This week on The Fin podcast, political editor Phillip Coorey talks about what the government is likely to announce in the federal budget, what that means for inflation and interest rates, and gives his assessment of how Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are faring as we count down to the next election.

This podcast is sponsored by AICD

Further reading:

• Labor election plans start blowing smoke

Labor is banking on at least one rate cut before calling an election. That scenario is no longer guaranteed.

• Chalmers locks in business tax breaks to help Made in Australia

The budget will contain tax breaks for investors to turbocharge the government’s Future Made in Australia Act, Jim Chalmers has confirmed.

• ‘Vigilant’ RBA puts home loan borrowers on notice

Governor Michele Bullock has issued a fresh warning to mortgage holders, two years after the Reserve Bank of Australia began raising interest rates.

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This week on The Fin podcast, Ben Potter and Jacob Greber talk about Peter Dutton’s atomic bet, the economics of nuclear energy and whether the power requirements of the AI revolution change the debate.

This podcast is sponsored by ANZ
Listen to 5-in-5 with ANZ on Spotify here
Listen to 5-in-5 with ANZ on Apple here

Further reading:

• Dutton’s atomic bet threatens Coalition chain reaction over climate

Rather than keep the heat on Labor’s handling of the cost-of-living pain as inflation stays high, the opposition leader’s nuclear venture risks becoming the story.

• Booming AI demand threatens electricity supply

Regulators are scrambling to factor the explosive growth of data centres into demand projections as one network warns of a 250 per cent surge in power needs.

• Why Dutton is going nuclear

Peter Dutton thinks he can sell nuclear power to the public. The energy industry remains unconvinced by the business case.

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This week on The Fin podcast, before heading home after more than six years based in Shanghai and then Tokyo, Michael Smith talks about the changes in China over that time, what its slowing economy means for Australian prosperity and Japan's new role on the world stage.

This podcast is sponsored by ANZ
Listen to 5-in-5 with ANZ on Spotify here
Listen to 5-in-5 with ANZ on Apple here

Further reading:

• In six and a half years I witnessed a dark pivot in China
  When I first landed in Shanghai on a freezing winter’s night in January 2018, China felt like a place bursting with optimism and opportunity.
• Japan is finally waking up from its lost decades. Can it last?
  The country is doing defence deals and its economy is powering up. But it has a fight on its hands to keep the momentum going given its structural challenges.
• The data that reveals the truth about Australia’s China ties
  Although Australia’s relations with China have warmed, key metrics show economic ties are at their lowest levels in more than five years and are unlikely to bounce back.

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