business

Consumer confidence across Australia has hit its worst low since tracking began in 1973, according to the latest ANZ-Roy Morgan survey, but the ASX 200 has bounced back to finish the last day of the month with modest gains. Follow the day’s events on the ABC News live markets blog. Source link

From pile-on comments on social media to roadside slurs, local businesses are reminding their communities to “be kind to the little guy” amid the fuel crisis.  Source link

Petrol stations in our biggest cities hiked prices ahead of global oil prices, but experts say their profit margins are now much slimmer. Source link

One in two Australians missed out on health care they needed last year mainly because they could not afford it, according to a new report by the peak healthcare consumers group.   Source link

Diesel stocks would last about six months if Australia’s imports dropped by 20 per cent, according to modelling compiled for the federal government early in the Middle East war. Source link

Global stock markets, which for the past month have been remarkably restrained as the Middle East crisis unfolded, have begun to wobble. Source link

ANU’s council approved a massive $250 million cost-cutting program without clear evidence it was needed or achievable, according to an assessment in a draft audit office report. Source link

Customers booking a Bass Strait crossing from tomorrow will be hit with a 15 per cent surcharge. The government says it’s to help ferry operator TT-line deal with rising fuel costs.  Source link

The Queensland government says new legislation will protect a vital groundwater reserve, but farmers warn the new laws will make things worse. Source link

A Central Coast business is converting diesel trucks to electric, amid rising fuel prices across Australia, with the first end-to-end electric delivery from Sydney to Canberra highlighting the potential of battery-powered freight.  Source link