Business Update – 4 September 2024

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with recent news updates relevant to business and the economy.

How Australian spending habits are weathering the high cost of living

Many Australian businesses are feeling the pinch as customers can no longer afford the armchairs, gadgets, clothing brands and new bathrooms they could before the cost of living shot up. But spending patterns remain uneven, and at times counterintuitive, leading to a mixed corporate earnings season marked by subdued but not collapsing demand.

What’s in store for summer? Australians have been told to ‘prepare for anything’

Australia could face an “unpredictable” summer, according to experts.”This year is looking unpredictable so prepare for anything, it will likely be hot, but we don’t know about rainfall,” Linden Ashcroft, lecturer in climate science and science communication at the University of Melbourne, said.

Some welfare payments are set to rise this month after indexation is applied

Five million Australians will see their welfare payments rise this month, while others are set to save money as Australia’s 60-day prescription scheme is expanded.

One in three Australians cracking down on ‘useless’ subscriptions

The subscription economy has spread across almost everything from streaming TV and movies to home-cooked meals and even toilet paper and underwear. One in three Australians say they are now cracking down on useless subscriptions, saving hundreds of dollars in the process.

This special paint could save lives from bushfires

New paint technology developed at UNSW to help fire-proof homes is a joint winner in the Higher Education Awards research commercialisation category.

Plans to boost rent relief, prescription medicines revealed

A raft of new cost of living measures promises to help struggling renters and free up access to key medicines.

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