Tourists sit on a bollard at the Sydney Opera House. Afp Contributor | Afp | Getty Images Australia's economy expanded less than expected in the first quarter, as subdued household spending, a pullback in government consumption and severe weather disruptions to mining and exports weighed on growth. The country's GDP expanded 2.5% in the first three months this year, compared to a year earlier, mis...
Tourists sit on a bollard at the Sydney Opera House. Afp Contributor | Afp | Getty Images Australia's economy expanded less than expected in the first quarter, as subdued household spending, a pullback in government consumption and severe weather disruptions to mining and exports weighed on growth. The country's GDP expanded 2.5% in the first three months this year, compared to a year earlier, missing economists' expectations for a 2.6% growth, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Wednesday. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, Australia's GDP grew 0.3% compared with 0.5% forecast in a Reuters poll, and slowing from 0.8% growth in the prior quarter. Despite the miss, the economic momentum has prompted traders to wager on further rate hikes as the Reserve Bank of Australia seeks to keep prices in check. The central bank delivered its third interest rate hike this year in May, taking its cash rate target by 25 basis points to 4.35% amid renewed inflation worries. The growth outlook has darkened due to the prolonged Middle East conflict, which has effectively halted oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, pushing up energy and commodities prices globally. While Australia is a net energy exporter, a sustained rise in commodities costs could ultimately weigh on consumer demand. The first-quarter data is "too early to capture any material spillovers from the conflict," with negative growth effects more likely to be felt in the second quarter, Nick Stenner, Australia and New Zealand economist at Bank of America said Monday. The Reserve Bank of Australia will likely focus on the strength of private demand before factoring in the conflict, alongside inflation risks stemming from weak productivity and rising unit labor costs, according to Stenner, who expects household consumption to weaken in the second quarter. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.
Move comes after meeting in which Pelley said network chief Bari Weiss was ‘murdering’ news show Scott Pelley, one of the most well-known and respected journalists in broadcast journalism, has been fired by CBS News after clashing with network brass over last week’s severe round of cuts at 60 Minutes , the show he has worked on since 2004, the Guardian confirmed. While changes were long expected a...
Move comes after meeting in which Pelley said network chief Bari Weiss was ‘murdering’ news show Scott Pelley, one of the most well-known and respected journalists in broadcast journalism, has been fired by CBS News after clashing with network brass over last week’s severe round of cuts at 60 Minutes , the show he has worked on since 2004, the Guardian confirmed. While changes were long expected at 60 Minutes , CBS News management shocked staffers last week by firing the network’s executive producer, executive editor and two correspondents, Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi, without giving a specific reason for their terminations. Continue reading...
The ruling means that Alabama's 2026 midterm elections will feature six Republican-leaning districts and one Democratic-leaning one. (Image credit: Tasos Katopodis)
The ruling means that Alabama's 2026 midterm elections will feature six Republican-leaning districts and one Democratic-leaning one. (Image credit: Tasos Katopodis)
Do We Really Believe In Freedom? Authored by Mollie Engelhart via The Epoch Times, Do we really believe in freedom? Or do we only believe in freedom when it applies to people who agree with us? Do we trust people we fundamentally disagree with to remain free citizens? Or do we believe they must be controlled through laws, censorship, surveillance, or social pressure because they are too dangerous ...
Do We Really Believe In Freedom? Authored by Mollie Engelhart via The Epoch Times, Do we really believe in freedom? Or do we only believe in freedom when it applies to people who agree with us? Do we trust people we fundamentally disagree with to remain free citizens? Or do we believe they must be controlled through laws, censorship, surveillance, or social pressure because they are too dangerous to be trusted with liberty? That question sits at the center of what I am most interested in during this moment in history, the 250th year of the American experiment. Because when I look around, it increasingly feels like both sides are drifting in the same direction while packaging it differently. Each side frames the other as dangerous, radical, and incapable of self-governance. People on the left often believe the right is racist, authoritarian, anti-science, and driven by extremism. Many people on the right believe the left is hostile to faith, hostile to biology, hostile to free speech, and willing to use institutions to socially engineer society. If you genuinely believe those things about your political opponents, then freedom starts to feel dangerous. And once freedom feels dangerous, control starts to feel justified. For me, the COVID-19 pandemic broke the illusion. I suddenly realized I could no longer clearly see what the political left still offered someone like me. I watched censorship expand rapidly. I watched speech become conditional. I watched people lose jobs and platforms for asking questions. I watched mandates imposed alongside liability protections and dissent treated as danger. I watched mandates destroy livelihoods. I watched small businesses close while major corporations consolidated wealth and power. I watched people who had spent decades building restaurants, gyms, farms, salons, and family businesses suddenly deemed “nonessential.” I wasn’t reading about these policies. I was living under them. At the same time, I was living in a state that incr...
Hong Kong’s Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd. is seeking to an around A$1.5 billion ($1.1 billion) loan to fund its takeover of Australian medical diagnostic imaging provider I-MED Radiology Network Ltd. , according to people familiar with the matter, as it looks to expand its portfolio. Discussions for the five-year loan are in early stages and details could change, the people said, who asked not to...
Hong Kong’s Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd. is seeking to an around A$1.5 billion ($1.1 billion) loan to fund its takeover of Australian medical diagnostic imaging provider I-MED Radiology Network Ltd. , according to people familiar with the matter, as it looks to expand its portfolio. Discussions for the five-year loan are in early stages and details could change, the people said, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. The financing could carry an interest margin in the low 100 basis points range over the benchmark Bank Bill Swap Yield, or BBSY, they added. A representative for Jardine declined to comment. Jardine, which traces its roots back to an opium trading house founded in 1832, is in the midst of a corporate makeover to transform itself into an investment firm focused on higher growth sectors. The A$3.4 billion acquisition of I-MED from private equity firm Permira will give Jardine a foothold in the health sector across Australia and New Zealand. As part of the deal, Jardine will also buy I-MED’s minority interest in Harrison.ai, a firm that develops radiology artificial intelligence solutions including CT brain and chest scans. I-MED has more than 250 clinics across Australia, offering services such as MRI, CT, X-Ray, ultrasound and nuclear medicine, according to Permira’s website . London-based Permira bought I-MED in 2018 from EQT AB and other investors for about A$1.3 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said at the time.
U.S. President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday that the U.S. and Iran deal negotiations are ongoing, dismissing reports of strained relations between the two countries.
U.S. President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday that the U.S. and Iran deal negotiations are ongoing, dismissing reports of strained relations between the two countries.