The Surprising Link Between EVs and Interest Rates

The Iran war has sent fuel prices soaring, but it may also be accelerating a much bigger shift in how Australians get around. Electrified vehicles have accounted for more than half of new car sales in recent months, as high petrol prices collide with a wave of cheaper models from China. Bloomberg …

What Bank CEOs Are Saying About the Housing Downturn

Australia’s housing downturn is gathering pace — and the nation’s biggest banks are starting to feel the effects. Mortgage applications are falling, investor lending has slumped and house prices have retreated from their March peak as higher interest rates and tax changes weigh on demand. On this …

How Worried Should We Be About Bird Flu?

Bird flu has reached Australia and is spreading rapidly among wild birds, raising fears it could jump into commercial poultry flocks and put further pressure on already elevated food prices. In this week’s podcast, recorded on Aug. 11 as the outbreak continues to evolve rapidly, agriculture reporte…

The Startup Airlines Looking to Take on Qantas and Virgin

Australia's domestic aviation market may be on the cusp of its biggest shake-up in years, with two startup carriers — Zinc and Koala Airlines — plotting to challenge the long-standing dominance of Qantas and Virgin. In this episode, Chris Bourke asks global business reporter Angus Whitley why entre…

Macquarie’s Next Era: From Millionaire Paydays to Mortgage Rivalry

Macquarie is entering a new era. After nearly four decades at the investment bank and almost eight years as chief executive, Shemara Wikramanayake is stepping down, handing over to veteran executive Greg Ward after overseeing a period of record profits, surging share prices and growing global influ…

How Australia Became the Lucky Country – for New Zealanders

Almost 100,000 New Zealanders have moved to Australia in the past two years, as higher wages, bigger retirement savings and stronger career opportunities prove too tempting to ignore. For Australia, the surge is helping ease chronic shortages of nurses, police officers and other skilled workers. Fo…

What a Tower in Tasmania Tells Us About the Future of Planet Earth

On a windswept cliff at the edge of Tasmania, scientists are quietly tracking the future of our planet. This week, host Rebecca Jones speaks with David Stringer, managing editor of climate and ESG news in Asia, about Kennaook/Cape Grim — home to some of the cleanest air on Earth and one of the worl…

A Remote Mine Predicts Major Wars – And It’s Reopening

Could one remote Australian mine be a warning sign for the world? This week, Bloomberg Opinion columnist David Fickling talks to Chris Bourke about the revival of King Island's century-old tungsten mine, and how it reflects a new era of geopolitical competition as countries race to secure supplies …

What Falling House Prices Mean for Your Mortgage and Your Wealth

Australia's housing downturn is accelerating, with national prices recording their biggest monthly fall since late 2022 as higher interest rates, tighter investor lending rules and geopolitical uncertainty weigh on demand. In this episode, Chris Bourke talks to Bloomberg economist James McIntyre ab…

‘Egregious and Inexplicable’: KPMG’s Day of Reckoning

KPMG Australia is facing its biggest crisis in years after allegations that confidential client information was misused to help win lucrative audit contracts. In this episode, Amy Bainbridge talks to finance reporter Richard Henderson about what emerged from an explosive parliamentary hearing, and …