Government-backed NS&I increases its rates, as building societies and banks launch better deals
Amid the mortgage misery, there was more good news this week on savings rates, with a growing number of accounts now paying 6%-plus interest.
Meanwhile, the government-backed NS&I – a favourite of many in these uncertain times – has upped the rates on some of its popular fixed-rate accounts.
Continue reading...Australian Airports Association tells parliamentary inquiry market dominance has allowed the two airlines to jack up profit margins
Qantas and Virgin now account for 95% of Australia’s domestic aviation market, a dominance that dwarfs industries such as banking and supermarkets and has allowed the airlines to jack up profit margins, the national airport body has warned.
The continued duopoly of Qantas Group – which includes budget carrier Jetstar – and Virgin Australia in the domestic aviation sector has also allowed air fares to rise above pre-pandemic levels even when adjusting for inflation, the Australian Airports Association (AAA) said in its submission to a parliamentary inquiry.
Continue reading...The Reserve Bank of Australia’s first female governor will begin her appointment at or very near the end of the cycle of rate rises
Australia will get its first female Reserve Bank governor, Michele Bullock, and the order of the day is continuity with change.
Continuity because Bullock is an extremely well qualified RBA lifer with four decades of experience.
Continue reading...The Nanny star turned Sag-Aftra union president wins praise for her passion as performers join writers in action expected to halt majority of US film and TV production
Fran Drescher has blasted Hollywood studios in a fiery speech after talks between the actors’ union and studios failed to avert a strike, calling them “disgusting” for claiming “they’re losing money left and right when giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs”.
In a speech that was widely circulated on Thursday – particularly among many who did not know The Nanny star was heading up Sag-Aftra, Hollywood’s biggest union – Drescher said actors were being “marginalised, disrespected and dishonoured” by a business model that has been drastically changed by streaming and artificial intelligence.
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Cabinet meeting to decide Lowe’s successor today
Philip Lowe will be replaced as the Reserve Bank governor, with today’s cabinet meeting to decide his successor, Guardian Australia has confirmed.
If I was asked to continue in the role, I would be honoured to do that and I would continue.
If I am not asked to continue in the role, I will do my best to support my successor, and the treasurer has said he will make an announcement before the end of this month.
Continue reading...Licensing for scallop dredging and trawling must comply with National Marine Plan after judicial review by Open Seas charity
The Scottish government should stop approving licences for fishing vessels using methods believed to cause harm to habitats, a charity working to protect marine life has urged, after a court declared a routine licensing decision to be unlawful.
Scotland’s highest court ruled that the Scottish government had failed to act in accordance with Scotland’s National Marine Plan (NMP) when varying fishing licences last December, after a judicial review by the conservation charity Open Seas. It is legally obliged to act in accordance with its environmental duties, as stated in the NMP, when making these decisions.
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Andrew and Nicola Forrest, billionaires in iron ore mining, have separated after 31 years of marriage.
They said the separation will not impact their mining operations, in a statement:
After 31 years of marriage, we have made the decision to live apart.
Our friendship and commitment to our family remains strong.
Continue reading...ScottishPower expects Hagshaw Hill to produce five times as much energy with half the turbines by early 2025
One of Britain’s oldest onshore windfarms will soon be “repowered” so it can generate five times as much green electricity as it did in 1995 – with almost half as many turbines.
The owner of the Hagshaw Hill windfarm, ScottishPower, began dismantling 26 turbines on its site in rural South Lanarkshire on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Pair say decision to live apart will have no impact on their shared business interests and philanthropy
Australia’s wealthiest couple Andrew and Nicola Forrest have separated after more than three decades of marriage, but they say the split will not affect their shared business or philanthropic interests.
Most of their wealth comes from a more than one-third stake in iron ore miner Fortescue, which is attempting to diversify into hydrogen production.
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Continue reading...Acsi says earnings at 100 largest listed firms show ‘more restraint’ but ‘everyone wins a prize’ attitude still prevails
Chief executives at Australia’s biggest companies are earning 55 times more than a typical worker, according to the country’s biggest governance adviser.
CEO pay at the 100 largest listed firms averaged at $5.2m in the 2022 financial year, the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (Acsi) said in a new report. The report found executive pay fell from 2021 levels, but noted that period had particularly high CEO pay rates.
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Continue reading...Vinyl boom continues with another major leap and Taylor Swift’s Midnights leading the pack
Vinyl sales in the US are up 21.7% for the first half of 2023 over the same period last year, according to a new music industry report.
The vinyl resurgence is itself not new – 2022 marked the 17th consecutive year that sales of vinyl records rose, according to Luminate’s music midyear report. But the growth rate this year has reassured experts that the vinyl market did not hit a natural plateau after surging during the pandemic, which caused a 108% increase in 2021.
Continue reading...Advertising Standards Authority rules against two promoted tweets featuring Premier League coaches
The advertising watchdog has banned two adverts run by the sports betting business Ladbrokes for appealing to under-18s by featuring well-known Premier League managers including Frank Lampard and Eddie Howe.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) launched an investigation into the two promoted tweets, published in January and February, after concerns that the use of images of managers of top flight teams would break UK rules banning ads that have a “strong appeal” to young people under 18 years old.
Continue reading...Financial Conduct Authority chief to highlight risks of ‘deepfake’ fraud as well as benefits of Artificial Intelligence
The head of the UK’s financial regulator is to warn that banks, investors and insurers will have to ramp up their spending to combat scammers using artificial intelligence to commit fraud.
Nikhil Rathi, the chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), will say that there are risks of “cyber fraud, cyber-attacks and identity fraud increasing in scale and sophistication and effectiveness” as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more widespread, in a speech in London on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Exclusive: The Albanese government says it is ‘disappointed’ Beijing’s review couldn’t be completed in the initial three months
China has asked for an extra month to decide whether to scrap hefty tariffs on Australian barley, dashing hopes of an imminent breakthrough in one of the biggest trade disputes between the two countries.
The Albanese government said it was disappointed by the delay, and warned that it was ready to revive its case at the global trade umpire, the World Trade Organization, if Beijing doesn’t scrap the measure by August.
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Continue reading...Basic pay rises at joint-fastest rate on record, protecting workers from soaring inflation but adding to pressure on Bank of England
Bloomberg agrees that the Bank of England will not be pleased by today’s jobs report, saying:
UK wage growth held at a level that Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said is fueling inflation, maintaining pressure for higher interest rates.
Average weekly earnings excluding bonuses held at 7.3% in the three months through May after figures for the period through April were revised up, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday.
“These figures are another dismal reflection of the Tories’ mismanagement of the economy over the last thirteen years.
“Britain is the only G7 country with a lower employment rate than before the pandemic and real wages have fallen yet again – just as more and more families feel the devastating impact of the Tory mortgage bombshell.
Continue reading...Jeremy Hunt and Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey call for wage restraint to help curb inflation
Wages increased at a faster rate than expected in May, putting pressure on the Bank of England to push up the cost of borrowing at its next meeting in August.
Earnings growth hit 7.3%, driven by the strongest rise in private sector pay growth outside the pandemic period of 7.7%, the Office for National Statistics said.
Continue reading...Administrator appointed to Toplace a month after arrest warrant issued for Nassif
A major Sydney development firm owned by accused fraudster and fugitive Jean Nassif has gone into administration.
Records filed with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission show an administrator was appointed to his company, Toplace Pty Ltd, on Monday.
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Continue reading...Aslef union announces industrial action on 26 and 28 July to coincide with tube strike by RMT members
London Underground drivers will strike on Wednesday 26 July and Friday 28 July in a dispute over pensions and working conditions, the Aslef union has announced.
The latest industrial action will coincide with previously announced strikes by RMT members who work on the capital’s tube network, causing more disruption for commuters and tourists.
Continue reading...Energy security secretary Grant Shapps will this week outline plans for Britain’s atomic power’s renaissance and 2050 emissions commitment
In London’s Science Museum sit full-size turbine engines that tell the story of 300 years of steam power. This week, the museum will play host to the government’s dreams for a new industrial renaissance – this time for nuclear energy.
The secretary of state for energy security and net zero, Grant Shapps, has chosen the venue to set out his ambitions for the UK’s nuclear programme. He is expected to illuminate the path towards the government’s existing commitment to build 24 gigawatts of nuclear power capacity – the equivalent of a quarter of Britain’s total generating capacity – by 2050.
Continue reading...Chancellor calls on firms to tackle high prices as government remains far from pledge of halving inflation to 5%
Jeremy Hunt has said he must “double down” on high prices after admitting a package of pre-election tax cuts this autumn was looking unlikely.
The government would not make moves to “pump billions of additional demand” into the economy, the chancellor added.
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