Sun, 1st Sep 2024

In this episode, Paige Estritori provides an update on Australia's finance news as of September 1st, 2024. The highlights include a crackdown on homeowners exploiting the first-time buyer stamp duty relief scheme, leading to Revenue NSW recollecting over $9 million. In banking, transparency and interest rate decisions by Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are under scrutiny ahead of a parliamentary inquiry. Australians lost $2.7 billion to financial scams last year, leading officials to call for more fairness in the banks' operations. Inflation has eased to 3.5% due to the government's $300 energy bill relief fund, however, some experts argue that it's a temporary fix. Finally, JPMorgan halts its Sustainable Infrastructure Fund due to lack of market traction, but stands committed to sustainable investing.