Government, funds body 'not far' from agreement
Peter Martin, Daniel Hurst The peak body representing super funds has offered the Treasurer an olive branch, saying it would be prepared to consider reduced or zero tax concessions on super accounts with very high balances.
Abandoning the banks for shares and property
Peter Martin and Gareth Hutchens Australians are ditching banks and ploughing their savings into real estate and shares.
Interest rate cut looks likely
Peter Martin The Reserve Bank is considered certain to cut interest rates after a last-minute deluge of data showed spending has stalled, profits have collapsed, the job market has shrunk and inflation has turned...
ATO takeover of inactive super is good on all counts
Peter Martin and Clancy Yeates Handing lost and inactive super accounts over to the Tax Office will be good for their owners, Treasury has told a Senate committee.
Catch 82: we're all living longer … but can we afford to?
Peter Martin A DECADE ago an Australian man who had just turned 50 could expect to live another 29.9 years. Today the official figure is 32 years. Even the past year has made an enormous difference.
Carbon tax inflation fears yet to materialise
Peter Martin The first figures in on the price impact of the carbon tax show its effect contained and inflation low.
Cash no longer king as savvy consumers look to technology
Peter Martin WE'RE falling out of love with cash. Australians withdrew cash from ATMs 64.7 million times in January, well down on 65.6 million withdrawals made the previous January.
More mortgage pain looms
Eric Johnston and Peter Martin Borrowers face further pain, with Commonwealth and NAB expected to review mortgage, business rates.
Wary home buyers lock in fixed-rates
Peter Martin Financial markets are banking on more rate cuts over the next six months, but many home buyers appear not to care.
Big four finally slash rates
Peter Martin and Clancy Yeates The standoff over home loan interest rates ends, with each of Australia's big four banks finally yielding to political pressure and passing on the Reserve Bank's 0.25 point cut.
Boost for home owners as banks pass on rate cut
Peter Martin TWO of the big four banks have passed on in full the Reserve Bank's 0.25 percentage point interest rate cut and the others are set to follow within days.
Push to dump costly stamp duty
Peter Martin Treasury boss Martin Parkinson backs a move to wind back or abolish real estate stamp duties.
In shadow of debt, debit reigns
Peter Martin We are abandoning credit cards but embracing plastic as never before.
Spending survey shows we are better off than we think
Peter Martin You would not believe it if you listened to our politicians, but household fuel and power bills eat up no more of our wallets than they did six years ago. And petrol eats up less.
GFC takes toll on incomes
Peter Martin The global financial crisis has knocked a hole in Australian incomes and spread wealth more evenly, except in Western Australia.
Cuts for all, some worse off
Peter Martin When the carbon price is set against the tax cuts, about one-third of households in Australia will be worse off.
Banks take less of the pie
Peter Martin Banks are taking less out of our pockets for the first time on record.
Interest rates? You bet
Peter Martin Fourteen months after threatening Centrebet directors with fines and prison terms if they continued to offer bets on Reserve Bank interest rate moves, ASIC has quietly relented.
Costs of living outpaces inflation
Peter Martin If you think your cost of living is rising faster than what official figures seem to say, you are probably right.
Bank staff assist account breaches
Peter Martin A survey of Australian banks' call centres has found that half of their staff are prepared to help people access someone else's financial records.
