THE SQUIZ
Australians are struggling under the weight of cost of living pressures at levels not seen since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. New data from Roy Morgan shows almost 1.5 million Aussies – that’s 29% of borrowers – were ‘at risk’ of mortgage stress when the snapshot was taken last month. (Note: You’re considered at risk if your mortgage repayments are greater than a certain percentage of household income, depending on how much money you’re raking in each month.) And 20% of borrowers were considered ‘extremely at risk’. Roy Morgan boss Michele Levine said rising interest rates and high inflation have crunched borrowers – and she warns that as unemployment rises, “mortgage stress is set to increase towards the record high of 35.6%”. 

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
You’d think that might mean we’ve shut our wallets more firmly than that family member who never pays for anything. Ever. But the Bureau of Stats released new data yesterday about Aussies’ retail spending in July, and it was bouncier than how we felt after the Matildas went through to the Women’s World Cup semis… Takeaway orders rose significantly as soccer-mad consumers stayed home to cheer our team on, delivering a one-off boost in retail spending. Aside from that, analysts say consumers are cutting back. Tomorrow, we’ll get the latest on how inflation is tracking, and together, that data will play on policymakers’ minds as the Reserve Bank board gets ready to review interest rates next week. At this stage, a further hike isn’t anticipated. And that will be music to Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who says the big risks to our economic outlook are additional rate rises and “what’s happening in China”.

UMM WHAT IS HAPPENING IN CHINA?
There’s been a dramatic slowdown in China’s economy – a couple of weeks ago, US President Joe Biden called the situation a “ticking time bomb” because China is the top export destination for almost 40 countries, including Oz, and any economic retreat will hurt. So there’s that… And yesterday, we saw how shaky China’s key property sector is after massive developer Evergrande restarted trading on the Hong Kong stock market after 17 months of suspension as it dealt with some big funding issues. It had to do that because, in 2020, the Chinese Government limited how much property companies could borrow to ensure they didn’t get too big for their boots… That saw Evergrande’s share price dive almost 80% yesterday… Limiting the fallout to the property sector will be a big challenge for the Chinese Government. Cross your fingers for our exporters…