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☆ Australian businesses, consumers at risk of sharp slowdown ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"There is a growing risk that the RBA's attempts to maintain an even keel 'run aground,'" said NAB Chief Economist Alan Oster. The survey, however, pointed to persistent price pressures, with the measure of labour costs and purchase costs accelerating, in a concern for the RBA. NAB on Tuesday raised its call on peak rates in the current cycle, adding two more quarter-point hikes to 4.6%. Markets are now pricing the risk of two more hikes, and see rates staying elevated for the remainder of the year. CONSUMERS UNDER THE PUMPData from Westpac and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) also points to the strains consumers are feeling as high living costs and surging mortgage rates erode spending power.

Persons: Alan Oster, Bill Evans, Belinda Allen, Stella Qiu, Kim Coghill, Jamie Freed Organizations: NAB, RBA Westpac, SYDNEY, National Australia Bank, Reserve Bank of Australia, Westpac, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Melbourne Institute, CBA, Thomson

☆ Westpac to layoff 300 workers in business and retail unit, says trade union
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 12 (Reuters) - Australian lender Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AX) will cut around 300 jobs in its consumer and business banking segments at a time of strong profit growth amid rising interest rates and soaring inflation, a local trade body said. The Finance Sector Union of Australia (FSU) said on Friday the country's third-largest bank would reduce headcount from its Consumer and Business Banking Division, citing a Westpac internal memo seen by the union. 2 mortgage provider reported a 22% rise in its first half net profit to A$4.00 billion ($2.70 billion) amid a high-inflationary environment. The bank could not be reached immediately for a comment on account of a public holiday on Monday. ($1 = 1.4839 Australian dollars)Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Julia Angrisano, Rishav Chatterjee, Rashmi Organizations: Westpac Banking Corp, Finance Sector Union of Australia, FSU, Consumer, Business Banking, Westpac, Reuters, ANZ Group, National Australia Bank, DBS, Australia's, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Morning Bid: Fresh lira low, focus on Fed
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Kevin BucklandAnother day, another market-positive appointment from Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, and yet, another record low for the lira. Erdogan is making all the right noises to signal a return to more orthodox policy, picking U.S. banking executive Hafize Gaye Erkan as head of the central bank. Even so, the lira is seemingly in freefall, reaching an unprecedented 23.54 per dollar in Asian hours and extending this month's drop to 12%. ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos has a chance to air his views at an event in Madrid. Reuters GraphicsKey developments that could influence markets on Friday:Sweden GDP and industrial productionItaly industrial outputECB Vice President Luis de Guindos speaks at conference in MadridReporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Edmund KlamannOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kevin Buckland Another, Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Mehmet Simsek, Rodrigo Catril, Luis de Guindos, Kazuo Ueda, Kevin Buckland, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Reuters Graphics Reuters, Federal Reserve, ECB, Bank of Japan, Fed, SEC, Reuters, Thomson Locations: freefall, Europe, Canada, Australia, Madrid, Sweden, Italy

☆ Australia cenbank warns of more hikes ahead after raising rates to 11-yr high
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"The omission of this sentence reads hawkish in our view and may spell further rate hikes ahead from the RBA." Adam Boyton, head of Australian economics at ANZ, expects the RBA to raise interest rates by another quarter-point in August. In the policy statement, Lowe said the latest rate increase will "provide greater confidence that inflation will return to target within a reasonable timeframe." The RBA has increased interest rates by a whopping 400 basis points since May last year, the most aggressive tightening cycle in its modern history. "As the RBA takes rates higher, the risk of a greater slowing in the economy is rising," said Tapas Strickland, head of market economics at NAB.

Persons: Prashant Newnaha, Adam Boyton, Lowe, Tapas Strickland, Stella Qiu, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: SYDNEY, Reserve Bank of Australia, Securities, Australian, ANZ, Graphics Global, Federal, NAB, Thomson Locations: Asia, Australia

☆ 10 Things in Tech: Hello, Apple Vision Pro
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Nerd Helmet, as coined by The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern, has arrived! Apple on Monday unveiled its first hardware release in almost a decade: The $3,499 Vision Pro mixed-reality headset. But while Meta has aimed to make VR/AR affordable for the masses, with limited success, Apple is squarely aiming the Vision Pro at early adopters and developers. Apple's Vision Pro headset has an exterior "EyeSight" display to make your eyes visible to others around you. Say hello to the Vision Pro.

Persons: Lara O'Reilly, Joanna Stern, Apple, Let's, Tim Cook, Bob Iger, Elizabeth Holmes, Justin Sullivan, Linda Yaccarino, Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Altman, OpenAI, Binance, Changpeng Zhao, Bernstein, Hollywood's, Roy Rochlin, Craig Federghi, Jack Sommers Organizations: Apple, Meta, Apple's Worldwide, Conference, Vision, Getty, Twitter, Venture, Sequoia, US Securities and Exchange Commission, Alliance, Producers, Hollywood, New York Stock Exchange, Wall, nab, Wall Street Locations: London, ChatGPT

☆ When it comes to your Wall Street internship, revert to the mean
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Wall Street's summer internship is officially here as investment banks open up their doors to eager college students. The 10-week internship program represents a critical juncture for aspiring Wall Streeters. Lucky for you, Insider's Emmalyse Brownstein has a foolproof guide for how to navigate your Wall Street internship, mapping out the key dos and don'ts. Read more about everything you should, and shouldn't, do during your Wall Street internship. One to watch at Goldman Sachs.

Persons: Dan DeFrancesco, Lydia Warren, we've, Goldman Sachs, Let's, Wall, Brownstein, Banks, Read, Brad Pitt's, He's, you've, Leo Bogdanov, KKR's, Nishi Somaiya, John Waldron, Daniel Pinto, Balyasny, Jane Fraser, We've, Jeffrey Cane, Hallam Bullock Organizations: KKR, nab, Citadel, Goldman, JPMorgan, Millennium, UBS, LinkedIn Locations: Hawaii, Wall, New York, London

☆ Citadel's red-hot run has led to a new problem: It's harder than ever to nab an internship there
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Billionaire Ken Griffin's Citadel internship program is attracting more students than ever before. Citadel, the $57 billion hedge fund, and market maker Citadel Securities recruit hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students every year for an 11-week summer internship program. The internship starts Monday, with a kickoff week at the Four Seasons in Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach. "We think of campus recruiting very much the same way that other firms think of executive recruiting," Mitro said. "All of it is geared towards simulating what life would be like for them if they were to join the firm," Mitro said.

Persons: Ken, Matt Mitro, Griffin, Mitro, It's, it's, commerciality, UT Austin — Organizations: Citadel, Citadel Securities, New, Wayback, NASA, US Army, MIT, UC Berkeley, Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, UT Austin, Mathematical Association of America, Intercollegiate, Discover Citadel Locations: Fort Lauderdale, Palm, Citadel, Miami, New York City, Singapore, Paris, Palm Beach, New York, Chicago, London, Hong Kong

☆ Dollar sags as Fed bets ebb, debt bill passes; Aussie soars
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Australian dollar surged after an increase in the minimum wage stoked bets for the central bank to raise rates again next week. A day earlier, Fed Governor Philip Jefferson had said that "skipping a rate hike at a coming meeting would allow the committee to see more data before making decisions about the extent of additional policy firming." "Maybe they hike in June, maybe in July, or maybe they don't hike any more." Money markets currently see about 29% odds of a hike, down from near 70% earlier in the week. Traders currently lay about one-third odds on a quarter-point rate hike on Tuesday.

Persons: Patrick Harker, Philip Jefferson, Shinichiro Kadota, Christine Lagarde, Joe Biden, Monday's, Ray Attrill, NAB's, Kevin Buckland, Sam Holmes Organizations: U.S, Federal Reserve, Australian, Philadelphia Fed, Barclay, European Central Bank, National Australia Bank, Traders, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, U.S, Tokyo

☆ RBA to hold rates at 3.85% in June, but may raise again soon: Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Devayani Sathyan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/David GrayThe Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raised rates last month after pausing in April, confounding financial markets and a majority of economists who were expecting the central bank to hold. The remaining eight in the poll taken between May 29 and June 1 poll expected a 25 basis point hike. Interest rate futures were pricing in a roughly one-in-three chance of a rate hike then. More than half of respondents, or 18 of 28, expected rates to reach 4.10% or higher by end-September, including four who saw rates at 4.35%. The remaining 10 expected rates to stay at 3.85%.

Persons: David Gray, Philip Lowe, “ we’ve, ”, Taylor Nugent, ” Nugent, Gareth Aird Organizations: Reserve Bank of Australia, REUTERS, David Gray The Reserve Bank of Australia, ANZ, CBA, NAB, Westpac, Economics Locations: BENGALURU, Sydney, Australia

☆ Fed 'skip' chatter triggers dollar's biggest weekly fall since January
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Amanda Cooper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Australian dollar surged after an increase in the minimum wage there stoked bets for another raise in rates next week. The dollar index , which measures the U.S. currency against six others, has dropped nearly 0.8% this week, its biggest weekly loss since mid-January. Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said on Thursday "it's time to at least hit the stop button for one meeting and see how it goes", referring to the June 13-14 Fed meeting. Money markets are pricing in a roughly 29% chance of a June hike, down from near 70% earlier in the week. Even if a hike doesn't happen next week, markets expect one by autumn.

Persons: Fiona Cincotta, let's, Patrick Harker, Philip Jefferson, Guy Miller, Christine Lagarde, Joe Biden, Monday's, Ray Attrill, Dhara Ranasinghe, Kevin Buckland, Mark Heinrich, Mark Potter, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Federal Reserve, Australian, City Index, Philadelphia Fed, Reuters, Zurich Insurance, European Central Bank, U.S . Senate, National Australia Bank, NAB, Traders, Reserve Bank of Australia, Thomson Locations: U.S, City, April's, London, Tokyo

☆ Aussie housing dip over, prices to rebound into next year on rate view
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Vivek Mishra | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary poll dataBENGALURU, June 1 (Reuters) - Australia's housing market outlook has improved significantly, with home prices expected to on average stagnate this year compared to the near double-digit fall predicted three months ago, according to a Reuters poll of housing analysts. They were then forecast to rise 4.5% in 2024, almost twice the expected rate from the previous poll. While ANZ and Westpac forecast no growth this year, CBA expected a 3.0% rise and NAB predicted a 4.0% decline in prices. "We are almost at the top of the RBA's hiking cycle, which means the headwind on property prices from rates ratcheting higher has largely run its course." (For other stories from the Reuters quarterly housing market polls:)Reporting by Vivek Mishra; Polling by Sujith Pai and Veronica Khongwir; Editing by Hari Kishan, Ross FinleyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Adelaide Timbrell, Gareth Aird, Shane Oliver, Vivek Mishra, Sujith Pai, Veronica Khongwir, Hari Kishan, Ross Finley Organizations: Bank of Australia, ANZ, Westpac, CBA, NAB, Economics, AMP, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, New Zealand

☆ This Nordstrom Credit Card Offers Early Access to the Retailer’s Annual Anniversary Sale
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

(Nordstrom does offer another credit card, the Nordstrom Retail Credit Card, which offers similar rewards but can only be used to make store purchases.) While Nordstrom’s rewards aren’t top of the market, especially when compared to flat cash back credit card options, the card does come with a big fringe benefit for devotees of the department store: early access to the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, which begins each year in July. The Nordstrom Visa credit card also rewards your spending at Nordstrom—or wherever else you shop. No foreign transaction feesIt is worth noting that not all of these perks are exclusive to credit card users, including early sale access. Nordstrom’s Visa credit card makes the most sense for serious fans of the retailer—people who shop there regularly and deeply value accessing the store’s annual anniversary sale early to nab the most-coveted deals.

Persons: Kerri Anne Renzulli, Nordstrom, who’ve, you’d Organizations: Nordstrom, TD Bank, you’ve, Nordy, nab Locations: Nordstrom, The Wells

☆ Factbox: Penalties imposed on Australian companies over the recent years
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Here are some of the major penalties imposed by the regulators:AMP LTD (AMP.AX)Troubled Australian wealth manager AMP Ltd was fined a court-mandated penalty of A$24 million in May for billing dead clients for insurance and financial advice. In October 2022, ANZ was penalised A$25 million for failing to provide certain benefits it had agreed to give customers. In October 2022, CBA's trading unit was fined A$20 million for compliance failures in delivering financial services. NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK (NAB.AX)National Australia Bank, the country's second-largest bank, was charged A$18.5 million penalty in August 2021 by a court for issuing misleading fee disclosure statements or none at all. WESTPAC BANKING CORP (WBC.AX)Australia's third-biggest lender, Westpac Banking Corp was ordered to pay A$113 million in penalties in April 2022 for multiple compliance failures across its businesses.

☆ Dollar steady on mounting Fed hike bets, debt ceiling deal optimism
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SINGAPORE, May 29 (Reuters) - The dollar held firm on Monday supported by growing expectations of further rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve, though news that a debt ceiling deal had been finalised drew some of the safe haven bids away from the greenback. DEBT DEAL DONE? "We've got a risk-positive response so far to the debt deal news," said NAB's Attrill. "Obviously there's still the need to get this debt deal over the line, but I think markets are happy to travel on the presumption that it will get done before the new X-date." U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had on Friday said the government would default if Congress did not increase the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling by June 5, having previously said a default could happen as early as June 1.

☆ Dollar elevated as sticky inflation cements Fed hike bets, debt ceiling deal lifts optimism
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The yen's renewed decline has come on the back of rising U.S. Treasury yields, as bets grow that interest rates in the United States would stay higher for longer. Cash U.S. Treasuries were untraded in Asia on Monday, owing to the Memorial Day holiday in the United States, while futures were broadly steady. DEBT DEAL DONE? "We've got a risk-positive response so far to the debt deal news," said NAB's Attrill. "Obviously there's still the need to get this debt deal over the line, but I think markets are happy to travel on the presumption that it will get done before the new X-date."

☆ The 18 best ways to make money by reading, from submitting book reviews for cash to narrating audiobooks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Zulie Rane | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

She always wanted to earn money from reading books, but said the best way to do that doesn't exist. Here are a few of the best ways to make money by reading books using social media. The good news is that BookTok is one of the best ways to make money by reading books. Post your book reviews on a publication like Books Are Our Superpower and make money by reading books that way. Until then, I hope this article helps you find the best ways to make money by reading books.

☆ The up-and-coming stock pickers you should have on your radar
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rising stars of equity research. When it comes to equity research, these analysts are a "strong buy." For a third consecutive year, Insider reporters canvassed their sources to identify the rising stars of equity research. Click here to meet our 17 rising stars of equity research. These are 10 of the cheapest places to nab a beach house in the US.

2 mortgage provider has told mortgage brokers that "if a customer is unable to meet serviceability under the standard assessment criteria", it might apply a modified serviceability assessment rate. Since the buffer is a guideline, banks are allowed to deviate from it. "APRA should consider officially lowering the serviceability buffer for refinancers." Representatives for Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX) and ANZ Banking Group Ltd (ANZ.AX) were not immediately available for comment. ($1 = 1.4743 Australian dollars)Reporting by Byron Kaye and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Dollar gains as debt deal hopes rekindle hawkish Fed bets
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

That eased fears of an unprecedented and economically catastrophic default, leading markets to revise their expectations of where U.S. interest rates could go. The euro fell to a more than seven-week low of $1.0760, while the U.S. dollar index rose 0.07% to 103.57, flirting with Thursday's two-month high of 103.63. "It does remove one obstacle to the Fed continuing to raise rates." U.S. Treasury yields have climbed on the back of the hawkish Fed repricing and amid a pick up in risk sentiment. The two-year Treasury yield , which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, last stood at 4.2510%, while the benchmark 10-year yield was last at 3.6402%.

☆ Dollar buoyed by hawkish Fed expectations as debt deal eyed
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SINGAPORE, May 19 (Reuters) - The dollar firmed near a six-month peak against the yen on Friday on the back of rising U.S. Treasury yields, as optimism over debt ceiling talks in Washington raised expectations of higher-for-longer interest rates. The news helped calm fears of an unprecedented and economically catastrophic American debt default, leading markets to revise their expectations of where U.S. interest rates could go. The dollar stayed elevated in early Asia trade on Friday and last bought 138.40 yen , having risen to a near six-month high of 138.75 yen in the previous session. U.S. Treasury yields have climbed on the back of the hawkish Fed repricing and amid a pick up in risk sentiment. The two-year Treasury yield , which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, last stood at 4.2581%, edging away from a low of 3.964% at the start of the week.

☆ This startup uses generative AI to speed up the property-buying process. Check out the 14-slide pitch deck Orbital Witness used to raise $9 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Orbital Witness uses generative AI to speed up the due diligence process when buying properties. The London-based startup has raised $9 million in a round led by US property tech investor Parker89. A startup that uses generative AI to streamline the lengthy due diligence associated with buying property has raised $9 million in a round led by US investor Parker89. Amid a tougher funding environment, Pearce said that the team was still very specific about who they took money from and skewed towards property tech investors. The round was led by property tech investors Parker89, which has backed Properly, Flyhomes, and Orchard.

☆ Australia employment unexpectedly drops, reinforcing rate pause bets
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SYDNEY, May 18 (Reuters) - Australia employment unexpectedly dipped in April after two months of outsized gains, and the jobless rate also ticked up in a sign the red-hot labour market might be cooling, bolstering the case for a pause in interest rate hikes next month. The jobless rate ticked up to a three-month high of 3.7% from a near 50-year low of 3.5%, when analysts had expected no change. Markets reinforced bets of a rate pause next month but were pricing in some risk of a move in August or September. "We expect to see a gradual softening in labour market conditions over 2023 as the impact of interest rate increases to date start to bite," said Sean Langcake, head of macroeconomic forecasting for Oxford Economics Australia. "NAB's view is that there will likely be at least one further rate increase, but we remain close to the peak of this interest rate cycle."

ISLAMABAD, May 18 (Reuters) - Pakistan's powerful anti-corruption agency has summoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan for questioning on Thursday into the graft charges that led to his arrest on May 9. It was not clear if Khan, who denies the charges, would heed the summons. A spokesman for Khan's party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, was not immediately available for a comment. The Supreme Court ordered Khan's release on bail last Friday, and another court on Wednesday extended his protective bail until May 31. Punjab's information minister Amir Mir said the government did not have any plans to arrest Khan as he had been given bail by court.

☆ Analysis: Australian banks' bid to shake mortgage reliance brings new risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"When there's a macroeconomic downturn, it's generally institutional and business lending exposures that are impacted first," he added. For decades, Australian housing finance has significantly outpaced business lending, making home loan margins the engine of profits. A more recent exodus from non-lending retail services like financial advice has further weighted banks' allocation of capital to residential property. The big four banks said in earnings updates this month that their net interest margins peaked in late 2022 and have since narrowed. To hedge against interest rates risks, the Big Four may now chase new services-based revenues from commercial clients in non-lending segments, added Garland.

☆ News startup Messenger launches with Trump 'exclusive' while advertisers expressed skepticism ahead of debut: 'We can't have another Quibi'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Jimmy Finkelstein's startup The Messenger launched today with a Trump interview leading the site. Advertisers said it'll be tough to sell ads on a site without an established audience. The site led with an interview with former President Donald Trump and ads from the American Petroleum Institute. The Messenger said it'll roll out seven other verticals including business, entertainment, and sports later in the year. Image from The Messenger's launch ad campaign.

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