It’s Wednesday the 2nd of April, and you need to know about local interest rates, Donald Trump's tariffs, Virgin readying itself for a listing on the ASX, Woolworths' battle with Aldi, and Tinder's use of AI.

News in brief

• There will be no pre-election rate cut with the Reserve Bank keeping the official cash rate on hold, but it says it's ready to cut rates if the Trump tariffs trigger a recession. Similarly, it is ready to hike rates if inflation starts to rise again.

   

• On the eve of President Donald Trump outlining reciprocal tariffs against trading partners, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hits out at US complaints, saying local rules around the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, the news bargaining code and biosecurity are not up for debate with the US. 

   

• Virgin Australia is planning to list on the ASX in June, after a five year absence. The company and its executives met with prospective investors yesterday, in a roadshow billed as a business update. But it has floated a timeline of raising capital in May and listing on the sharemarket in June, according to the AFR.
  
  

• Woolworths has been cutting prices hard to reduce the gap between its groceries and those at discounter Aldi. The gap between them fell to their lowest level in two years, according to a report from JP Morgan. Coles’ price premium over Aldi also fell.

   

• Tinder has unveiled an in-app game that invites users to flirt with artificially intelligent chatbots, as part of a larger effort to return the dating app to growth by boosting user engagement. It’s part proof-of-concept, part marketing stunt, according to Bloomberg, and Tinder is using OpenAI’s ChatGPT to generate short, highly exaggerated rom-com scenarios.

   

Fear-o-meter

Opposition leader Peter Dutton needs to win a swathe of seats on 3 May to win government, and until about a fortnight ago he was doing pretty well. But a national enemy - US tariffs - alongside a sense that the opposition hasn't done its homework on developing policies, including on energy, have combined to swing momentum back to the government. Falling inflation is helping the government, and its attack on supermarkets - even if slightly unfair - is certainly popularist.

A week is a long time in politics. Five weeks is an eternity. That old chestnut aside, Labor is breathing much easier at the moment, with some polls now putting the ALP in front of the coalition on a two-party-preferred basis, and Anthony Albanese well ahead of Peter Dutton as preferred PM.  

The most likely outcome is a minority Labor government, but a majority government is possible. 

Who's talking today?

Four tips from Annika on navigating volatility in your super fund: Know why you're investing, know your timeframe, know the cost of change and don't look at your superannuation balance too often.

Greed-o-meter

How competitive are the big four banks' home loans, compared to one of the industry's lowest rates offered by a smaller lender?

Source: mozo.com.au as at 1 April 2025, leading Big Four Bank variable rates for owner occupier, principal & interest home loans at any loan to value ratio (LVR), excluding first home buyer and 'green' home loans with environmentally friendly requirement

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