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Articles by Jameson Coombs
Westpac Card Tracker, 25 October 2024
Disclaimer ©2024 Westpac Banking Corporation ABN 33 007 457 141 (including where acting under any of its Westpac, St George, Bank of Melbourne or BankSA brands, collectively, “Westpac”). References to the “Westpac Group” are to Westpac and its subsidiaries and includes the directors, employees and representatives of Westpac and its subsidiaries. Things you should know We respect your privacy: You can view our privacy statement at Westpac.com.au.
Younger generations are boosting the ranks of Aussie investors
The ranks of Australian investors swelled during the pandemic, with large numbers of young people getting involved in financial markets for the first time. It’s a trend that continues and trading platform providers are increasingly looking to cater for this new cohort by offering attractive price entry points and more educational tools. An Australian Stock Exchange study in 2023 found that 51 per cent of the population hold investments outside of their primary residence and superannuation fund.
Westpac Share Trading adds Sandstone Insights research
Sandstone Insights was set up by parent company MST Financial to offer its research in a format that was accessible to private and retail investors. “We feel we’ve got an advantage with the quality that sits behind our research,” John Meagher, manager at Sandstone Insights, says in an interview.
RBA’s rate reprieve could be short-lived
The relief felt by mortgage holders after the Reserve Bank left the cash rate unchanged in July is likely to be short-lived, with Westpac economists expecting further increases in the months ahead. Governor Philip Lowe’s statement made it clear that more tightening may be required, and the Board will have had chance to assess the June quarter inflation report before the August decision. We’ll also get the RBA’s latest quarterly statement on monetary policy in August.
Rental squeeze to get worse before it gets better
Meanwhile, a supply-side response in the form of new apartment developments will come with a longer than usual lag. The rise in interest rates and building costs has constrained the residential construction pipeline, along with the country’s well-publicised labour shortages.
RBA delivers sombre message to mortgage holders
The RBA this week delivered sombre news to anyone hoping for a pause in the interest rate tightening cycle this year. With its February meeting decision to increase the cash rate by another 0.25 per cent, to 3.35 per cent, the Reserve Bank has picked up where it left off last year. It also sent a clear message in the accompanying statement that its focus is absolutely on inflation, and that it expects to raise rates further in the months ahead.
Surge in overseas arrivals will help RBA in inflation battle
The labour supply boost will also translate to higher net overseas migration levels. To be officially counted as a “migrant”, an arrival has to reside in Australia for at least 12 of the past 16 consecutive months. In our view, net overseas migration will be at least 100,000 higher than the current Federal Budget forecast of 235,000 – this would also amount to an historic high.
Why IR reforms won’t knock the RBA off course
Early signs suggest that the government’s updated industrial relations framework won’t put any undue upward pressure on inflation, with the full effects likely to take time to feed through. By opening up greater scope for bargaining between employers and their workers – for example, making it easier to re-negotiate expired enterprise agreements (EBAs) - there’s no doubt that the changes could lead to some upside in wages growth, in line with the government’s objective to “get wages moving again”.
BILL’S BITES: How big will the budget blow-out be?
The new Labor government will deliver its first budget on October 25 and faces a challenging fiscal environment brought on by slowing growth and rising inflation. The deficit will have reduced substantially since the last budget, from $80 billion to about $30bn, largely due to strong commodities prices. However, over the forecasting period, we think those savings will be gradually whittled away as weaker economic conditions kick in.
Sydney’s west plots a path to global city status
The New South Wales government’s WestInvest program has earmarked $5 billion to help fund and deliver infrastructure projects. That will also encourage more private investment. But just as important is that the investment is well targeted, and sustainable. Sydney’s western suburbs have a relatively high level of green space, but lack “walkability,” according to the WSU study. In summer, residents frequently swelter in temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, and that has an impact on liveabilty.
Why Westpac is investing in western Sydney’s future
The scale of transformation taking place in the city of Parramatta and across western Sydney is extraordinary. Not only has the region’s skyline changed dramatically, its economy has grown exponentially, now ranking as the nation’s third largest after Sydney CBD and Melbourne; its social structures are shifting; and the population, now topping 2.5 million, continues to swell. And there’s much more to come.
Business must evolve to help end gendered violence
The last decade has seen foundational progress towards tackling the prevalence of violence against women and children in Australia, but the statistics show this societal scourge remains at epidemic proportions. Like most Australians, I’m outraged by the stubborn pervasiveness of such violence – in particular, that a woman is killed by an intimate partner on average every 10 days.
Pre-loved to lux: curating a waste-free home
Every year, in Sydney alone, as much as 48,000 tonnes of used furniture is chucked out by households, according to a recent survey on rubbish. At the same time, global supply chain issues and inflation have seen a surge in the cost – and wait times – of buying new furniture. It’s also often covered in wasteful packaging, adding to the stress on the planet. It was these types of factors that recently set me on an unexpected quest.
The dark side of hybrid work: virtual bullying
“Bullying produces an immediate physiological response – our frontal cortex sort of goes offline,” says Mary Freer, a Westpac Social Change Fellow and author of Compassion Revolution, which lays out the case for greater compassion in the workplace. “That’s the part of our brain that we need for clear executive thinking and creative work.
BILL’S BITES: RBA cushions sentiment drop in October
The Westpac Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment fell by 0.9 per cent in October, showing that deep pessimism remains, although a smaller than expected rate rise from the Reserve Bank spared it from an even bigger decline. The index dropped to 83.7, from 84.4 in September, staying close to lows seen during the pandemic and the Global Financial Crisis.
BILL’S BITES: RBA surprise only delays cash rate peak
The Reserve Bank of Australia took the market by surprise in only raising the cash rate by 25 basis points at its October board meeting, when the majority of economists, including myself, had expected another 50 basis point increase. Up until a couple of weeks ago, we had expected a 25bp move, but increased our forecast following a big surge in global interest rates associated with hawkish messaging from the US Federal Reserve.
Giving women a tech edge needs fresh approach
This has got me thinking more deeply about what’s driving the imbalance and what I can do to help address it – not just because it’s inequitable, but to ensure a better gender balance to get better technology outcomes. There’s no doubt it’s complex. But my view is that the key barrier is simply negative perceptions – many of which I’ve found can be easily dispelled. For example, the way ads for many tech jobs are written is enough to put a lot of women off.
The unstoppable rise of sustainable investment
“Companies that have strong credentials around responsible investment and ESG are better run companies. You would expect them to outperform,” says Chris Mather, head of platform distribution at BT. Of the nine managed portfolios added to the BT Panorama funds management platform in the June quarter, seven had an ESG focus. That reflects demand from financial advisers, who are themselves responding to a younger, more socially-aware client base.
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