Macquarie ‘Millionaires Factory' Put at Risk by Investor Revolt
Macquarie Group Ltd. 's long vaunted money-making machine for top bankers is showing signs of strain.
Known as the 'Millionaires' Factory,' the Australian financial giant has for years awarded more generous pay to its senior management and dealmakers than rivals across Asia. Former commodities head Nick O'Kane famously earned more than JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, before he left last year.
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Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Top 10 most affordable places to live in Australia revealed after mass exodus from major city
If you're living in one of Australia's expensive capital cities and want to move somewhere a little more affordable, new data has found where your money can go the furthest. A whopping 41,000 people left Sydney last year alone in search of a cheaper lifestyle. With the rising cost of living squeezing everyone's wallets, many are in desperate need of more financial breathing room. StandOut Resume found the average total expenses per year were $34,417, which went to rent, electricity, gas, internet, food, and transport. It searched far and wide to find the 10 places you could move to to get the most bang for your buck. RELATED Family finds 'much cheaper' option than Sydney after $1m property realisation St George Bank increases fee to deposit or withdraw cash by 200 per cent Cashless revolt to hit back against horror bank trend decimating Aussie towns 10 most affordable cities to live in Australia The study had a look at what essential living expenses were in each city across the country. It discovered the average after-tax income in Australia was $53,541, and once you took away expenses, a person would have $19,124 left over at the end of the year. The study found 64.3 per cent of that salary went towards basic life expenses. Shockingly, 43.2 per cent went to rent alone, which is far above averages found in Germany (27.8 per cent) and the UK (36 per cent). Food took up 11.3 per cent of the person's money. For living costs, the study focused on rent prices rather than mortgage repayments, while transport costs were based on public modes rather than a car. Here are the 10 cities that topped the list: Townsville Rockingham Launceston Wollongong Melbourne Perth Ballarat Hobart Brisbane BendigoWhy are these cities so affordable? StandOut Resume found Townsville came out on top because of its relatively high salary of $56,858 after income tax. When you took out basic living expenses (which accounted for 51.7 per cent of their pay), people in the northern Queensland city had $27,442 left over at the end of the year. Townsville also had the third-cheapest monthly grocery bills ($460), the fourth-cheapest gas prices ($766 per year), and the fifth-cheapest rent ($364 per week). Western Australia's Rockingham had a slightly better average salary at $58,702, but expenses were a little higher, leaving residents with $26,887 remaining. Tasmania's highest entry on the list was down to Launceston having the cheapest average rental prices at just $331 per week, which was 25 per cent lower than the national average. Melbourne was the best performing capital city on the list, with Perth not too far behind. Victoria's capital performed well thanks to residents having the second-highest median salary, behind those living in Sydney. 10 least affordable cities to live in Australia You might think Sydney would easily top this list considering how expensive rent can be, but StandOut Resume research found seven cities that were worse than the NSW capital. Gold Coast Canberra Geelong Cairns Darwin Adelaide Logan City Sydney Newcastle Toowoomba People on the Gold Coast typically have only $10,127 left at the end of the year, as 79.1 per cent of their median $48,447 salary went to living expenses. The city came in joint second with Canberra for having the highest rent prices ($536 per week), with Sydney coming in first. The NSW capital and the ACT capital were the only other cities in Australia where more than 70 per cent of a resident's wage went to expenses, with 50 per cent alone going to rent in Canberra. Geelong found its way into bronze because it had some of the most expensive gas prices in the country at $892 per year, and public transport costs were the second-highest in the country. Combine that with the regional Victorian city having the second-lowest median salary after Toowoomba, and you can see why it's so expensive. Sydney was so far down the list because its average salary of $63,639 gave residents a bit more breathing room. People there typically had $16,989 at the end of each year, but they were still giving 73.3 per cent of their wages to in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Sydney chicken shop owner reveals tough fight thousands of Aussies face: ‘Really hard'
A Sydney chicken shop owner has opened up about the 'hard' operating conditions facing thousands of Aussie small businesses around the country. Businesses are continuing to battle the rising cost of rent, wages and goods, coupled with still cautious consumer spending. Joe Avers co-founded Super Nash Brothers, a Nashville-style fried chicken shop, in 2021, which now has three locations in Waitara, Waterloo and Willoughby. While the business has seen sales steadily increase this year, Avers told Yahoo Finance the last two and a half years had been 'really, really hard' for profitability. 'Hospitality in itself is a really difficult industry regardless, but there's just been so many pressures between rising energy costs, increases in wages, increases in ingredients costs and raw materials,' he said. 'On top of rent increases with CPIs and our third-party delivery platforms have been just so and so expensive and getting more and more expensive as time goes on, unfortunately.' RELATED Aussie cafe owner's 'pressure' of impending $124,000 superannuation change Australia's 'ancient enemy' returns sparking major Centrelink warning Centrelink pension warning for 4.3 million Aussies facing super nightmare Avers, who co-founded the business with partners Ross Kempt and Will Kierath, said the chain's June year-on-year revenue had dropped by between 3 to 5 per cent. 'It wasn't an enormous amount, but we historically have always been stronger in winter because we're fried chicken, spicy, hot, comfort food,' he said. 'Because of the growth we saw earlier this year, we were like June, July, August are going to be insane, record months, we're going to be healthy from a business perspective. '[So] it was interesting to see we didn't have that same jump from May to June as we have in the past.' Avers said cost-of-living pressures were a factor behind the softer sales. The latest retail spending data found spending in cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services dropped 0.4 per cent in June. To combat cost-of-living pressures experienced by customers, the business introduced a more wallet-friendly menu about 18 months ago, which are slightly smaller versions of their existing combos at 20 to 30 per cent cheaper prices, and has seen good customer adoption. It's also introduced different deals throughout the week through its loyalty program. 'While we are seeing good sales numbers in terms of the volume of customers coming through, the average sale price has definitely dropped off as a result,' he said. Operating costs continue to increase On the operating side, Avers said costs like energy, rent and ingredient costs had been steadily increasing. 'We used to pay $20, $25 for 20 litres of oil, we now pay the equivalent of $85 for 20 litres. So that's gone up almost four times,' he said. 'Every week, there's a new item that goes up. Even if it's just 1, 2, 3 per cent, if it's happening on every product every few months, by the end of the year, the products that we were profitable on previously are pretty much line ball.' Avers said the business had not increased the price of its products in three years. 'It's something that we've really sort of battled with. We get to a point where there's sort of no money in the bank and we go if we increase this product and this product by $1 each, there'd be an extra $2,000 at the end of the week, which would be a significant improvement for us in our cash flow position,' he said. 'But the challenge that we face is, if we do increase it by $1, how many customers do we potentially have drop off and it's just that last straw for a customer.' Small businesses facing headwinds across the board Avers isn't the only small business owner who is experiencing softer sales right now. New research from Xero found Australian small business sales slowed in the June quarter, recording the slowest growth in sales since 2020. Sales grew 3 per cent year on year in the June quarter, down from 5.3 per cent in the March quarter and 2.4 per cent in the December quarter and below the long-term average of 7.8 per cent. Sales were volatile month to month, with the Reserve Bank's rate cuts in February and May appearing to have a short-term positive impact on sales in March and June. Hospitality sales were softer than the average, rising 1.1 per cent year on year, compared to the average 2 per cent year on year growth seen in the two previous quarters. Xero economist Louise Southall told Yahoo Finance the slower growth pointed to continued caution around discretionary spending, with many households still tightening their belts on non-essentials like dining out. 'While recent rate cuts and easing inflation have provided some relief, hospitality businesses are also managing high operating costs, labour shortages and shifting consumer sentiment — all of which add to the pressure,' she said. But business sees 'light at the end of the tunnel' While sales growth is still below the long-term average and slower than previous quarters, Southall said it was encouraging to see Australian small business sales were continuing to rise. 'Australians who are in a position to do so can support hospitality small businesses by dining at independent venues, buying from local cafés, or leaving a positive review for their favourite spots,' she said. 'Small, everyday choices can make a real difference, helping small businesses remain viable and keeping local communities thriving.' Avers said he'd encourage customers to order directly from businesses, rather than use third-party delivery services like Uber Eats and DoorDash. 'What most customers don't know is that Uber Eats actually charges like 30 per cent to the restaurant for the total order value, and then on top of that, the customer then pays the delivery fee,' he said. 'That's a service that is great and helpful but they are paying almost twice as much as they would in store for the convenience of that.' Avers said he was hopeful the business would keep growing and said they weren't planning on closing their doors anytime soon. In fact, they hope to open another store in the next 12 months and are currently looking at franchising opportunities. 'We believe in our product, our team, our brand, our customers enough. We've been through the worst of it through covid and the highest point of interest rates, we'd like to think that there's light at the end of the tunnel,' Avers said. 'We're definitely going to continue to stick it out'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
5 Japanese Cars That Will Have Massive Price Drops in the Fall of 2025
Summer is halfway over, which means you can start looking forward to not just cooler weather, but hot deals on cars. If you are in the market for a new ride and have your sights set on a Japanese brand of car, there's good news on the horizon: during the fall of 2025 several makes and models from Japan are set to see their prices go down, potentially giving drivers a good deal to get behind the wheel. See Next: Try This: GOBankingRates got in touch with Alex Black, automotive expert and chief marketing officer of EpicVIN. He shared the five Japanese cars that will have massive price drops in fall of 2025 based on EpicVIN auction trends and dealership stock. 2021 to 2023 Toyota Camry Estimated Price Drop: $2,000 and $2,500 Toyota produced too many of these Camrys before focusing more attention on hybrids. Black has seen lots of used ones available at the dealers and customers desire SUVs, with large discounts will likely sell through metal ahead of 2026 deliveries. For You: 2020 to 2022 Honda Accord Estimated Price Drop: $1,800 and $2,200 'The new-gen Accord isn't selling like Honda expected,' Black said. 'More used Accords are entering the market as leases expire. More of a good thing? No, it means resale values decrease.' 2022 and 2023 Nissan Altima Estimated Price Drop: up to $3,000 According to Black, the Altima market is slow for Nissan and fleet renters are disposing of thousands in the fall. 'That'll bring the private market prices lower as well,' Black said. 2020 to 2022 Subaru Impreza Estimated Price Drop: $1,500 and $2,000 'Crosstrek and Outback are winning over Subaru customers,' Black explained. 'The sparkle of Impreza has worn off and used ones are stockpiling at the dealership.' 2021 Mazda CX Estimated Price Drop: around $2,000 In Black's professional opinion, the car market's full of mini crossovers nowadays. 'Mazda's putting out new CX versions, so used CX-5s will need to be priced lower to be competitive,' Black said. 'We're getting advance pre-season signals that prices of a few favorite Japanese rides are heading south later in the fall,' Black explained, adding a pro tip to buyers hoping to cash in on the drop in pricing in the second half of 2025. 'If you're purchasing later this year, go bargain hunting in late October or early November. That's the time of year car people panic to make year-end clearance-doubly so if interest rates remain high and buyers continue to wait.' More From GOBankingRates Mark Cuban Warns of 'Red Rural Recession' -- 4 States That Could Get Hit Hard Mark Cuban Says Trump's Executive Order To Lower Medication Costs Has a 'Real Shot' -- Here's Why 3 Reasons Retired Boomers Shouldn't Give Their Kids a Living Inheritance (And 2 Reasons They Should) This article originally appeared on 5 Japanese Cars That Will Have Massive Price Drops in the Fall of 2025
