AusFinance

I knew their fees were a little on the high side for US stuff, but my god, the FX rate itself is fucking horrible.

Right now the mid-market rate per Wise is 1.501.

At the same time, SW's FX rate is 1.470.

So the total cost of USD -> AUD FX is really not actually just the 0.60% from FX fees, but more like ~2% due to the terrible FX rate (plus maybe the 0.6% on top of that if the listed FX rate isn't counting that).

There's a hefty $110 AUD fee for transfering non-AU securities out of SW, but given their atrocious FX rate it might actually be cheaper to eat that fee (buying something stable like a cash/bonds ETF so that it can be sold somewhere else) than be subject to their conversion rate.

I am actually shocked at how bad this is!?

Any thoughts on doing so if you have ?

The Australian Taxation Office says Australia's controversial sovereign citizen movement has used tax time to spread misinformation about taxes, including the claim "lodging is voluntary".

The ABC understands the authority is investigating complaints about one woman from Queensland, who claims she is a "spiritual accountant" and is allegedly advising people on how to avoid taxes.

>Morgan Stanley estimates that data centres are currently using 5 per cent (1,050 MW) of the electricity on Australia's power grid and that is expected to grow to 8 per cent (2,500 MW) by 2030.

>Some estimates even suggest they could require up to 15 per cent of the power on the grid by then.

>"I appreciate there is definitely going to be property owners in high-rises that will be frustrated ... but the premise that a person living in a $2 million, $3 million, $5 million penthouse should pay exactly the same rates on the ground floor unit isn't a fair model," he said.

What a read. Interesting how no one has been charged on The Philippines.:(

So 4% huh.. Bullock will look the stooge if she does't raise again surely. I bet Chlamers is on the blower now furiously twlling her what weasel world's to use explain why they must not..

>That has traders at Morgan Stanley nervous, who suspect the August RBA meeting could see the national interest rate hiked further – not cut.

>"It's an A-grade shit show," he said, not mincing words.

Rephrasing , the inevitable outcome of government and voters seeing housing as an investment and not a social need.

After watching a lot of Some More News and Climate Town, I made the shift from Hesta (which has $2,000,000,000 invested in fossil fuels, and most recently in the new Woodside gas plant) to Future Super.

Yes, the fees are significantly worse, but if I'm putting my own financial gain ahead of the planet, I'm no better than all the banks investing in fossil fuels.

> > > For many people a tax refund is a much-anticipated lump sum of money. > > > > So, it is understandable Australians will be looking for ways to maximise their returns – particularly we are in a cost-of-living crisis. > > > > But, whether you do your own return or use a tax agent, taking risks is not advised. > >

> > > Despite teetering on the edge of it, few economists are forecasting an Australian recession anytime soon. But there's one obvious threat missing from the commentary: panic. > >

Key info:

> > > From 1 July > > > > * New external payments from Save accounts will no longer be available. This includes direct debits, PayTo, BPay, and BSB & account payments from Save. See below for how to switch your existing payments. > > > * We’re introducing our new bonus interest tiers for your savings. > > > * We’re increasing the amount you need to deposit to qualify for bonus interest from $200 to $500. > > > >

Forgot to post this earlier. More discussion on OzBargain, among other places.

Aussie company that deals with PFAS contamination from industrial processes and the like. Good to see a different kind of company coming up in Australia.

the fuck did I just read (archived article from the AFR) :(

Original link

>A growing number of property investors who have “tapped out” their personal borrowing capacity are using their self-managed super funds to borrow more, advisers say.

>“Gianna and I already bought six properties in our personal names, so we’re already tapped out. We keep trying to make new headroom, so we can borrow more, but we keep hitting a new ceiling, so we decided to borrow within our super,” Mr Ciardi said.

The whole floors needs to be ripped apart and fix the drain pipe then tiles needs to be done. I am looking at 10k-15k to fix everything.

I am paying $2100/month for a house that I bought recently for $645k with 50% LVR.

Hi Guys, I bought a 1977 built house which was last sold for $390k in 2019 and I paid $650k. After moving in we found the cabinet drawers were broken and the house had plumbing issues which will cost up to $2k to fix. Surely I am not the only one who had these issues. Anyone else want to share their story ?

Anyone banking with Me Bank should be aware of the trick the bank ispulling. I have a home loan with Me bank and every time I call them I have to wait minimum of 1 hour on hold. So I thought let's try calling them early in the morning, mid day and in the evening before they close. All had the same result - around 1 hour hold. Tried on 8 different days and same result. Now its time to discharge my loan from them to some other bank

> ### What are the new stage 3 tax cut brackets? > > Here's how the proposed plan looks at a glance: > > - Earn up to $18,200 – pay no tax > > - Pay a 16 per cent tax rate on each dollar earned between $18,201-$45,000 > > - Pay a 30 per cent tax rate on each dollar earned between $45,001-$135,000 > > - Pay a 37 per cent tax rate on each dollar earned between $135,001 — $190,000 > > - Pay a 45 per cent tax rate on each dollar earned above $190,000 > > ### What were they going to be? > > Here's what the previous plan looked like at a glance: > > - Earn up to $18,200 – pay no tax > > - Pay a 19 per cent tax rate on each dollar earned between $18,201-$45,000 > > - Pay a 30 per cent tax rate on each dollar earned between $45,001-$200,000 > > - Pay a 45 per cent tax rate on each dollar earned above $200,000

> Having responded to stronger-than-expected quarterly inflation figures by lifting the cash rate to 4.35 per cent in November, the RBA has used softer-than-expected monthly inflation data as an excuse to sit tight in December. > > But RBA governor Michele Bullock noted that those October inflation figures covered mainly goods and few services, which are currently the main area of concern for the central bank, leaving it waiting for additional data. > > "The limited information received on the domestic economy since the November meeting has been broadly in line with expectations," Ms Bullock observed in her post-meeting statement. > > With no meeting scheduled for January, borrowers should be safe from further rate rises until at least February.

(title changed from "Australians have endured the largest decline in spending power for four decades, so the RBA has decided to give them a break")

I haven't seen much discussion about this, but noticed them when perusing some PDS's. The headliner is that they both have fees of 0.15%, lower than everyone else's equivalent offerings in the Australian market:

Global listed infrastructure: | Provider | Ticker | Fees* | AUD Hedged? | |-----------|--------|-------|-------------| | BlackRock | GLIN | 0.15% | Yes | | VanEck | IFRA | 0.31% | Yes | | Vanguard | VBLD | 0.48% | No |

Global listed property: | Provider | Ticker | Fees* | AUD Hedged? | |--------------|--------|-------|-------------| | BlackRock | GLPR | 0.15% | Yes | | VanEck | REIT | 0.30% | Yes | | State Street | DJRE | 0.54% | No |

\* Total estimated fees, as taken from most recent PDS for each product at time of posting. Includes management fees (including indirect costs if broken down separately), plus transaction costs.

VanEck already recently reduced the fees on their two offerings a lot, but now BlackRock is half of that again.

Since it's listed (not unlisted) infra / property there's less diversification benefit, but hey it's being offered for cheap now.

> Almost half of Australia’s mortgage holders would be in financial stress if the expected Melbourne Cup interest rate rise goes ahead, paying at least 30% of their income to service their loans. > > Households diverting at least 30% of their disposable income to service a mortgage – a standard stress gauge – will account for 48.5% of total borrowers, according to the Australian National University’s Australian tax and welfare system model. > > The proportion rose from 26.7% in pre-Covid 2019 to 43.8% at the end of last year, and easily topped the 38.5% share of households in 1993, to be at record levels.

> Mr Purcell admits he initially bought his battery as a form of insurance against the volatility inherent in the spot market. > > However, his thinking quickly changed when he saw the opportunities on offer, describing one instance in which he was able to fill up his 10-kilowatt-hour battery with electricity costing 1 cent per unit. > > "That's the opportunity and the risk on the very low prices," he said. > > "It cost me 10 cents to fill the battery during the middle of the day. > > "And then at night-time the price went up over $10 a kilowatt hour, so I was able to export that same 10 kilowatts out of that battery for $100."

Surprise! Fuckwit Who Thinks You Don’t Work Hard Enough Got His Start Through an Inheritance