Wed, 17th Jul 2024

In this week's episode of the Weekly Finance News Wrap, Paige Estritori discusses the escalating housing crisis in Australia, driven by high construction costs and interest rates, leading to critiques from experts and a shortfall in the Australian government's housing targets. The Australian economic landscape is marred by harsh consumer recession, resulting in sharp drops in real GDP and household consumption. Positively, four major Australian banks, including ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, have pledged to refund nearly $30 million to lower-income customers following an ASIC review critiquing excessive fees. Lastly, there are signs of a minor resurgence in the financial advisory sector after extended periods of decline, with a mention of growing businesses like Insignia Group and AvalonFS.