The Reserve Bank of Australia decided to leave the cash rate target unchanged at 4.35 per cent and the interest rate paid on Exchange Settlement balances unchanged at 4.25 per cent.
Inflation has fallen substantially since its peak in 2022, as higher interest rates have been working to bring aggregate demand and supply closer towards balance. But the pace of decline has slowed in the most recent data, with inflation still some way above the midpoint of the 2–3 per cent target range. Over the year to April, the monthly CPI indicator rose by 3.6 per cent in headline terms, and by 4.1 per cent excluding volatile items and holiday travel, which was similar to its pace in December 2023.
Broader data indicate continuing excess demand in the economy, coupled with elevated domestic cost pressures, for both labour and non-labour inputs. Conditions in the labour market eased further over t.....
The Global Nitrous Oxide (N₂O) Budget, released recently, reveals anthropogenic (human-induced) N₂O emissions have increased by 40 per cent in the past four decades, with the period between 2020-2022 showing an accelerated rate of growth.
N₂O is one of the three key greenhouse gases, along with carbon dioxide and methane, contributing to human-driven climate change. N₂O can remain in the atmosphere for more than 100 years and it is also an ozone-depleting substance.
The paper is a core component of global greenhouse gas assessments, coordinated by the Global Carbon Project, and was authored by an international team of researchers, including CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency.
CSIRO’s Dr Pep Canadell said the report incorporates both natural and human-induced N₂O sources using data from 1980 to 2020.
“N₂O in the atmosphere contributes to global w.....
దేశవ్యాప్తంగా జరిగిన లోక్ సభ ఎన్నికలలో గెలిచి, మూడోసారి నరేంద్ర మోదీ దేశ పగ్గాలను పట్టనున్నారు. నువ్వా, నేనా అన్నట్టు సాగిన ఈ సార్వత్రిక ఎన్నికలలో బిజెపి ఆధ్వర్యంలో ఎన్డీయే కూటమి ఎట్టకేలకు విజయం సాధించింది. కానీ, 2014, 2019 ఎన్నికలతో పోలిస్తే, ఎన్డీయే, బీజేపీల సీట్ల సంఖ్య భారీగా తగ్గింది. అదే సమయంలో కాంగ్రెసు పార్టీ గణనీయంగా పుంజుకుంది.
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The US on Tuesday praised India's parliamentary elections as the "largest exercise of democracy in history", while refraining from commenting on the outcomes of the polls.
State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller commended the Indian government and its voters for successfully completing the massive electoral process. "On behalf of the United States, we want to commend the government of
India and voters there for successfully completing and participating in such a massive electoral undertaking, and we look forward to seeing final results," he stated during his daily news briefing.
Miller emphasised the US stance on not commenting on electoral winners and losers worldwide. "I'm also not going to comment on winners and losers in elections as is our case around the world. What is important for us and what we have seen over the past six weeks is the largest exercise of democracy .....
March 30, 2024: The monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) indicator rose 3.6 per cent in the 12 months to April 2024, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Michelle Marquardt, ABS head of prices statistics, said: “Annual inflation increased to 3.6 per cent this month, up from 3.5 per cent in March. Inflation has been relatively stable over the past five months, although this is the second month in a row where annual inflation has had a small increase.”
The most significant contributors to the April annual rise were Housing (+4.9 per cent), Food and non-alcoholic beverages (+3.8 per cent), Alcohol and tobacco (+6.5 per cent), and Transport (+4.2 per cent).
"CPI inflation is often impacted by items with volatile price changes like Automotive fuel, Fruit and vegetables, and Holiday travel. It can be helpful to exclude these items from the he.....
May 30, 2024: The total number of dwellings approved fell 0.3 per cent in April, after a 2.7 per cent rise in March, according to seasonally adjusted data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Daniel Rossi, ABS head of construction statistics, said: "Approvals for private houses fell 1.6 per cent."
"Approvals for private sector dwellings excluding houses also fell 1.1 per cent in April in seasonally adjusted terms."
Total dwelling approvals fell in Tasmania (-16.1 per cent), New South Wales (-4.5 per cent) and Western Australia (-0.9 per cent). Rises were recorded in South Australia (13.9 per cent) and Queensland (5.0 per cent). Victoria was flat in April.
Meanwhile, approvals for private sector houses decreased in New South Wales (-5.0 per cent), Victoria (-2.0 per cent), Queensland (-0.2 per cent), and South Australia (-0.1 per cent), but rose in West.....
The Albanese Government will deliver a generational investment to find new deposits of minerals and sources of energy to help build a Future Made in Australia, as part of a big focus on resources in next week’s Budget.
The Budget will show that the Government will invest $566.1 million over ten years from 2024-25 to deliver data, maps and other tools for use by the resources industry that will point the way to new discoveries, power our economy and commit to the full mapping of Australia over the next generation.
Federal government will deploy Australia’s top geoscientists to fully map Australian resources that will power our future, help us make more here at home, and create good secure jobs now and for the next generation.
The landmark long-term investment, led by Geoscience Australia, underscores the Government’s plan to put the resources industry at the heart of its Fu.....
The Albanese Government is making critical investments in Western Australian infrastructure, cementing the state’s future growth.
In the 2024–25 Budget, the government is committing $33.5 million towards planning works to support the development of Westport.
The Westport project is the linchpin for future trade growth in Western Australia.
It includes planning a new port and the connected road, rail and logistics operations required to move container trade from Fremantle to Kwinana.
The Commonwealth’s commitment to the Westport project as part of the 2024-25 Budget will progress planning that is critical to facilitate construction of Westport, including:
Upgrading Anketell Road West
Kwinana Freeway widening
Roe Highway widening
Freight rail duplication and level crossing removal.
Federal government has been working closely with the Cook Government to.....
Next week’s Budget will wipe around $3 billion from student HECS debt. This will make a real difference for around 3 million Australians.
A student with an average HECS debt of about $26,000, will have their HECS debt cut by about by about $1200.
Someone with a HECS debt of $40,000 will see a cut of about $1800.
This is a really big and important reform that will make HECS fairer.
And it will apply to everyone with a HECS debt, just as our tax cuts will help every single taxpayer.
We are delivering this by changing HECS indexation to be set against either inflation or wages, whichever is the lower and backdating this change to last year.
We also know that too many students have a hard time completing the unpaid practical placements that are crucial to graduates.
Many students do this unpaid work for weeks at a time. Sometimes they’re commuting far from home to do.....
The RBI on Friday retained the GDP growth projection at 7 per cent for 2024-25 fiscal on the back of expectations of a normal monsoon, moderating inflationary pressures, and sustained momentum in manufacturing and services sector.
The headwinds from protracted geopolitical tensions and increasing disruptions in trade routes, however, pose risks to the outlook, Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das said while unveiling the first bi-monthly monetary policy of the current fiscal.
Going forward, he said the outlook for agriculture and rural activity appears bright, with good rabi wheat crop and improved prospects of kharif crops, due to expected normal south-west monsoon.
“Strengthening of rural demand, improving employment conditions and informal sector activity, moderating inflationary pressures and sustained momentum in manufacturing and services sector should boost private con.....
The 18th general elections will take place in 7 phases for the 543 seats starting on 19 April and ending on 1 June. The Lok Sabha elections 2024 results will declared on 4 June. A total of 22 states will have a single-phase voting. Elections in Maharasthra and Jammu and Kashmir will be held in 5 phases, while UP, Bihar and West Bengal willl vote in all 7 phases. Karnataka, Rajastha, Tripura and Manipur will vote in 2 phases. Chattisgarh and Assam will vote in 3 phases, where as Odissa, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand will vote in 4 phases. Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Delhi, Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal pradesh, Haryana, punjab and other states and union territories will have a single phase voting.
There are a total of 102 seats to take part in elections in the first phase, whereas 89 constituencies hold polls in 2 phases. Polling will conduct in 94,96, .....
The government on Wednesday eased Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms in the space sector by allowing 100 per cent overseas investment in making components for satellites, as part of efforts to attract overseas players and private companies into the segment.
The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Now, the satellite sub-sector has been divided into three different activities with defined limits for foreign investment in each such sector, according to an official statement.
Presently, FDI in the space sector is allowed up to 100 per cent in the area of satellite establishment and operations through government routes only.
By changing the current policy, the government has allowed up to 74 per cent FDI under automatic route in satellite-manufacturing and operation, satellite data products, and ground and user segments.
Beyond .....