Australia’s sheep industry is in crisis, with prices near the lowest level in 16 years forcing some farmers in the country’s west to give their animals away for free to pet-food manufacturers, Bloomberg reported. Mutton prices have plunged 75% over the past year, according to Tim Jackson, global supply analyst at Meat & Livestock Australia. Sheep prices have also slumped, with older animals fetching an average of just A$34 ($22) in October and some reports of animals selling for less than a dollar a head, he said.
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After being roughed up by judges, lawmakers, regulators and its own employees, Australia's Qantas Airways faces its toughest grilling at its annual meeting on Friday as investors take the airline to task over a series of crises, Reuters reported. The weight of public fury will most likely overshadow a record annual profit for the carrier in 2023 as shareholders respond to reputational blunders by voting against executive pay and other motions. If 25% of shareholders vote against an Australian company's remuneration report, it is rejected.
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European Union officials voiced their shock after Australia’s top negotiator pushed back from a potential trade deal with the 27-nation bloc for the second time in a matter of months, Bloomberg News reported. Despite optimism ahead of planned discussions in Osaka, Japan, the two sides were never actually able to sit down to make a final breakthrough over the weekend.
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Australia's red-hot rental housing market, supercharged by record migration and a chronic supply shortage, could be reaching a breaking point for affordability as tenants grapple with rising costs of living, Reuters reported. Nationwide vacancies are at all-time lows and prices are up 30% over three years. Rent is now one of the country's biggest drivers of inflation, which at an annual rate of 5.4% in the September quarter is well above the central banks' targeted band of 2% to 3% and could lead to further interest rate hikes as early as next week.
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Australian Catholic Church’s Insurer Launches Court Bid to Cover Smaller Share of Abuse Compensation
The Catholic church insurer wants to establish a scheme that would stave off its own insolvency by paying church bodies only a fraction of the money owed to abuse survivors at rates to be determined by the scandal-plagued consultancy PwC, documents show, the Guardian reported. Catholic Church Insurance is facing significant financial turmoil due to the rising volume of abuse claims, estimating it has $381m in liabilities relating to professional standards payouts to various church entities, including dioceses and church-aligned charities.
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Australia’s central bank “will not hesitate” to raise interest rates further if there’s a material upgrade to its inflation outlook, new Governor Michele Bullock said, in her strongest reference yet to the threat of renewed price pressures, Bloomberg News reported. “Our focus remains on bringing inflation back to target within a reasonable timeframe, while keeping employment growing,” Bullock said in a speech Tuesday. The RBA board meets on Nov. 7 to decide policy, with money markets seeing just under a 40% chance of a hike to take the cash rate to 4.35%.
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Melbourne-based Dome Building Projects, which did high-end home building and renovation work for customers in Melbourne’s leafy inner-eastern suburbs, went into liquidation on Friday after falling short on payment demands to a former director, the Australian Financial Review reported. Jason Stone and Paul Allen of PKF were appointed as liquidators to South Melbourne-based Dome on the same day that directors Andrew Crellin and Jamie Brockman said they failed to meet their financial obligations to former director and shareholder Scott Wilcox.
Australian house prices are poised for an annual rebound during a policy tightening campaign for the first time since at least the early 1990s, when the Reserve Bank began inflation targeting and entered the modern era, Bloomberg News reported. National property prices will climb 7.7% this year, a Bloomberg survey showed, recovering from a 4.8% decline in 2022. The median estimate of the poll of 12 economists was for the housing market to advance by a further 4.5% in 2024.
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Crypto exchanges in Australia will soon be required to hold a financial-services license issued by the markets regulator as the country seeks to support the growth of digital assets while protecting consumers, Bloomberg News reported. A government proposal that builds on existing laws will mean digital-asset platforms that hold more than A$5 million ($3.2 million), or A$1,500 for an individual, must get a permit from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission or ASIC, according to a Treasury department document Monday.
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Bain Capital has put off its plans for an initial public offering of Virgin Australia airline to next year, Reuters reported. The U.S.-based private equity firm will consider listing in 2024 after assessing market conditions. Bain said in January that it would explore re-listing Virgin, which it bought for A$3.5 billion ($2.45 billion) including liabilities in 2020 after it was placed in voluntary administration, the closest Australian equivalent to chapter 11 bankruptcy.
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