overseas markets, and what the closure of housing developer Bathla means for the construction industry.

Got a burning business question?

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

The US Federal Reserve has hiked interest rates for the first time since 2023 - and the consequences could reach all the way into your investment portfolio.

United States Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh says the move is designed to bring inflation back towards target faster - but will one hike be enough, or are more on the way?

And as higher US rates ripple through global markets, shifting currencies, borrowing costs and share prices - what are the potentially significant consequences for Australian companies and investors?

In this special episode of ABC Business Daily Carrington Clarke is joined by Richard Schellbach, Equity Strategist at UBS, to break it all down.

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.