Import tariffs on 500 products will cut red tape for businesses and ultimately ease cost of living pressures for consumers. Unusual items currently hit with tariffs include washing machines, toothbrushes, dodgem cars, chopsticks and ballpoint pens. The cost of living relief will be outlined in the May budget and comes amid speculation about an early federal election.

Reporter: Peter Ryan, Senior Business Correspondent

Research by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) suggests the superannuation of one-in-seven Australian women is being eroded as they transition through menopause. The study warns that women who take time off, or even retire, as they go through menopause lose as much $60,000 from their retirement nest eggs.

Reporter: ABC senior business correspondent Peter Ryan

Featured: Kerry McNamee, human resources professional; Mary Delahunty, CEO, Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia

Keywords: podcast, superannuation, gender pay gap, menopause

The ASX has been hit with a million dollar fine for breaching its own transparency and integrity rules on more than eight thousand occasions. ASX is blaming a "systems error" but corporate regulator ASIC says that's not good eneough. Chair Joe Longo tells The World Today that market operators need to be held to the highest standards.

Reporter: Peter Ryan, Senior Business Correspondent

Featured: Joe Longo, ASIC chair

Australia's economy looks set for another year of uncertainty after posting the slowest growth figures in more than twenty years.

So can a recession be avoided - and will the Reserve Bank step in with interest rate cuts sooner rather than later?

Also, CBA-owned Bankwest to close all branches in WA as the banking business goes increasingly digital.

GDP for the final quarter of 2023 showed the economy expanded by just 0.2 percent making a sluggish 1.4 percent over the year. Once again, China is vital to Australia's economy, propping up growth with its seemingly insatiable demand for Australian commodities.

Reporter: Peter Ryan, Senior Business Correspondent

Fears that economic growth might have gone negative in the final quarter of last year appear to have been dispelled - for now anyway.

Once again, it looks as though China has come to the rescue given its seemingly insatiable demand for Australian commodities.

Also - Taylor Swift pops up at the ASEAN Summit as Singapore's PM is pressed on why her only South East Asian show is in the island state.

Avenue Bank hits the market as a small niche player after receiving a unrestricted approval from the banking regulator APRA.

The bank will differentiate itself by providing bank guarantees to small businesses and landlords.

Also, economists fear Q4 GDP out tomorrow could turn negative after the ABS reported businesses have been running down inventory in the expectation that consumers are being crunched.

ASIC shuts down 3,500 investment scam sites

Caption: Corporate regulator ASIC has shut down 3,500 investment scam sites since July 2023 as part of pressure to protect unsuspecting consumers from financial harm. ASIC is now turning up the heat on the banking sector and superannuation funds to ensure customers are fully protected from criminal scammers.

Reporter: Peter Ryan, Senior Business Correspondent

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We'll get an update later this week on the rapidly slowing economy .. and the impact from aggressive interest rate rises to fight inflation.

So how close could Australia go to falling into a recession?

The future of letter deliveries looks increasingly uncertain with Australia Post confirming continued losses in its traditional letters business. While Australia Post's half year profit is slightly higher at $33.6 million, declining letter deliveries and fewer customers visiting post offices means the agency's chief executive is facing some hard decisions.

Reporter: Peter Ryan, Senior Business Correspondent

Featured: Paul Graham, Australia Post chief executive