News

The March quarter’s Selected Living Cost Indexes – which include mortgage costs, giving a fuller view of inflation’s real impact than the Consumer Price Index – show employee households and mortgage holders both saw record increases in their cost of living. And with rate hikes continuing to flow through the economy, more pain is on the horizon.

The surge in passive investment options in recent years, along with a record of underperformance by active managers, has pushed the ongoing active-versus-passive debate to the fore. Proponents of both styles agree, though, that how each approach performs in volatility will be the key question in 2023.

The regulator has issued 26 stop orders against 18 companies for failing to adequately target financial products to the appropriate market since the “design and distribution obligations” regime began, it said in an initial compliance review. And it warned that closer scrutiny is coming.

Economists attributed the rebound partly to the market’s expectations that interest rates had peaked. But the other key driver – the drastic supply/demand imbalance – means higher prices, especially for rents, may be further complicating the central bank’s task.

Consumer access to sound advice comes first, according to Michelle Levy, the Allens partner who recently led a review into the sector. She urged the government to dispense with any further consultations and get on with implementing the review’s far-reaching reforms.

Australia’s states and territories are all still enjoying strong economic performance despite tumultuous conditions, but strong labour and housing data has propelled Tasmania to reclaim the top spot from Queensland in CommSec’s “State of the States” report for Q4 2022.

The regulator found 45 per cent of Choice super options underperformed the heatmap benchmarks in 2022, while one in five underperformed significantly. It also put trustees on notice that it’s stepping up scrutiny of poorly performing Choice products.

The average annual interest rate on banks’ one- and three- year term deposits has risen to 3.2 per cent from 0.25 per cent over the past year. With markets expecting the official cash rate to peak soon, savers looking to lock in attractive rates will find the best deals with smaller, newer banks, analysts say.

With the prospect of a recession in Australia still looming large, SMSF investors might take comfort in new research showing that while their sector underperformed APRA-regulated funds in a booming 2021, SMSFs weathered the last contractionary environment, in 2020, better than larger funds did.

Nearly 32,000 customers of Australia’s four major banks fell victim to scams in the 2022 financial year, bearing 96 per cent of the losses as reimbursement and compensation rates remain extremely low. ASIC is now pushing financial institutions to improve their approaches to scams and better support their customers.

In the first external review of the central bank in four decades, an expert panel has recommended a major shake-up, including the establishment of a new board responsible for monetary policy. RBA Governor Philip Lowe welcomed the changes while defending the current board’s decision-making capabilities.

While small and medium enterprises remained resilient in March, concerns about rising input costs and the growing chances of recession have businesses toning down their hiring plans.