Latest news with #AustraliaEconomy
News.com.au
10-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Business turnover slips 0.1 per cent in May 2025: ABS
Business revenues declined in May for the first time since late 2024 in a fresh warning bell for Australia's stumbling economy. The Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed the dip in its latest data release on business turnover, which covers total income generated from sales before taking out expenses. A slump in arts and recreation services propelled the decline, with the category tumbling 5.5 per cent over the month. Manufacturing declined 1.3 per cent and retail slipped 0.8 per cent. Altogether, turnover in five of 13 industries fell. 'This is the first fall in monthly business turnover since October 2024,' ABS head of business statistics Robert Ewing said. 'Softening the fall, we saw rises in electricity, gas, water and waste services, up 1.7 per cent, and wholesale trade, up 1.1 per cent.' IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said May's numbers suggested Australia's economy had entered a 'flat patch'. 'It supports other data that indicates the economy remains in a flat patch, with the softness in retail sales confirming the idea that households remain cautious,' he said. 'This reinforces the need for additional monetary policy easing from the RBA (Reserve Bank of Australia) to boost sentiment and growth prospects for the Australian economy into the end of 2025.' Compared with May 2024, however, overall turnover was 3.3 per cent higher for the month, the ABS said. May's dip follows a shock decision from the RBA on Tuesday to hold the cash rate at 3.85 per cent, defying expectations from expert commentators and the money markets. RBA governor Michele Bullock wanted to wait for the June quarter inflation numbers – scheduled for release on July 20 – before moving on rates. 'We just want to confirm with a full quarterly CPI that we're still on track to deliver inflation continuing down to the middle of the band over time,' she said in response to a question from NewsWire. 'That's the reason we're waiting. We decided to hold and we'll reconsider again in August with this extra information and new forecasts.' bRight Agent co-founder Aaron Scott called the hold a 'cruel blow' for millions of Australian homeowners. 'Despite the fact that a July cut would not have been enough to give most mortgage holders a meaningful reprieve, it would have been welcome by the millions of Aussies who are holding out for more cost-of-living relief,' he said on Tuesday. 'Nobody will be breaking out the Wagyu beef or shiraz.' On Thursday, banking giant Commonwealth Bank also warned that households remained cautious. 'While we still anticipate a pick-up in household spending in 2025, a slower rate-cutting cycle could soften this recovery over the remainder of the year,' CBA senior economist Belinda Allen said. Consumer spending lifted 0.3 per cent in June, the bank's closely watched household spending index revealed, for a third month of gains following rises of 0.4 per cent in both April and May.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Australia retail sales edge up 0.2% in May, again miss forecasts
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian retail sales rose less than expected in May as a rare drop in the food sector offset gains in clothing and department stores, underlining the case for another cut in interest rates as early as next week. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Wednesday showed retail sales rose 0.2% in May from April, when they were flat. The outcome was short of market forecasts of a 0.4% increase and the fourth month of sluggish spending. Sales of A$37.3 billion ($24.54 billion) were up 3.3% on a year earlier, but down from 3.8% in April and the slowest annual pace since November last year. ($1 = 1.5202 Australian dollars) Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Aussie's ‘genius' trick to save money when online shopping: ‘Feels illegal'
An Australian woman has shared the easy way she saves money, with people calling the move "genius". Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a part of many people's everyday lives, and some are using it to combat the current cost-of-living crisis. Andy McDonald has been using ChatGPT to find discount codes when online shopping. The Gold Coast woman told Yahoo Finance she uses AI a lot in her business and decided to start integrating it into more areas of her life. 'One day, I had a random thought — what if it could find me discount codes? I gave it a go, and it worked. It pulled a heap of codes,' she said. 'Some don't work, but a lot of the time I'll find one that gets me around 15 to 30 per cent off. It even checks if the codes are valid for the current month.' RELATED Visa's game-changing new AI tool to 'revolutionise' online shopping Woolworths payment change as popular system gets axed Centrelink $836 cash boost for 'very real' truth facing thousands of Aussies It's something many online shoppers have been doing too, with social media filled with other people sharing the shopping tip. McDonald said she keeps it "super simple" and types in: 'Can you find me discount codes for [brand name]?' 'That's it. It'll usually come back with a list, and I test them out from there,' she said she had found working discounts for clothing brands like Billy J and Charcoal Clothing, along with protein from Tropeaka. 'I've saved anywhere between 10 and 30 per cent, depending on the site. That said, a lot of codes tend not to work during major sale periods like EOFY — so it's more of a hit during off-peak times,' she said. Yahoo Finance tested out the trick and was able to find discount codes for several retailers, however, we found the hack worked better when signed into a ChatGPT account. While not all of the discount codes worked, there were some that did, so it can be a good starting point and could save you some of your hard-earned cash. McDonald shared a TikTok about the shopping tip online, saying it 'feels illegal to know'. Her video has been viewed tens of thousands of times, with one calling it 'genius' and others sharing they had saved by using ChatGPT too. 'It's literally the best!! Hahaha I honestly don't shop online unless I can find a discount code,' one wrote. 'Yep, I have been using it for codes too, saves me searching through Google haha,' another said. 'Just saved $60 on a pair of full-priced shoes I've been eyeing off for ages,' a third added. Other Aussies recommended discount code tools like Honey and the Microsoft Edge discount extension. McDonald said ChatGPT was just one tool she used when shopping online. 'I always have ShopBack running in the background - it's great for cash back, especially on higher-ticket purchases like hotels,' she said. 'Another one I like is Zyft — it compares prices across different retailers and helps you find the lowest one.'Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
E-Invoicing Could Unlock Over A$22 Billion for the Australian Economy, Avalara Finds
New global research from Avalara and Cebr reveals the transformative power of electronic invoicing adoption in Australia and across five other major markets Productivity benefits could create billions in economic gains for businesses and governments SYDNEY, June 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Avalara Inc., a leader in modern tax compliance automation, has released a landmark global report in partnership with the Center for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) quantifying the economic impact of electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) adoption. The study, covering Australia, France, Germany, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States, identifies a combined annual economic opportunity of $616 billion through productivity gains, faster payments, and reduced fraud. In Australia alone, full e-invoicing adoption could unlock yearly economic gains of $15.1 billion, approximately A$22.5 billion. Economic & Business Value The report reveals that switching to e-invoicing delivers measurable economic benefits for nations, as well as financial and operational efficiencies for businesses. The average Australian firm adopting e-invoicing could realize $649,200, around A$970,000, in annual productivity gains. Elsewhere, e-invoicing could add $16.9 billion in France, $13.3 billion in Germany, $11.2 billion in the UK, $3.7 billion in India, and a staggering $116 billion in the U.S. "E-invoicing isn't just a compliance solution, it's a growth engine for global economies and businesses," said Ross Tennenbaum, President of Avalara. "Our research with Cebr proves that the faster we help businesses transition to electronic invoicing, the more we can do to help unlock billions in productivity and day-to day efficiencies." Australia has witnessed substantial improvements in payment acceleration. Firms that have embraced e-invoicing have seen payments arrive up to 2.5 days faster, a 15% improvement on paper or more manual digital processes. Elsewhere, U.S. businesses using e-invoicing save $15.16 on average for each invoice they receive, amounting to $1.1 million in annual productivity gains per firm. European businesses are also benefiting from the technology. Large French businesses have been able to reclaim up to 54.4 minutes for each invoice, significantly reducing processing time and freeing up finance teams to do more effective tasks. Across all six markets, e-invoicing shortens payment cycles by an average of 1.4 days, reduces fraud and tax fines by around 30%, and saves approximately 39 minutes over the process for each invoice. Slower SMBsGlobally, larger firms have embraced e-invoicing, processing 72% of invoices electronically. In contrast, SMBs, issuing and receiving hundreds of invoices every week, lag with only 37% adoption. This reliance on manual methods could cost smaller businesses both time and money. Unfortunately for SMBs, barriers to adoption remain. Notable difficulties include staff training and complexities around integration, impacting nearly half (43%) of respondents. Encouragingly though, momentum is building worldwide. Most firms (95%) using manual invoices are aware of e-invoicing, and three-quarters (73%) expect to adopt the technology within the next five years. Faster Payments, Stronger CashflowA key reason for this is the time savings associated with e-invoicing. By making payments typically 5% faster, the technology leads to significant cashflow advantages. Across the entire payment process, the research found that Australian firms experienced savings of around $13.67 per invoice, roughly A$20. In addition to this, U.S. firms saw an 8% acceleration in payment speeds, and large businesses unlocked over $14,000 annually in cashflow improvements. UK firms utilizing the technology also benefited, experiencing a 4.8% drop in late payments. This was the biggest improvement across all six of the markets. Interestingly, time savings per invoice were more modest in India, at 6.8 minutes for accounts payable, even though the country has the highest e-invoicing adoption rate. Despite this more limited impact, 64% of Indian businesses remain satisfied with the positive impact of e-invoicing adoption. Lower Risk, Greater ConfidenceE-invoicing is also critical in fraud prevention and security, boardroom priorities in today's rapidly evolving business environment. Across all six markets, 44% of businesses were hit with tax fines and 34% experienced invoice fraud in the past year. That's not the entire picture, as businesses faced $23,500 on average for tax fines and $18,100 for fraud losses. Firms leveraging e-invoicing reported far fewer incidents, only 20% experienced fines or fraud. E-invoicing's power to maintain financial operations and regulatory compliance helps businesses reduce tax fines by 27%. It also shores up businesses from threats, slashing fraud and data breaches by 30%, and lowers the number of lost invoices by 40%, providing businesses with even more operational confidence. Policy Support Grows While e-invoicing is not yet mandatory in Australia, it is gaining traction. Over half of Australian businesses are aware of government initiatives promoting e-invoicing, and 58% are already preparing for future legislation. This puts Australia among the most proactive markets when it comes to voluntary compliance. Today's research highlights the urgent case for businesses and governments to implement e-invoicing, paving the way for greater efficiency, security, and transparency. Avalara offers tailored solutions to help Australian businesses accelerate compliance and unlock value. To find out more, head to: MethodologyThe study surveyed 1,720 businesses across six major markets (U.S., UK, France, Germany, India, and Australia), analyzing the productivity, financial, and compliance impacts of full e-invoicing adoption. Economic modelling, conducted by Cebr, focused on two main elements: to exclusively target B2B companies with at least 10 employees; and to quantify the impacts of e-invoicing at an individual invoice, per-business and ultimately economy-wide level, with all monetary figures converted and presented consistently in USD ($). About AvalaraAvalara makes tax compliance faster, easier, and more accurate, reliable, and valuable for 43,000+ business and government customers in over 75 countries. Tax compliance automation software solutions from Avalara leverage 1,400+ signed partner integrations across leading ecommerce, ERP, and other billing systems to power tax calculations, document management, tax return filing, and tax content access. Visit to improve your compliance journey. Logo - View original content: SOURCE Avalara, Inc. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
ABC News
19-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Markets live: ASX to drop at open, oil prices rise as Israel continues strikes on Iran
The Australian share market is set to fall when trading begins. Wall Street was closed overnight due to the Juneteenth public holiday. Meanwhile, oil prices rose 3 per cent as Donald Trump considered a US attack on Iran "within the next two weeks". Follow the day's financial news and insights from our specialist business reporters on our live blog. Disclaimer: this blog is not intended as investment advice.
