Hikes

Apple Macbook 13-inch prices jumps from $1,799 to $2,099 while the cost of iPads surges by 25%Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralians woke up on Friday to higher prices for Macbooks and iPads after Apple hiked worldwide, blaming an AI-driven cost crunch for computer parts.The iPhone range was unaffected but experts predict Apple will raise prices for its flagship product later this year. Microsoft also lifted its Xbox prices overnight amid a wave of increases for phones and devices. Continue reading...

• US stock markets traded mixed on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising as gains in AI-linked chipmakers balanced out losses in other sectors. • Micron Technology saw a significant jump driven by a positive artificial intelligence outlook, while Apple shares slid following the announcement of price hikes across several of its products. • This divergence highlights a market trend where investor enthusiasm for AI growth is offsetting concerns over consumer pricing strategies and demand for hardware.

Despite plunging fuel prices, trimmed mean inflation increased from an annual pace of 3.4% to 3.6%Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s inflation challenge is far from over and more Reserve Bank rate hikes remain on the cards, economists warn, even after a plunging petrol costs drove an unexpected fall in consumer price growth in the year to May.Annual inflation dropped to 4%, from 4.2% in the year to April, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, dragged down in large part thanks to a nearly 12% drop in fuel prices in the month of May. Continue reading...

Americans are growing frustrated with Trump’s handling of the economy as cost of living soars ahead of midtermsUS inflation increased at its fastest pace in three years in April, driven by higher energy prices amid the war with Iran, and cementing economists’ views that the Federal Reserve could hold interest rates unchanged well into next year.Surging price pressures are eroding household income and could restrain consumer spending and economic growth this quarter. Income at the disposal of households after adjusting for inflation dropped for a third straight month in April, other data showed on Thursday. Given the soaring cost of living, Americans are growing frustrated with Donald Trump’s handling of the economy. A Reuters/Ipsos survey last week showed the president’s approval rating fell to nearly its lowest level since he returned to the White House, hit by a drop in support among Republicans. Trump won the 2024 presidential election in large part because of his promise to lower inflation. Continue reading...

Reserve Bank of Australia raises rates for third consecutive meeting, lifting them to early-2025 levels Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Reserve Bank has delivered a third straight interest rate hike, as it seeks to head off the inflationary threat from higher fuel prices linked to the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran.A week out from what the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is simultaneously calling his most ambitious and responsible budget yet, the widely anticipated decision to increase the cash rate to 4.35% from 4.1% comes amid growing worries about the economic fallout from the Middle East conflict. Continue reading...

The Seoul High Court found Kim Keon Hee guilty of manipulating the share price of Deutsch Motors, a South Korean car dealer, which it ruled a "collusive ... trading act constituting market manipulation".

Climate leaders say Democrats need to extol clean energy as a way to cut costs for Americans as war roils oil marketsDemocrats should get louder in championing clean energy’s affordability and resilience from global shocks, according to some of the party’s leading voices on the climate.As the Iran war roils economies by raising the cost of oil and gas, countries are aiming to accelerate their shift to cleaner energy. But in the US, Donald Trump has sought to kill off any alternative to fossil fuels while opposing Democrats have been reluctant to tie the conflict to any action on the climate crisis. Continue reading...