🗞️ Going up

Good morning. Mortgage repayments are back near their 2024 peak, and the Reserve Bank has left the cash rate at 4.35% while refusing to rule out another rise.

The minutes of this month’s RBA meeting show several board members think inflation is stubborn enough to warrant lifting rates again.

Traders now expect the next move to be up rather than down, so this month’s repayment may well be the smallest one you see this year.

All the headlines and more below...

WESTERN SYDNEY BUILDER COLLAPSES WITH $3B IN DEBT AND 15,000 HOMES UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Bathla Group entered voluntary administration on Tuesday with about 15,000 properties still being built across Sydney's west. Two of its entities, Universal Property and Raj & Jai Construction, carried debts of $3.2B and $304M respectively as of 30 June 2025.

Bathla, built budget apartments and houses in suburbs like Schofields, Marsden Park and Tallawong, and recently shared updates on a 339-apartment project at Rouse Hill and plans for a housing estate in Muswellbrook.

Bathla pointed to declining sales, rising construction costs the group absorbed, impacts from changes in the federal government's May budget and tightening lending markets. Owners who bought off the plan for Bathla's Kembla Range project near Wollongong have already had completion dates pushed from late 2025 to November 2026.

AUSTRALIAN NEWS

• ASIC has outlined a new corporate plan that prioritises consumer and small-business protection, professional conduct, retirement outcomes and oversight of AI as financial markets face rapid technological change. CB

• Australian data centres will lift their grid usage from 3% to 13% within a decade as the government plans new national standards to protect households. LINK 

• Anthony Albanese has outlined a proposed national agreement that would block data centres near homes, schools and prime farmland as they are required to add renewable energy and minimise water use. LINK

• The RBA has kept the cash rate at 4.35% as it watches inflation, productivity and geopolitical risks but the August minutes show a hawkish bias with rate hikes still possible. LINK 

GAS AND ELECTRICITY BILLS UP 48% AND 38% AS ESSENTIALS OUTPACE INFLATION BY DOUBLE

Household gas prices are up 48% since mid-2021 and electricity has jumped 38%, both well ahead of headline inflation of 24% over the same period. Insurance costs have climbed nearly 50%, cooking oils and fats are up 47%, milk costs 35% more, the price of a new home has surged 44%, and council rates and rents are up 26%.

The wage price index has not kept up with prices, breaking decades of norm where real wage growth was standard. AMP's chief economist says people see essentials on a regular basis - food every week, petrol regularly, gas and electricity bills once a quarter - which makes the increases acutely painful.

Core inflation is expected to stay near 3.5% when the ABS releases July data on Wednesday. AMP's chief economist warns price growth will cool but not as rapidly as the Reserve Bank hopes, and another rate hike around November is likely.

COMPANY NEWS

• Coles has ruled out copying Woolworths’ plastic Ooshies-style toys, saying future collectables will be more functional as sales quickly normalised after a temporary moderation during the rival campaign. LINK

• OpenAI has awarded more than $5.5M in API credits to Australian founders and entrepreneurs since launching locally in December 2025 as it targets Australia as a top 10 developer market. LINK

• Qantas launched its third double status credits or points offer of the year to stimulate flight bookings before annual results, after increasing status credit thresholds for all membership tiers. LINK

• G8 Education has warned it may close more childcare centres as slumping enrolments driven by cost-of-living pressures and damaged sector confidence pushed half-year occupancy down to 57%. AFR

• Woodside Energy scrapped its long-term emissions and clean energy targets as it reported a 27% rise in sales profit to US$1.67B driven by higher oil prices. LINK

• Apple has launched a more powerful Mac mini starting at $899 with new M6 or M5 Pro chips alongside an upgraded Mac Studio as demand for locally hosted AI agents surges. LINK

• Coles reported a full-year net profit after tax of $1.09B for the year ended 30 June, with the grocer reporting a short-term sales slump during the Woolworths Ooshies campaign. LINK

• Ingenia Communities lifted revenue 8% to $559.9M and net profit 45% to $186.4M as housing market weakness and higher interest rates cut buyer inquiries. LINK

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CHART OF THE DAY

Apple is ahead of the competition in terms of loyalty

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Odd Pick: How did a kitten born with 29 toes break a world record?

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Doctor’s Pick: Why reducing protein intake could promote healthy ageing?

TRIVIA

What are the 14 countries that border China?

Answers below

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ANSWERS

Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Vietnam

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