PM rejects Israel sanctions; auctions ease; Airbnb targets hotels

PM rejects Israel sanctions; auctions ease; Airbnb targets hotels

News in brief

Auction clearance rates have eased slightly over the weekend to 71.7pc, down from 72.3pc last week, as homebuyers wait for the RBA's decision on interest rates tomorrow. It's the softest result in six weeks - but with Sydney still logging a clearance rate of 74.3pc, the market's not exactly collapsing.

 

Mastercard has warned the Reserve Bank’s proposal to end card surcharges and cut interchange fees could end up costing consumers more than they currently pay. Mastercard estimates the plan could cost customers $1.5 billion annually - they currently pay $1.2 billion in surcharges.

 

Optus is facing fresh legal action over the 2022 cyber attack that compromised the data of 9.5 million customers. The Australian Information Commissioner alleges the telco failed to take reasonable steps to protect personal information – including passport, driver’s licence and Medicare details – for almost three years before the breach.

 

Airbnb is expanding into hotels. CEO Brian Chesky told investors the short-stay rental business will be "going significantly more aggressively into hotels." Airbnb's second quarter results beat market expectations. 

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected suggestions from US President Donald Trump that a possible peace deal between Ukraine and Russia could see the two countries swap land.

Fear-o-meter

The Australian Financial Review has spoken to key economic figures in Australia about this month's reform roundtable, and the importance of committing to action. Former Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson shared his views: 

 

"Let’s remember that Hawke, Keating, and Howard all showed personal bravery – taking on ALP shibboleths, pursuing the GST despite it being seen as deeply unpopular, and both Hawke and Howard almost lost their first elections after starting the reform programs...

 

Tax reform, or changes to regulation, or increases in government spending, should never be seen as an objective in their own right. They should always be seen as a tool to get to outcomes that the community wants.

 

Similarly, the case for action to improve fiscal sustainability shouldn’t be about an abstract concept – it should be about how we ensure our children do not end up with massive amounts of government debt, and with a much higher tax burden than we, their parents pay.

 

If we don’t do that and continue to spend on consumption rather than investment, then we are simply stealing from their future.

 

If we are to make progress in any of these areas, government has to be out there, talking to the community about the outcomes it desires and how we deliver those."

Fear & Greed Q+A today

Will the Reserve Bank board cut interest rates tomorrow?

 

"They should. And they very probably will. After last month when the vast majority of us got it wrong, the market pricing was wrong, and they surprised by that on-hold decision.

 

Yes, they will cut rates. And the reasons are relatively straightforward. It's one of these ones where... it shouldn't be rocket science because since that meeting when the governor Michele Bullock quite explicitly said the decision to hold back then was not a question of direction, it was a question of timing. And in the intervening five weeks or so that we've experienced data, we had confirmation from the June quarter CPI that inflation trimmed mean, headline, whichever way you want to slice and dice it, is still decelerating, is still within the RBA target band - tick for rate cut.

 

And from the labour market, which is part of its dual mandate, we had a frankly disappointing labour market release... where the unemployment rate kicked from 4.1 % to 4.3%, the highest level in about three and a half years. So on those two indicators, inflation and unemployment, and the market has basically got 100% priced in - they have to deliver."

It’s Monday the 11th of August, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has brushed off calls to impose sanctions on Israel, after the Israeli government announced plans to occupy Gaza City. The PM has spent the weekend meeting his counterpart in New Zealand, where geopolitics dominated the agenda, from calls for peace in the Middle East, to China's presence in the Pacific. Anthony Albanese also rejected claims that possible trade retaliation from the US would affect Australia's position on recognising Palestinian statehood.

Greed-o-meter

Platform	% of viewing
Broadcast TV	60.8%
Netflix	8.5%
BVOD (9Now, 7Plus, 10Play, ABC iView)	8.0%
YouTube	7.9%
Disney+	2.5%
Amazon	2.0%
Other	10.3%

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We watched less Netflix in the last quarter, but more YouTube. Netflix viewing in Australia dropped from 9.3% of minutes watched to 8.5%. But still the outright leader continues to be broadcast TV.

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Source:OzTAM Streamscape