The Reserve Bank does not expect any more interest rate cuts in the foreseeable future and has warned that inflation risks are rising. The comments came after the central bank left that official cash rate at 3.6 per cent yesterday. Risks to inflation have tilted to the upside and the persistence of price pressures will take time to assess, the central bank said. Private demand is being supported by rising consumer spending and investment. Housing activity and prices continue to rise while credit remains readily available. It was the final RBA board meeting of the year. The bank cut rates in February, May and August, and if the cycle is over, as now seems likely, it will be the narrowest rate reduction cycle since deregulation of the Australian economy in the 1980s.

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News in brief

Communications Minister Anika Wells has referred her travel spending to an audit by the parliamentary expenses watchdog after billing taxpayers thousands of dollars for flights used by her family to attend major sporting events.

Defence Minister Richard Marles says the AUSMIN talks with Foreign Minister Penny Wong, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have led to an agreement for infrastructure investment to support more US forces at Australian bases.

Global online forum Reddit is preparing to mount a legal challenge to the Australian government’s world-first social media ban for under 16-year-olds, which begins today.

A Game of Thrones style fight is on for Warner Bros Discovery, with media giant Paramount Skydancebidding for the group, just two days after Netflix lobbed an offer. US President Donald Trump, whose son-in-law Jared Kushner is involved in the Paramount bid, has said he will have a say in the outcome.

Donald Trump is not just putting US businesses first, he is also favouring US tourists, introducing a $150 charge per person for foreigners, including Australians, visiting popular US national parks like Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Yellowstone. That’s on top of the existing entrance fees.

Fear-o-meter

The rate reduction cycle is over. Private demand has picked up enough to scare the Reserve Bank board off any rate cuts. Inflation is still too high and no doubt the Reserve Bank is wondering whether, or not, it should have done the last of its three rate cuts in August.

When asked for some clarity over the future direction of lending costs, Governor Michelle Bullock made it clear that the question should be when will rates rise:

“The question is, is it just an extended hold from here, or is it possibility of a rate rise? I couldn’t put a probability on those,” she said. “But I think they’re the two things that the board will be looking closely at coming into the new year.”

The rate cut cycle is over.

Fear & Greed Q+A today

The Nova breakfast radio host on leading the campaign to increase the social media age from 13 to 16 in Australia, and why those three years will matter for Australian children:

 

"The long-term difference will, I believe, give parents but also the kids a better peace of mind without the cloudiness of the impact of social media… It's the smart algorithms that play on the vulnerability of kids. It's an insecurity amplifier. It's exactly what social media does. There’s many, many examples of that. We’ve been talking about, for instance, social media will do a couple of things if a young girl posts a photo of herself and then she deletes it. The social media platform will recognise that. They'll market products to her based on that. And they'll start selling other things and being specific about targeting her on appearance, weight, fashion, whatever it might be. She becomes a clear target based on her behaviour. That's just one of many examples of how they work."

Greed-o-meter

How many Australian users aged 13-15 will be affected on each social media platform? These numbers are a snapshot from February, so may be even higher now.

Source: New York Times

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