Australia-EU free trade deal; minimum wage fight; insurance is too expensive

Australia-EU free trade deal; minimum wage fight; insurance is too expensive

News in brief

The ACTU and employers are at loggerheads over the size of the next minimum wage rise, with the peak union body asking the Fair Work Commission for a 5.5 per cent increase, while the employers saying anything over 3.5 per cent would make the economy unstable.

 

The prudential regulator has warned that one-in-seven houses are currently uninsured, and that could rise to one-in-four by 2050 as the price of premiums soars. That would be about one million homes without adequate insurance.

 

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it is closely monitoring the domestic airline industry as the Middle East conflict disrupts international air travel and pushes up the price of jet fuel.

 

Myer’s share price closed flat yesterday and is down more than 40 per cent this year, after announcing disappointing half year sales as customers cut back on spending.

 

An oil supertanker hauling two million barrels of Iraq’s crude has made it through the Strait of Hormuz, according to tanker-tracking data. It is the first vessel observed moving Baghdad’s barrels through the waterway since it all but closed to commercial shipping at the start of the war.

Fear-o-meter

EU President Ursula von der Leyen on the free trade deal with Australia:

 

“The EU and Australia may be geographically far apart but we couldn't be closer in terms of how we see the world.

 

With these dynamic new partnerships on security and defence, as well as trade, we are moving even closer together.

 

These agreements put in place lasting, trust-based structures to support peace and security through strength; driving prosperity through rules-based trade and working together to uphold global institutions.

 

We are committed to building a cleaner, more digital future for our citizens, workers and businesses.

 

And we are sending a strong signal to the rest of the world that friendship and cooperation is what matters most in times of turbulence.”

Fear & Greed Q+A today

On the big trends driving growth in private markets - including the demographics now exploring alternatives to listed assets:

 

“Millennials and Gen X — that surprised me too. But we need to meet customers where they are, and this is clearly the future. Many of them are very comfortable investing in things like crypto and other higher-risk assets, and they come to private markets with that sort of risk budget in mind. They have a much more comfortable understanding of the underlying business risks and are making their own decisions. They want choice — and they want access to private markets through the same platforms they use for everything else, often through their phones.”

Australia and Europe have finally signed a free trade deal after eight years of negotiations, in a move that signals the determination of economies to keep trade relatively free, despite US tariffs.

 

Under the deal, most European-made electric cars will be spared from Australia’s 33 per cent luxury car tax, while the general five per cent tariff on EU cars will be scrapped.

 

Local miners will be blocked from discriminatory pricing of critical minerals for EU customers. Critical minerals, of which Australia has an abundance, are in high demand for everything from aircraft to phones, to green energy.

 

And Australian cattle farmers will be able to export up to 30,000 tonnes of beef to Europe under an annual tariff-free quota, although a safeguard mechanism will protect EU farmers from a sudden surge of Australian exports.

 

European food into Australia will now be tariff-free – think cheaper wine, chocolate, ice cream and some fruits and vegetables.

Greed-o-meter

Country	% energy imports from Gulf	Value of imports 2024 USD bn
Pakistan	81	17
Japan	57	139
Thailand	56	43
South Korea	55	144
India	50	180
Taiwan	40	47
China	35	413
Malaysia	29	44
Singapore	27	86
Philippines	26	16
Indonesia	15	35
Turkey	7	26

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Asian countries are the biggest buyers of Persian Gulf energy, and the most dependent on imports. Pakistan, for instance, imports 81pc of energy from Gulf countries.

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Source: The New York Times