As we move into the last of the summer months, local commentary is still heating up around where the RBA is heading with rate cuts in 2025, the upcoming Federal election, and the ongoing cost of living crisis – which is still hitting the hip pocket of most Aussies hard.
January saw the Centaur Team welcome our newest team member – Tara Ross who joins us as Chief Operations Officer. Tara brings extensive experience in operational leadership and will play a key role in supporting our growth, enhancing our systems, and ensuring we continue to deliver the exceptional service our clients know and trust. You can check out her bio here.
The government provided some cost-of-living relief, which has had a cooling effect on inflation – sitting at 2.4 per cent at the December 2024 quarter, down from 2.8 per cent in September 2024. Trimmed inflation is 3.4 per cent, down from 3.6 per cent last quarter. While inflation is nearing its target, multiple interest rate cuts throughout 2025 would be welcomed by mortgage holders.
Recently, Trump 2.0 has been making global headlines, the tech clash between the US and China has also been dominating. Last week, US tech giant Nvidia recorded a 17 per cent plunge in a single day, which is now the biggest loss in US share market history. This was due to Chinese AI company DeepSeek unveiling a program to rival its competitors and become more cost-effective to operate. Markets made a quick recovery.
Domestically, the ASX 200 continued a bumpy ride, although it finished the month at an all-time high of 8,532 points.
The Aussie dollar is holding steady around 62 US cents.
Want to read the full February 2025 Newsletter? See below.
As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in contact with our team – (07) 5559 5760.
