Whoa! Enough already

This week the business of finance was consumed by another interest rate rise with on-going debate over the wisdom of  the Reserve Bank’s inflation fighting strategies. Some,  like The New Daily’s Michael Pascoe,  argue that it’s time for the RBA to ease off. He writes that  we are on the edge of a precipice and if the Bank continues to hike rates the result could be catastrophic

 Sneaky Shrinkflation

As if rising interest rates and inflation aren’t enough,  our wallets are also under attack from shrinkflation the  silent and sneaky strategy to get more of our cash for less. The ABC’s Alan Kohler has produced this engaging two minute video explaining the phenomenon.

The Full Bottle

This one is for the data geeks. How much did Australians spend on overseas trips  in the September quarter? What was the value of lithium exports during the same period? The answers? You’ll find them in a list of “12 things to know about the Australian economy right now” prepared by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Luxuriate in the numbers if that’s your thing!  

UBank Schemozzle – again!

Who’d want to be a UBank customer?  Hot on the heels of last week’s tech stuff up, which left  overseas clients unable to access their money,  comes this chiller. A West Australian customer claims that over half a million dollars in life savings disappeared from his account overnight with no explanation from the bank. That was five days ago. No word from the bank if the money has been found yet.  Whatever the explanation – good or bad – the bank needs to get on the front foot and inform its existing and potential customers.

Work Less, Earn More

This is a little off-topic but worth a read. The respected Planet Money people at NPR have reported on a UK experiment to test the impact of a four-day week with no loss of pay for employees. It is a six-month trial running alongside similar pilot schemes in Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia and NZ.  As the article reveals, not everyone is in love with the idea.