1 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: It's Wednesday, the fourth of September twenty twenty four. Welcome 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,680 Speaker 1: to the Fast five Business News by Fear and Greed, 3 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:11,520 Speaker 1: where we give you the top five business stories you 4 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: need to know in US five minutes. I'm Michael Thompson 5 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 1: and good morning Adam Lang. 6 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:17,640 Speaker 2: Good morning Michael, Adam. 7 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:21,400 Speaker 1: Five stories, five minutes. Let's go. Story number one. The 8 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:24,960 Speaker 1: question of who is to blame for the flagging economy 9 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,520 Speaker 1: has caused's course, a few sparks in Canberra. Treasurer Jim 10 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:31,200 Speaker 1: Chalmers appeared to be blaming the Reserve Bank and he 11 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:33,840 Speaker 1: has now been forced to walk back his earlier commentary. 12 00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 2: Yes, Michael, sparks in Canberra and the drama all kicked 13 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:40,159 Speaker 2: off on Sunday evening when Chalmers put out his pre 14 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:43,640 Speaker 2: GDP statement, telling everyone it was going to be a 15 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:46,400 Speaker 2: pretty soft result. But he also mentioned that rates are 16 00:00:46,479 --> 00:00:49,960 Speaker 2: smashing the economy. That's basically what high interest rates are 17 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,199 Speaker 2: designed to do. But that statement resulted in a flurry 18 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 2: of media coverage that he was blaming the Reserve Bank 19 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 2: of Australia. Yesterday, Chalmers was talking that statement back down, 20 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 2: saying he and the RBA are both working well to 21 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:06,160 Speaker 2: deal with the same challenge that being high inflation. Reserve 22 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:09,640 Speaker 2: Bank Governor Michelle Bullock is actually giving two speeches tomorrow, 23 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:11,520 Speaker 2: so it may well spark up again. 24 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 1: How bad is the GDP data likely to be today? 25 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:18,399 Speaker 2: Well, Michael, the Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the 26 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 2: Australian national accounts, including that GDP that Gross Domestic Product 27 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:25,920 Speaker 2: data at eleven thirty am Eastern Time this morning. These 28 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:28,280 Speaker 2: numbers will get a lot of oxygen in the next 29 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 2: twenty four hours and possibly be painful for the government. 30 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:35,520 Speaker 2: Yesterday morning, the final inputs were published, prompting economists to 31 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:38,840 Speaker 2: refine their predictions that GDP growth in June may be 32 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 2: the worst in decades outside of the dramatic COVID lockdowns. 33 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:45,080 Speaker 1: All right, moving on to story number two now, Adam. 34 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 1: More than half of Australians are running out of cash 35 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:52,200 Speaker 1: before payday on a regular basis. That's according to some 36 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,680 Speaker 1: somewhat alarming new data from Finder, which suggests that many 37 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:57,440 Speaker 1: are struggling to make ends meet. 38 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:00,960 Speaker 2: That's right, Michael, And particularly concerning is that sixteen percent 39 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 2: of the one thousand surveyed said they run out of 40 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:06,880 Speaker 2: money every single month, and on average that cohort runs 41 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:09,520 Speaker 2: short at about two hundred and forty nine dollars a month, 42 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 2: so quite a bit of money. What is most worrying 43 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 2: is that women were almost twice as likely as men 44 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:17,960 Speaker 2: to say they fall short every month, which may well 45 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:20,359 Speaker 2: be due to the gender pay gap. Among other factors, 46 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:23,960 Speaker 2: those surveyeds said the cost of living and unexpected expenses 47 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 2: were the top causes for falling behind, with too much 48 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 2: spending early in the month, A lack of an emergency 49 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:33,079 Speaker 2: fund and high debt repayments also cited as reasons for 50 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 2: the cash flow shortage. 51 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:38,120 Speaker 1: Story number three, Volkswagen is warning that it is looking 52 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:40,760 Speaker 1: at factory closures for the first time in its history 53 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:42,560 Speaker 1: in Germany that could slash jobs. 54 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:45,959 Speaker 2: Yes Smichael, the iconic car builder behind Audian Porsche, is 55 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:49,680 Speaker 2: in the midst of significant competitive pressure and is struggling 56 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:52,880 Speaker 2: to deliver solid profit results as it looks to transition 57 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:56,600 Speaker 2: away from fossil fuel vehicles. It's looking to save billions 58 00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:59,679 Speaker 2: of dollars in costs as the shifts to producing those 59 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 2: less profitable electric cars. Such a decision will put it 60 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:06,520 Speaker 2: on a collision course with a local carmaker worker union 61 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:10,079 Speaker 2: ig Mattal, which has already said it will push back 62 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:12,800 Speaker 2: against the job cuts and a possible scrapping of job 63 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:16,119 Speaker 2: security guarantees. These discussions are going to happen later this week, 64 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:18,160 Speaker 2: but it's already looking quite tense. 65 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 1: As during number four, China's major smartphone producer, Huawei has 66 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:27,040 Speaker 1: announced a new showcase for its later smart products. It'll 67 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 1: happen just hours after Apple's already scheduled release of its 68 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 1: iPhone sixteen. That may be very very very strategic timing atom. 69 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:39,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, or how coincidental? Michael. September nine is the global 70 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:42,840 Speaker 2: date for the showdown between the smartphone giants, and it's 71 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:46,160 Speaker 2: going to be a fascinating comparison of technology, with Huawei 72 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:50,080 Speaker 2: to release the world's first smartphone that folds twice, known 73 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:53,680 Speaker 2: as a trifold, and according to Bloomberg, possibly an electric 74 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 2: vehicle launch, though that's still not fully confirmed. Apple is 75 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:01,680 Speaker 2: releasing its new upgraded iPhones and of accessories. The new 76 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 2: iPhone is due to have a bunch of AI enabled features, 77 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 2: better cameras and zoom abilities, and no doubt from Apple, 78 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:09,839 Speaker 2: some surprises on the day. 79 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 1: Indeed, last one story number five, Adam, have you ever 80 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:16,880 Speaker 1: heard of chrona working? It means essentially giving workers the 81 00:04:16,960 --> 00:04:20,240 Speaker 1: chance to pick their hours based on their natural sleep patterns. 82 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:23,760 Speaker 1: It's a trend in the UK that may well take off. 83 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:27,200 Speaker 2: Locally, yeah, Michael. And this one's all about rethinking the 84 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:31,680 Speaker 2: workplace and what constitutes traditional work, so quite the big idea. 85 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:35,240 Speaker 2: The notion is to ditch the nine to five totally 86 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:39,320 Speaker 2: and instead let workers pick their own suitable hours. Proponents 87 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:41,599 Speaker 2: of this trend think it has the potential to open 88 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:45,560 Speaker 2: up jobs beyond geographical borders too. But could it take 89 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 2: off here? And the answer is possibly. Global recruitment firm 90 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:52,839 Speaker 2: Robert Walter's Australian and New Zealand arm has asked locals 91 00:04:52,839 --> 00:04:55,040 Speaker 2: what they think of it, and the response has been 92 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:58,480 Speaker 2: quite positive. About four out of ten Australians believe their 93 00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:01,920 Speaker 2: mental health would improve by getting on board with chrono working, 94 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:05,479 Speaker 2: and thirty nine percent thought it would improve their productivity 95 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:08,560 Speaker 2: and focus. Australians are also interested in the four day 96 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:11,440 Speaker 2: work week, would you believe, Michael. The UK government is 97 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:14,960 Speaker 2: currently exploring giving workers the right to request the four 98 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:17,200 Speaker 2: day work week model as well. 99 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 1: All right, there we go to the top five business 100 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:20,240 Speaker 1: stories in five minutes. 101 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:21,880 Speaker 2: Thank you, Adam, Thank you Michael. 102 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:25,080 Speaker 1: It's Wednesday, the fourth of September twenty twenty four. Remembered 103 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:27,200 Speaker 1: to hit follow on the podcast and if five minutes 104 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:29,719 Speaker 1: isn't enough, you can find our longer daily show corn 105 00:05:29,839 --> 00:05:33,400 Speaker 1: Fear and Greed whereever you listen to podcasts. And every 106 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:35,880 Speaker 1: Wednesday there's a new episode of our sister podcast, How 107 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:37,920 Speaker 1: Do They Afford That Out. It's all about making your 108 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:39,920 Speaker 1: money work a little bit harder for you. This week's 109 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:42,760 Speaker 1: episode is all about how to save a house deposit 110 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:46,039 Speaker 1: as fast as possible, particularly when house prices are actually 111 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:48,760 Speaker 1: rising faster than you can save. I'll put a link 112 00:05:48,839 --> 00:05:51,960 Speaker 1: to today's episode in the show notes. I'm Michael Thompson and 113 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:54,160 Speaker 1: that was the Fast five Business news by Fear and Greed. 114 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 1: Have a great date.