7h agoMon 3 Nov 2025 at 8:03pmReserve Bank decision at 2:30pm AEDT1m agoTue 4 Nov 2025 at 3:15amASX down 0.8%, Aussie dollar at 65.3 US cents

Just 15 minutes to go now until the RBA decision, which if all goes as forecast, shouldn’t be too market moving in and of itself.

However, all eyes will be on the central bank’s quarterly statement on monetary policy, which will contain its latest economic forecasts and provide a clue as to where it thinks inflation, unemployment and rates are heading, as will the board’s post-meeting statement.

Business editor Michael Janda is currently in lock up poring over the SoMP papers and will bring us the latest shortly after 2:30pm AEDT.

Ahead of it all, the Aussie dollar is slightly weaker against the greenback at 65.3 US cents, and the ASX 200 is down 0.8%.

21m agoTue 4 Nov 2025 at 2:55am

Priced Out: How has Australia’s housing crisis impacted you?

Thanks to all our commenters getting involved today, ABC News is currently collecting stories about Australia’s housing market.

Priced Out explores whether Australians are feeling more optimistic about buying or renting a home, and we want your help to inform our reporting.

Are government schemes helping you take steps toward home ownership?Have you taken advantage of the expanded deposit scheme? Has it made a difference?

Whether you’re renting or buying, or stuck in between, we want to hear your story. You can share at this link:

36m agoTue 4 Nov 2025 at 2:40amAny chance of an RBA interest rate hike?

All the noise is about no cut in interest rates, what are the chances of a rise in rates?

– Don

G’day Don,

There is virtually no chance of an interest rate hike today.

A tightening of monetary policy risks further damage to the labour market.

That said, the next move in interest rates may well be up.

Here’s HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham’s views.

42m agoTue 4 Nov 2025 at 2:35am’Mortgage market is still alive and kicking’: Canstar

Canstar’s data insights director, Sally Tindall, has said the mortgage market is still alive and kicking as banks, big and small, fight for new customers.

“Over the last month, 13 lenders have cut at least one variable rate, but only for new customers.

“This includes CBA’s offshoot Unloan, Bank of Queensland, Heritage Bank and Qantas Money.

“Westpac also cut its lowest variable just over a month ago.”

According to Canstar, the average owner-occupier variable rate is 5.53% while the lowest fixed rate is 4.69% for one year.

Ms Tindall has also pointed out that borrowers could save in interest costs by refinancing.

“A borrower with a $600,000 debt, and 25 years remaining, who hasn’t renegotiated their rate since the start of the hikes (May 2022), and is on a rate of 6.36%, could see their monthly repayments drop by $403 by refinancing to a competitive rate of 5.25%,” she says.

“Over the remaining 25 years, the borrower could save $119,878 in interest costs.”

This assumes the borrower continues to make minimum repayments for the remainder of their loan, that there are no further cash rate cuts, as forecasted by CBA, and that the cash rate remains at the neutral rate of 3.60% going ahead. It also factors in $1,150 in switching costs, she adds.

(Canstar.com.au)

57m agoTue 4 Nov 2025 at 2:20am

Households to get 3 hours of free electricity every day

Australian households will be able to access free electricity for three hours every day, in an effort to encourage energy use when excess solar power is being fed into the grid.

The federal government scheme will require retailers to offer free electricity to households for at least three hours in the middle of the day, when there is often more electricity generated than is being used, leading to very cheap or even negative wholesale prices.

The Solar Sharer scheme will initially be introduced to consumers in default market offer regions like NSW, south-east Queensland and South Australia from July next year, with consultation to extend the scheme to other jurisdictions by 2027.

How would you take advantage of the scheme — whether you work from home or are home during the day, have a battery or have appliances you can time, let us know in the comments ⬆️

Here’s the full story from political reporter Jake Evans:

1h agoTue 4 Nov 2025 at 2:06am

Oil steadies as market digests OPEC+ output plans

Oil prices have remained steady as markets weighed OPEC+’s decision to pause output hikes in the first quarter, even as concerns over a looming supply glut persisted.

Brent crude futures fell 0.1% to $US64.80 a barrel by 12:10pm AEDT.

US West Texas Intermediate crude was down 0.2%, at $US60.95 a barrel.

On Sunday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, agreed to a small oil output increase for December and a pause in increases in the first quarter of next year.

OPEC+ has raised output targets by about 2.9 million barrels per day — about 2.7% of global supply — since April, but slowed the pace from October amid predictions of oversupply.

“It certainly suggests that OPEC+ recognises the oversupply, and likely suggests that they do not want to send oil prices far lower (i.e. below $50),” Bank of America said in a note.

“We expect this possible floor to be viewed positively by investors.”

The decision by OPEC+ to keep output targets steady came after Russia lobbied for the pause because it would struggle to increase exports due to Western sanctions, four OPEC+ sources said.

In October, both the US and Britain imposed sanctions on Russia’s two major oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil.

JP Morgan said in a note that “our oil strategists maintain their view that while the risk of disruption has increased, US measures, along with complementary actions by the UK and EU, will not prevent Russian oil producers from operating”.

Reporting with Reuters

1h agoTue 4 Nov 2025 at 1:41am

Three cheers for literalism

Hadn’t been following today, but a “home” is a liability, not an asset.

– Rob B

Yes. You’re right.

We’re wrong to talk about “asset price inflation”. We should actually be talking about “liability price inflation”.

1h agoTue 4 Nov 2025 at 1:37am

Australian data firm secures $14.8bn deal with Microsoft

Australian data-centre operator IREN has sealed a $14.8 billion deal with Microsoft to provide AI cloud capacity, including access to Nvidia’s advanced chips.

The news sent shares of NASDAQ-listed IREN up 24.7% to a record high on Monday, local time, with the stock last up nearly 10%.

AI-server maker Dell was also up about 1%, as it would provide IREN with Nvidia’s GB300 chips and other equipment that Microsoft will use for about $US5.8 billion.

The five-year Microsoft deal shows the AI industry’s growing hunger for computing power to run applications such as ChatGPT.

It followed earnings from major tech companies last week that underscored capacity shortages were limiting their ability to fully benefit from the boom.

Partnering with IREN would allow Microsoft to expand computing capacity without building new data centres or securing additional power — two of the biggest hurdles slowing its ability to meet surging AI demand.

It will also sidestep heavy capital spending on chips that will lose value as newer, more powerful processors arrive.

IREN, which had a market value of $US16.52 billion as of last close after a more than six-fold surge in its shares this year, has multiple data centres across North America with a total capacity of 2,910 megawatts.

The company said the Nvidia processors are scheduled for phased deployment through 2026 at its 750-megawatt Childress, Texas, campus, alongside new liquid-cooled data centres designed to deliver about 200 megawatts of critical IT capacity.

Reporting with Reuters

1h agoTue 4 Nov 2025 at 1:18amASX in the red ahead of RBA meeting

A quick check in on how the local share market is tracking at lunchtime (Eastern Daylight time, at least…).

The ASX 200 is down by 0.6%, with most sectors in the red, except healthcare slightly higher and technology right on the flatline.

Here are the worst-performing stocks so far:

Eagers Automotive -5.8%Iperionx -5.4%Boss Energy -5.2%Judo Capital -3.8%Paladin Energy -3.8%

And the best performers:

DroneShielf +5%Domino’s Pizza +3.8%NEXTDC +3.6%Austal +2.8%Light & Wonder +2.7%

2h agoTue 4 Nov 2025 at 1:03am

‘Green gold rush’ as avocado exporters eye China deal

The avocado industry is looking to expand export markets to avoid a market glut — with China in its sights.

National avocado output for the 2024/25 financial year came in at 131,385 tonnes, shy of the national record of 150,913 tonnes set in 2023/24.

Australia’s annual output is projected to hit 171,163 tonnes within the next two years.

West Australian avocado growers are eyeing the Chinese export market as the “green gold rush” of the fruit shows no sign of slowing, write reporters Rachel Boothman and Jacqueline Lynch.

Orchardists have begun harvesting what could be a record-breaking crop in the South West region of WA.

Avocados Australia WA director Brad Rodgers said securing access to new markets was crucial to ensuring the industry’s growth.

“We’re rewriting our national strategy plan and export will be a big focus,” he said.

“We’re working hard to secure new market access, particularly to China.”

Due to its pest-free status, WA already has trade access to the Japanese and Thai markets, but China remains the coveted prize.

Read the full story here:

2h agoTue 4 Nov 2025 at 12:50am

Readers’ thoughts about housing and renting

In relation to the comment from Jeffrey about renting being cheaper and being better off financially if investing the difference vs owning. that is the key thing. most people don’t save. any money not spent on rent is spent on buying other things, whether it’s a necessity or not. buying a home is a forced saving and is the biggest reason why people that own their home are generally better off to those that rent.

– Landlord

If I may also reply to Jeffery – It goes further, our pension system (Including Super) also assumes that you own your own house. I might add, the pricing of a rental is also at the whim of the landlord…which can also add to insecurity at best & unaffordability at worst. Talking to the younger of the people at work about rentals and just how much the increases were over the last few years & how much they struggle is staggering. It makes me glad I bought my place, because even with the increase in interest rates I could afford to not have to change my budget as a result (I am lucky enough to be able to pay way more than the minimum, so the increase in interest expense was just absorbed into the total).

– Allan

Thank you for these great comments to the blog.

2h agoTue 4 Nov 2025 at 12:46amMarket puts chance of RBA hold above 90%

About 2 hour and 45 minutes until the (likely non-)decision that stops the nation.

The Reserve Bank’s monetary policy board is tipped to keep the cash rate hold at 3.6%.

According to LSEG data, market pricing puts the chance of no change today at 92.3%, so less than 8% chance of a 0.25 percentage point rate cut.

2h agoTue 4 Nov 2025 at 12:35am

Culture Club

All this talk about being priced out of the housing market is just media spin. Majority of developed countries’ major cities such as Paris, Milan, Beijing and etc, no one thinks about owning and the mindset is always to rent. Why is it such a big deal that we must own our own home in Australia?Alot of studies done (Rent or Buy? We do the sums | Stockspot) have shown individuals are financially better off at retirement by renting and investing the difference over the long term but news article keeps suggesting owning your home is the way to go instead of talking about the benefits of not buying. This creates angst in the community and driving up FOMO propping up the property market further.

– Jeffrey

Hi Jeffrey,

Every country has its own culture, and Australia’s culture around housing has its own norms and values, and its own history.

We do not treat renters well in Australia. We never have. From a policy perspective renters are second-class citizens behind owner-occupiers and landlords.

But that part of our culture is now chaffing against the phenomenon of “forever renters,” where younger Australians are not only stuck in the private rental market for much longer than past generations were, but where many are now facing the reality that they may never own their own home.

Our legislation hasn’t kept up with that reality.

Researchers say we’re going to have to change our legal and cultural frameworks to accommodate the rise of those “forever renters.” And that means allowing renters to put picture frames on their walls, to own pets, and to have the option of signing long-term leases so they’re guaranteed a semblance of stability.

Many of those things already exist in European cities, where renting for life is part of their culture. But they don’t exist in Australia to the same degree.

Australians instinctively know this.

And that’s why so many of us still aspire to own our own home so we’ll finally have our “castle” where we’ll be free from the whims of landlords, and where we can finally – finally! – put down roots in our local community.

In the last 40 years, Australian governments have tried really hard to convince more of us to think of housing as an “asset” rather than a “home,” but it’s been incredibly difficult to shake the old cultural dream of owning a quarter acre block.

How long will it take for our culture to catch up with the reality of forever renters and start treating renters the same as home owners and landlords? Decades?

Plenty of people don’t want to wait that long and they’d prefer to own their home so they can escape the mess of the private rental market and everything that comes with it.

So, you may be the type of person who thinks of housing in purely financial terms. But millions of people don’t. Housing means different things to different people.

2h agoTue 4 Nov 2025 at 12:27amStraker hits over 5-month high on European Union contract

Shares of Straker rise as much as 24.4% to $0.535, their highest level since May 2023.

The language and subscription services provider heading for third straight day of gains.

That’s because the company has won an European Union contract for providing translation and post-editing services, specifically for English text into French.

It says the deal has an estimated contract value of 0.525 million euros ($0.93 million).

The recent gain has helped to cut its annual share price losses to around 17%.

with Reuters

3h agoTue 4 Nov 2025 at 12:03amAustralia slips in global rankings of digital competitiveness

Australia has ranked 23rd in a global ranking of digital competitiveness, which is the worst result in nine years.

The Swiss-based Institute for Management Development’s (IMD’s) World Competitiveness Center ranks the digital competitiveness of 69 nations across three main factors — knowledge, technology and future readiness — since 2017.

This year, Australia was down from 15th in 2024, with a decline in performance across the board.

Melinda Cilento, chief executive of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA), said it was particularly concerning to see big falls in education and training.

“We tumbled to 60th on employee training and 59th on international experience of talent. In other words, Australia is neither adequately training employees, nor properly recognising international qualifications and experience,” she said.

“This risks leaving us behind in the adoption of technologies amid rapid change brought on by AI.

“Put simply, we are moving further away from global excellence in the key areas that will drive future opportunity and prosperity.”

Australia’s worst performance was on business agility, ranking just 65th, while companies’ ability to respond quickly to opportunities and threats dropped from 37th place to 57th.

Globally, Switzerland topped the ranking this year, while the United States was second and Singapore came in third.

3h agoMon 3 Nov 2025 at 11:44pm

Betting on CEO utterances takes financial market insanity to new levels

Most mornings I try to find time to read the Money Stuff newsletter written by Bloomberg columnist Matt Levine.

He’s a genius at finding and dissecting the most ridiculous aspects of Wall Street, financial speculation and corporate shenanigans.

Today, he’s set his sights on a relatively new phenomenon, which is a form of ‘futures trading’ that looks an awful lot like pure gambling.

“Kalshi, a commodities futures exchange registered with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, offers contracts on various unconventional commodities like election outcomes and football games,” he observes.

“Last month you could buy futures contracts on commodities like a Coinbase Global Inc. representative saying the words “prediction market” or “Bitcoin” or “Web3” on its third quarter earnings call.

“Why? I don’t know. To hedge your risk that Coinbase wouldn’t say those words? To help people understand and price the future states of the world in which Coinbase did or didn’t say those words? Because you were bored and liked to gamble, probably.”

And guess what happened on Coinbase’s earnings call?

Right near the end, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said:

“I was a little distracted because I was tracking the prediction market about what Coinbase will say on their next earnings call. And I just want to add here the words Bitcoin, Ethereum, Blockchain, staking, and Web3 to make sure we get those in before the end of the call.”

So what’s Matt’s view on this?

“If you and your buddy have a $20 bet on whether or not your boss will say some words in a meeting, and your buddy prods her into saying the words, and she says the words and your buddy wins the bet, I think you would probably be like “ahhh you got me” and hand over the $20. Your buddy would be kind of cheating, but not really. That is the sort of dumb bet that you and your buddy make because you are bored in a meeting and like gambling.”

In short:

“The main point I want to make here is that this is all so dumb and I hate it.”

His take is that increasing swathes of the financial markets have basically morphed into something like sports betting, rather than investments into real businesses or commodities.

Hard to argue with that conclusion.

3h agoMon 3 Nov 2025 at 11:30pm

Top and bottom movers at open

Education (-0.9pc), utilities (-0.6pc) and energy (-0.5pc) stocks are dragging the benchmark index lower at open.

Here are the top and bottom movers in the first half hour of trade.

(LSEG)

3h agoMon 3 Nov 2025 at 11:22pm

Market snapshotASX 200: -0.2% to 8,875 points (live updates below)Australian dollar: flat at 65.35 US centsS&P500: +0.2% to 6,851 pointsNasdaq: +0.5% to 23,834 pointsFTSE: -0.2% to 9,701 pointsEuroStoxx:  +0.1% to 572 pointsSpot gold: -0.2% to $US3,993/ounceBrent crude: +0.1% to $US64.84/barrelIron ore: -0.6% to $US105/tonneBitcoin: -0.4% at $US106,389

Prices current at around 10:20am AEDT

Live updates on the major ASX indices:

3h agoMon 3 Nov 2025 at 11:17pmASX opens lower

The Australian share market has opened lower in the first 15 minutes of trade.

The ASX 200 index was down 16 points or 0.2% to 8,878, by 10:15am AEDT.

At the same time, the Australian dollar was flat at 65.35 US cents.