With Winter now officially underway, some might be heading north to warm up and others may lean into the cold on the snowfields. Whichever you choose, don’t forget the approaching end of financial year.
A slight increase in the Consumer Price Index last month, to 3.6% from 3.5% in March, has led some economists to predict we’ll be waiting longer for the first official interest rate cuts, perhaps until the end of next year, with little to no chance of a rate rise in the meantime. While inflation has been relatively stable over the past five months, this is the second monthly increase in a row. The biggest price increases were in the housing, food and beverages, alcohol and tobacco, and transport sectors. Retail spending continues to be weak. The 0.1% increase in turnover in April wasn’t enough to make up for a 0.4% drop in March.
The higher-than-expected inflation figures saw Australian share prices take a tumble after reaching a welcome high mid-month. The ASX200 finished the month on a positive note, slightly higher for the month of May. In the US, troubles in the tech sector and a global bond sell-off saw small losses on the Dow, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 while European markets in London, France and Germany also finished the month on a low.
A strong US dollar along with the uptick in Australia’s inflation data saw the Aussie dollar fall from a mid-month peak of just over US67 cents.
As the financial year comes to a close there are a few extra things I wish to share with you.
As most of you know, we have been an active member of the global giving initiative Buy1Give1 for the past 8 years, with many of our business activities linked to a giving event – for example, whenever we do your personal tax return we make it possible for someone in Ethiopia to access clean water for a year. In May this year we passed the 3 million giving impact target I set for our business when we first joined B1G1. That doesn’t mean we’ll stop giving, but it’s nice to eventually reach a target that you set and stay committed to. I just want to say a big thank you to our clients who have made this possible – every time we do something for you triggers a giving event to a worthy cause.
After 20 years of giving her heart and soul to the business (and putting up with me at work as well as at home – amazing lady, don’t know how she’s done it) Heather has definitely earned her retirement, which she plans to spend by sleeping in, spending time in the garden, spoiling her granddaughters, and doing the occasional short trip away.
It seems we have to have a label for everything these days – I’ve learned a short holiday is now called a “microcation”. Her first microcation, with our son Bob and her sister Sue, was to Norfolk Island. Heather followed this us a few weeks later by taking our daughter Kate and granddaughters Lily and Ava, to Uluru. It was a great experience for the girls, and I can’t wait to see what other trips Heather has planned.
I don’t have any plans of giving up work any time soon (although I’d like to try a few of these microcations with Heather), so we’re now on the lookout for someone to join our team. I’m looking for an experienced (qualified) bookkeeper or a recently retired tax agent looking to pick up some work. I don’t have a lot of time for training so I need someone who can hit the ground running. If you know of anyone who fits this description, please ask them to give me a call.
