Reserve Bank could raise interest rates as early as May after inflation climbs to 3.8%
The Reserve Bank of Australia could be forced to hike interest rates as early as May, economists say, after inflation climbed to 3.8% in the year to October, from 3.6% in the month before.The latest bad news on cost of living was accompanied by a shocking 37% annual jump in power bills as generous state government subsidies rolled off, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed.As the Coalition again used parliamentary question time to attack the government for its record on electricity prices, Jim Chalmers flagged he could announce further energy bill relief for households in the upcoming midyear budget.
“We’ll take a decision about electricity rebates in the context of finalising that midyear budget update,” the treasurer said.The update is due around 17 December.Sign up: AU Breaking News emailInflation was now at its highest since mid-2024, and had performed a major U-turn after it dropped as low as 1.9% in June – when energy bill rebates flattered the underlying inflation picture.Childcare costs climbed 11% through the year, as providers passed on higher wage and operating costs, the ABS said, while medical and hospital services were up 5.
1%.Soaring gold and silver prices left the price of accessories 12% up on a year earlier.David Gruen, the head of the ABS, told Guardian Australia that the year-on-year increase in power costs had peaked in October, which suggested inflation could ease through the rest of this year and into the next.“In year-ended terms, this is the biggest increase” in the monthly electricity index, he said.Still, analysts said the ABS’s first complete monthly consumer price index confirmed a sharp upswing in broader price pressures that devastated hopes for more RBA interest rate cuts.
Underlying inflation, which removes the impact of large, temporary price swings – like in electricity prices – lifted from 3,2% in September to 3,3% in the year to October,Sign up to Breaking News AustraliaGet the most important news as it breaksafter newsletter promotionBarrenjoey’s chief economist, Jo Masters, said “we are seeing more inflation persistence than we had expected”, and predicted the next move from the Reserve Bank would be to hike rates at its May board meeting – and then again in August,In particular, “housing inflation is simply running too fast to be consistent with inflation at target,” Masters told clients, pointing to re-accelerating rents (up 4.
2% annually) and construction costs.While “clearly the bar to rate hikes is very high”, Masters said “there is the potential that the (RBA) board acts as soon as February”.Economists at UBS agreed that inflation was likely to remain above 3% over the coming year, and that the RBA would need to respond with a rate hike in late 2026, with another in early 2027.With cost of living still the number one issue facing voters, Chalmers left the door open for household energy bill rebates to be extended beyond the end of this year, saying the government would come to a decision in “the next few weeks”.“We’ve been very clear and very upfront for some time now – this electricity bill relief is really important.
It is taking some of the edge off power prices for families and pensioners and people in our communities right around Australia.”The March budget extended the commonwealth’s energy bill relief fund for six months, which gave another $150 to all households and about 1 million small businesses, split into two quarterly instalments.The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, repeatedly dodged questions in a Wednesday morning interview over whether the Coalition supported extending the power bill subsidies.
‘He was just trying to earn a few kopecks’: how newly translated stories reveal Chekhov’s silly side
Few writers are as universally admired as Chekhov. As Booker winner George Saunders puts it, “Chekhov – shall I be blunt? – is the greatest short story writer who ever lived.” Novelists from Ann Patchett to Zadie Smith cite him as an inspiration. His plays The Seagull, Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya and The Cherry Orchard still pack out theatres internationally. In the past year alone, Andrew Scott wowed audiences in his one-man Vanya for London’s National Theatre and Cate Blanchett took on the role of Arkadina in The Seagull at the Barbican
From Wicked: For Good to Stranger Things: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead
Ariana Grande sparkles in the concluding part of the Wicked Witch tale, and the first batch of final episodes of the retro sci-fi juggernaut are unleashedWicked: For GoodOut nowWas the decision to split this Broadway musical big-screen adaptation into two parts motivated by art or money? Part two is here, so you can judge for yourself. The Wizard of Oz-inspired story picks up with defiant “Wicked Witch” Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) living in exile, while Glinda (Ariana Grande) relishes her own popularity.The Thing With FeathersOut nowMax Porter’s novel Grief Is the Thing With Feathers gets the big-screen treatment, with Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role as the dad who must raise his two young children alone after his wife dies unexpectedly. With David Thewlis as the voice of the crow who appears to him.The Ice TowerOut nowMarion Cotillard stars as a star: an actor called Cristina, who is playing the beautiful Snow Queen in a 1960s adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen classic that also inspired Frozen
Kristen Bell and Brian Cox among actors shocked they’re attached to Fox News podcast
The Fox News announcement of a new podcast series on Jesus Christ has turned into a bizarre holiday tale in Hollywood, as several actors attached to massive, 52-episode project claim their recordings date back 15 years and are being released without their prior knowledge.The new audiobook titled The Life of Jesus Christ Podcast, announced on Wednesday as part of a splashy rollout for the network’s new Christian vertical called Fox Faith, purports to guide listeners “through the life, teachings, and miracles of Jesus Christ”, with each episode introduced by Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt.The announcement boasted that more than 100 actors had signed on to participate in the project, with a voice cast including Kristen Bell as Mary Magdalene, Sean Astin as Matthew, Neal McDonough as Jesus, Brian Cox as the Voice of God, Malcolm McDowell as Caiaphas, John Rhys-Davies as the narrator and Julia Ormond as Mary.But reps for Bell claim that the actor was blindsided by the announcement, as she had recorded the audio 15 years ago. She only learned that Fox planned to release a podcast with her name attached the day before the announcement, when her team received an invitation to appear on Fox & Friends the following day, her reps told Rolling Stone
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Stephen Colbert on Trump v Epstein files: ‘Fighting tooth and cankle’
Late-night hosts reacted to Donald Trump signing a bill to release the Epstein files while still trying to distract from them.Stephen Colbert celebrated the impending release of all files related to the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. “After months of Trump fighting tooth and cankle to hold back the Republican party from doing the right thing, he just went ahead and gave up and signed the bill to release the Epstein files,” the Late Show host explained a day after Congress voted near unanimously to compel the justice department to make the files public within 30 days.“Even though Trump told Republicans to all vote for this, he was clearly furious that they did,” Colbert continued. Trump signed the bill after the White House issued a so-called photo lid, which shut down any on-camera opportunities
After 10 years talking to knights, squires and wizards, I understand why ren fairs are booming
“I dunno what to tell ya, mate,” a young knight once told me through his helm’s lifted visor. “Gettin’ shield bashed just feels good.”For the knaves among thee, a “shield bash” is what it sounds like: to bash, or be bashed, with a shield. It’s simple and to the point, like a mace to the face or an arrow to the knee. Witnessing a shield bash, you understand the “haha yesss” that the basher must feel upon bashing, just as you empathetically presume a long “oh noooooo” on behalf of the bashee
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