News Ticker 1 / of 2 Economic Trends [Unemployment hits record low as hours worked recover from COVID-19’s Omicron variant] Australia’s jobs market continues to strengthen, with unemployment falling to 4 per cent and hours worked recovering from January’s COVID-19 Omicron variant outbreak.Posted analysis [Some countries are reducing tax to lower petrol prices.Here’s why Australia should not interfere](/news/2022-03-16/petrol-tax-price-of-oil-russia-ukraine-budget/100911060) / Updated [Some countries are reducing tax to lower petrol prices.Here’s why Australia should not interfere] Cutting petrol tax to bring down the cost of living used to be the political version of a joke.But no-one is laughing now.
New Zealand has cut its fuel excise by 25 cents and there’s talk about a similar move in the US.So should Australia follow suit? Posted [No bold moves as Broken Hill quietly optimistic with zinc at 15-year high] With the zinc price at a 15-year high, mining communities like Broken Hill hope it can bring some job security to the town.Posted [The Ukraine war is triggering a fresh wave of inflation that has the Reserve Bank and consumers worried] Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe says bottlenecks in the world’s supply chains had been easing, but the Russia-Ukraine war could change everything and send prices soaring once again.
Posted analysis [How the Ukraine invasion will impact your budget](/news/2022-03-07/russia-ukraine-invasion-and-how-it-will-impact-your-budget/100887104) [How the Ukraine invasion will impact your budget] By business editor Ian Verrender The war in Ukraine is likely to affect things like Australia’s terms of trade, fuel and grocery prices and interest rates, but not necessarily in the ways that you would expect, writes Ian Verrender.Posted analysis [Why global supply chains will be re-written by the ‘second Cold War’](/news/2022-03-06/why-global-supply-chains-will-be-rewritten-in-coming-years/100875330) [Why global supply chains will be re-written by the ‘second Cold War’] The Russia-Ukraine conflict could blow apart the global economic order, including its supply chains, writes Gareth Hutchens.
Posted [Economy bounces back from Delta lockdowns with the strongest growth in nearly 46 years] By business reporters Michael Janda and Rhiana Whitson and Australia’s economy just posted its equal-best quarter of economic growth in nearly 46 years as it bounced back from the east-coast Delta lockdowns.But not everyone is cheering, with rising costs and supply shortages still hitting many businesses and consumers.
Posted analysis [The unexpected bright side of higher petrol prices](/news/2022-03-02/russia-invasion-ukraine-petrol-prices-australia-carbon-emissions/100872698) [The unexpected bright side of higher petrol prices] With Australian petrol prices forecast to reach $2.10, it’s possible some good could come of the pain wrought by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — including a faster path to net zero emissions, writes Peter Martin.Posted analysis [We need to learn every lesson possible about our falling unemployment rate](/news/2022-02-27/unemployment-rates-are-falling-around-the-world-stimulus/100856882) [We need to learn every lesson possible about our falling unemployment rate] We need to understand exactly why our unemployment rate has fallen so low.What lessons can we learn? Posted [What the Russia-Ukraine conflict could mean for Australia’s ‘skyrocketing’ farm costs] By National Regional Reporter Nathan Morris With the return of better seasons, eastern Australian farmers are preparing for another big winter crop, but the cost of planting has almost never been higher.Posted [Russian forces moving towards Ukrainian capital] Ukrainian authorities are warning of a potential Russian tank assault on Kyiv.
Posted Duration: 16 minutes 28 seconds [With Australia’s borders reopening, how will property markets adjust?] As overseas arrivals slowly return to Australia, demand for housing and accommodation is expected to pick up.Posted analysis [Wages have recorded their worst result in seven years](/news/2022-02-24/real-wages-are-slipping-backwards-february-2022/100854136) [Wages have recorded their worst result in seven years] With inflation rising faster than wages, the real value of your pay packet is going backwards, writes Gareth Hutchens.
Posted [‘A huge shortage of talent’ is pushing wages higher, but not as fast as the cost of living] Wages record their fastest annual growth in two-and-a-half years as retail and hospitality record the strongest pay growth, but it is still trailing well behind the rising cost of living.Posted [Tim’s company Airtasker was worth almost $2 a share.Now it’s 69 cents.
A lot of tech firms are in the same boat] By business reporter David Chau Tech stocks hit record highs during the COVID-19 pandemic, but have fallen sharply in 2022 as central banks prepare to lift rates.Tech companies that do not make a profit nor pay dividends have been hit especially hard.Posted analysis [The pointless $1,080 tax break that should have ended years ago – but has become hard to stop](/news/2022-02-23/lmito-the-tax-break-thats-pointless-but-hard-to-abolish/100851078) / Updated [The pointless $1,080 tax break that should have ended years ago – but has become hard to stop] The low and middle income tax offset keeps getting extended because to end it would be to deliver a tax hike.
But it was designed for a purpose that no longer exists, writes Peter Martin.Posted analysis [The unemployment rate is falling quickly.This ‘special formula’ explains why](/news/2022-02-20/this-is-how-to-drive-the-unemployment-rate-down-quickly/100830360) [The unemployment rate is falling quickly.This ‘special formula’ explains why] Want to see the unemployment rate drop quickly? It’s in your power and there’s a formula you can follow that will ensure it happens, writes Gareth Hutchens.Posted [Jobs market ‘very, very tight’ as employment grows despite surge in sick leave due to Omicron] The Omicron outbreak sees hours worked plunge nearly 9 per cent in January, but unemployment remains steady.Posted [‘Get rid of this fear of missing out’ ahead of looming share market crash, warns veteran investor] By The Business presenter Kathryn Robinson and business reporter Michael Janda One of the world’s most famous fund managers is warning that a “super bubble” that’s been building for more than a decade may be in the process of bursting.Posted [Treasury says nation is the closest to a wages boom it’s been in a decade] By political reporter Tom Lowrey The federal Treasury boss admits he does not know when Australia might enjoy wages growth – but says the country is the closest it has been in more than a decade.Posted analysis [Australia isn’t the US — but we’re on uncharted ground on unemployment](/news/2022-02-16/unemployment-below-5-per-cent-inflation-risk-rba/100832758) / Updated [Australia isn’t the US — but we’re on uncharted ground on unemployment] At the beginning of last year, Australia’s leading economists believed Australia’s unemployment rate would not slip below 5 per cent.
Now it’s heading for just above 4 per cent.Peter Martin explores what happened.Posted [Will interest rate rises finally end regional property boom?] Capital city property prices have slowed, but regional prices keep surging.
How long can it continue? Posted [Quiet country streets described as ‘depressing’ as locals stay away to avoid Omicron] By national rural and regional reporter Caitlyn Gribbin A “shadow lockdown” is throttling business in small country towns as locals fear contracting the virus and putting unnecessary pressure on local healthcare services.Posted analysis [Record petrol prices might be hurting your wallet in more ways than one](/news/2022-02-15/petrol-prices-at-record-highs-pushing-up-other-costs-of-living/100829584) / Updated [Record petrol prices might be hurting your wallet in more ways than one] Australian petrol prices are at record highs, but it’s not just at the service station that your wallet is likely to feel the pain, explains Michael Janda.Posted [Could we see another mining boom in Australia?] Record exploration spending has the resources industry enjoying boom-like conditions to kick off 2022.Posted.