Australia’s unemployment rate is tipped to remain historically low as workers reap the benefits of tighter than average labour market conditions.

Economists at ANZ Bank expect the jobless rate to hold steady at 4.2 per cent when the Australian Bureau of Statistics publishes its labour force update for August on Thursday.

Other than a brief moment in June this year, the unemployment rate has held below 4.3 per cent since late 2021.

It’s a remarkable run of strength for the nation’s labour market, considering Australians had become accustomed to seeing the rate with a five in front of it before the COVID-19  pandemic.

The consensus of economists expects something similar to the 24,500 extra jobs created in July, although ANZ’s Aaron Luk predicts an even stronger addition of 32,500.

“Leading indicators – like ANZ-Indeed Australian Job Ads, forward orders and the employment sub-component from the NAB Business Survey – suggest demand for labour remains robust,” he said.

The tightness of the labour market has given workers the upper hand in recent years, resulting in them receiving a larger share of the economic slice, says Westpac senior economist Pat Bustamante.

Weak consumer demand has also meant that businesses have not been able to fully pass on higher costs to consumers.

“With labour costs rising, this has seen an increase in the share of income going to labour,” he said. 

“The share in the domestically-oriented market sector is approaching the peaks seen during the terms of trade boom in the 2000s, when labour market conditions were extremely tight.”

Real wage growth is at a five-year high, which combined with falling interest rates and income tax cuts flowing through to disposable income, is starting to flow through to higher living standards and consumption.

Large wage rise decisions handed down by the Fair Work Commission had also increased the share of income going to workers, which has amounted to around $28 billion in additional income over the past year, Mr Bustamante said.

The proportion of the economy’s total income going to wages has risen to 54 per cent from below half when Labour was elected, according to Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

“That’s a good thing for working people,” he said.

“Strong and sustainable wages growth is central to our strategy to help people with the cost of living and we are making welcome progress.”

Mr Bustamante said productivity growth was picking up and underlying labour costs were moderating for businesses.

Meanwhile, ongoing weak demand limited how much businesses could pass on higher costs to consumers.

Altogether, it painted a picture of a low-inflation environment that was, from a central bank’s perspective, a “sweet spot”, Mr Bustamante said.

Elsewhere, Wall Street investors are looking ahead to the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting this week, where an interest rate cut to counter a slowdown in the US job market is widely tipped.

The Nasdaq notched a record high close in a mixed Friday trading session. Lifted by Tesla, Microsoft and other technology-related stocks, all three main indices in fact hit highs only for the other two to dip again.

The S&P 500 declined 0.05 per cent to end the session at 6,584.29 points, the Nasdaq gained 0.45 per cent to 22,141.10 points and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.59 per cent to 45,834.22 points.

At home, share futures tumbled 59 points, or 0.66 per cent, to 11,060, while the S&P/ASX200 rebounded 59.9 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 8,864.9 on Friday, as the broader All Ordinaries jumped 57.3 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 9,128.7.

Wrexham co-owner Ryan Reynolds looked nervous as he watched his football club lose at home to Queens Park Rangers.

The Hollywood actor, 48, co-owns the Welsh football club with his friend, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia star Rob Mac, who appeared to be absent from the Championship match on Saturday.

Reynolds was instead pictured alongside actor and son of Tom Hanks, Colin Hanks, who he worked alongside on the documentary film John Candy: I Like Me.

The actor, dressed in club colours was also seen taking pictures with fans at the club’s ground in North Wales.

QPR have secured back-to-back wins after earning their 3-1 victory over Wrexham.

Deadpool actor Reynolds had flown in to watch Wrexham for the second time this season but the Welsh side have still to win at home in the Championship.

Both sides claimed their first victories of the league season before the international break with respective wins over Millwall and Charlton.

Reynolds and Mac bought Wrexham for Stg2 million ($A4.1 million) in February 2021 and have led the Welsh club out of the fifth division, known as the National League, and into the second tier of English football.

The pair’s time with the club has been documented in the FX series Welcome To Wrexham, which has run for four series and earned 10 Emmys.

Sharon Osbourne has thanked fans for the “otherworldly amount of love” she has been sent online following the death of her husband Ozzy.

The Black Sabbath frontman died aged 76 on July 22, just weeks after reuniting with the band on stage as part of the Back To The Beginning farewell concert in Birmingham. 

Former X Factor judge Sharon, 72, said tributes had brought her “comfort” in an Instagram post that included a video of her trying out falconry with her daughter Kelly. 

“I’m still having trouble finding the words to express how grateful I am for the overwhelming love and support you’ve shown on social media,” she wrote. 

“Your comments, posts, and tributes have brought me more comfort than you know. None of it has gone unnoticed, in fact, it’s carried me through many nights. 

“Though I’m still finding my footing, I wanted to share some glorious creatures I had the chance to spend an afternoon with. 

“The connection you make with these powerful birds is built entirely on trust and confidence. 

“They’ll choose to perch on you only if they sense you are safe and unafraid of them. It’s a bond I know all too well, and the experience was nothing short of magical. 

“I love you all, and I thank you deeply for the otherworldly amount of love you continue to send my way.” 

In the comments, Spice Girl Emma Bunton said: “You beautiful soul, sending so much love to you all.” 

In July, fans gathered alongside Ozzy’s family to pay tribute to the star as a funeral cortege travelled through Birmingham. 

New French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is dropping his predecessor’s proposal to cut back two public holidays as part of budget measures aimed at reducing the deficit.

Reacting to news that credit rating agency Fitch had downgraded France’s sovereign credit score to A+ on Friday – the country’s lowest level on record – Lecornu told local papers La Provence and Ouest France: “We are paying for the instability”.

Fitch’s decision piles pressure on Lecornu just days into the job as he scrambles to form a cabinet and draft a 2026 budget that can pass a deeply divided parliament.

Lecornu has already pledged to find “creative ways” to work with rivals to pass a debt-slimming budget while also promising new policy directions, after taking office on September 10.

“My mindset is simple: I want neither instability nor stagnation,” he said in his first interview since taking office.

“The future budget may not fully reflect my convictions… In fact, that’s almost certain!” he said.

He called for “modern, frank and high-level parliamentary discussions” with the Socialist Party, the Ecologists and the Communist Party. 

President Emmanuel Macron this week tapped Lecornu, a conservative loyalist, to form a government after lawmakers ousted veteran centrist François Bayrou in a confidence vote over his plans for a 44 billion euro ($A78 billion) budget squeeze.

Lecornu became Macron’s fifth prime minister in less than two years, and faces a near-impossible task to pass a slimmed-down budget through parliament – ordeals that led to the ouster of France’s last two prime ministers.

French debt has come under pressure since Bayrou called the confidence vote last month, driving borrowing costs close to those of Italy, which carries the euro zone’s second-highest debt burden and a much lower credit rating.

“When interest rates rise, they have a direct impact on the state’s finances, but also directly on the lives of households and businesses. That is why the government will have to propose to parliament to maintain a sound financial trajectory for France. It is also a question of sovereignty,” Lecornu said.

Big businesses cashing in on Australia’s charge towards a solar future are cementing renewables as mainstream, experts say.

Supermarket giant Aldi is the latest to join the rush, flagging plans to sell solar panels and battery packages on the heels of Bunnings and IKEA developing installation arms.

Despite more than 4.2 million Australians having already put solar on the roof and 300,000 new installations being added annually, renewables uptake in the commercial and industrial sectors has been comparatively slow, Green Energy Council’s Con Hristodoulidis says.

But that is changing.

Mr Hristodoulidis says the solar industry has become “the clothesline that we have in our backyard”.

“When big chain supermarkets and hardware stores like Bunnings and IKEA get into it, it shows you that solar is now a mainstream part of the Australian culture,” he said.

The Climate Council’s Greg Bourne said it was interesting that stores like Aldi and Bunnings were jumping into the installation business, especially as they have global reach meaning they could get panels cheaper.

But he questioned who was behind the arms, saying the installer was “more important” than the actual panels, battery, or inverter systems.

“The installer who understands the integration into your particular setting is probably the most important thing of it all,” he told AAP.

“Clearly, a company like Aldi does have a global buying potential … it may well be that they can bring the prices down and deliver quality integration.”

Aldi Solar’s service provider Tempo is an accredited installer, according to the New Energy Tech Consumer Code.

Mr Bourne said if the commercial industry successfully earned trust with customers, it could lead to consumers coming back.

“I don’t think they’ll call a Bunnings unless they have a Bunnings or an Aldi arm that has become a really successful electrical, plumbing type business, as they tend to all mix together these days,” he said.

“There’s a market which is going to keep going on for quite a while, and change as we go.”

Australia’s naval shipbuilding and submarine capabilities are to receive a $12 billion boost.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to confirm the mammoth investment along with his deputy Richard Marles, Defence Personnel Minister Matt Keogh and Western Australia’s premier Roger Cook in WA on Sunday.

The money will go towards the delivery of a Defence precinct within the maritime hub on Cockburn Sound in Perth’s south.

The design of the Henderson facility will aim to deliver continuous shipbuilding and reinforce Australia’s AUKUS capacity.

Mr Albanese is expected to outline expectations the precinct will support 10,000 direct jobs over the next two decades and provide opportunities for small and medium WA businesses.

“Today’s investment is another way we are delivering record defence funding to bolster Australia’s capabilities,” he will say.

“There is no greater honour than serving our country in our nation’s uniform and my government is dedicated to investing in the defence capabilities our nation requires.”

The $12 billion will in fact amount to a down payment for Henderson, with independent planning and advice indicating it will consume about $25 billion over the decade.

The initial funding will go to kick-starting early works while more detailed planning and designs are finalised.

It will underpin the construction of ADF surface vessels, starting with Army landing craft and then the local construction phase of Australia’s future general purpose frigates.

Facilities will also be built to support surface combat vessels and docking capabilities for conventionally-armed but nuclear­-powered submarines from the early 2030s.

The undertakings will clear the decks for delivery of Australia’s first Virginia-class submarine.

Mr Marles says the government is continuing to increase defence spending to record levels.

“In less than a year from our announcement to establish the Defence precinct at Henderson … we are announcing additional funding to start delivering on key programs for the Australian Defence Force.”

US President Donald Trump has issued a letter to NATO nations, urging them to stop buying Russian oil and impose major sanctions on Russia to end its war in Ukraine.

“I am ready to do major sanctions on Russia when all NATO nations have agreed, and started to do the same thing, and when all NATO nations stop buying oil from Russia,” he said in a social media post.

He proposed that NATO, as a group, place 50 to 100 per cent tariffs on China to weaken its economic grip over Russia.

This follows Trump’s earlier threats of sanctions on Moscow and secondary sanctions on countries buying its oil, such as top buyers China and India, if no progress is made to end the war in Ukraine.

The president has imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods, citing its continued imports of Russian oil, but has not taken similar action against China.

Protesters from different ends of the political spectrum have shut down major city centres as police remain on guard to fend off potential clashes.

Thousands took to the streets in Melbourne, Sydney and other capitals under the Australia Unites banner, made up of several splinter groups, on Saturday.

Organisers said participants were voicing displeasure over worsening cost-of-living pressures, declining health outcomes, rising violence, financial strain and climate change denialism.

Some carried signs with slogans such as “We’re not right-wing, we’re just right.”

Opposing groups led by Indigenous and Palestinian activist groups also turned out in a National Day of Action against racism and fascism in response to neo-Nazis allegedly raiding an Indigenous camp in Melbourne on August 31.

They shouted “always was, always will be Aboriginal land” in unison at Flinders Street Station.

Dozens of Victorian officers, including mounted police on horses, were deployed in central Melbourne to make sure there was no clash of demonstrators by setting up orange barricades.

The ABC broadcasted aerial shots of police forming long lines to cordon off areas between the demonstrations about 50m apart.

The national broadcaster also reported capsicum spray being used with one man being caught up in the melee.

Police were granted additional powers to deal with the protests, allowing them to search for weapons and direct people to remove face coverings.

In Sydney, Australia Unites protesters originally signalled they would march across the Harbour Bridge, but settled for a different route after police challenged the decision in court

They instead rallied in the CBD, ending up in Hyde Park carrying Australian and Eureka flags.

“Well done Sydney…no troubles, no dramas. Done and dusted,” Pauline Hanson’s One Nation candidate Stuart Bonds posted on social media.

Police said a 50-year-old man was arrested for breaching the peace and escorted from the area. Two people were also treated by paramedics but no serious injuries were recorded.

“A police operation has concluded with no significant incidents following multiple planned assemblies in Sydney’s CBD today,” they said on Saturday.

“Hundreds of police (were) deployed across the city to ensure the safety of both participants, as well as the community and local businesses.”

With Sydney’s demonstrations wrapped up, Melbourne remained on high alert into the late afternoon for the possibility of scuffles erupting.

Violent brawls broke out between anti-immigration protesters and anti-fascism groups in August, which led to police deploying pepper spray to separate demonstrators in Melbourne.

A group of men dressed in black had clashed with people at Camp Sovereignty in King’s Domain on August 31, following the March for Australia rally in the city.

The camp is a burial site with the remains of Indigenous people from 38 clans. It was first created in 2006 to coincide with the Commonwealth Games and re-established in 2024.

Ten men, some with links to neo-Nazi groups, have been arrested and charged over the alleged assaults and affray.

Victorian Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny said the government supported peaceful protest but rebuked any protesters who planned to engage in harm and violence.

“Do not ever use the cloak of protest to go out there and cause crime,” she said.

“There is no place for protests that spread harm, that spread hate, that spread fear and violence, and there is certainly no place in Victoria for neo-Nazis.”

Saturday rallies were also staged in Hobart, Canberra and Brisbane, but police in none of these locations warned of similar clashes.

In New Zealand, some 50,000 attended the March for Humanity rally in central Auckland on Saturday morning decrying Israel’s military assault on Gaza in which nearly 65,000 have been killed since October 2023.

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook referred to a condominium she purchased in June 2021 as a “vacation home” in a loan estimate, in contradiction to claims by the Trump administration that she committed mortgage fraud.

President Donald Trump has sought to fire Cook on the basis of allegations she claimed both the condo and another property as her primary residence simultaneously.

Trump wants to reshape the central bank to orchestrate a steep cut to interest rates.

Documents obtained by The Associated Press showed that on a second form submitted by Cook to gain a security clearance, she described the property as a “second home.”

Cook has sued the Trump administration to block her firing, the first time a president has sought to remove a member of the seven-person board of governors. She secured an injunction on Tuesday that allows her to remain as a Fed governor.

The administration appealed the ruling and asked for an emergency ruling, just before the Fed is set to meet and decide whether to reduce its key interest rate. Most economists expect they will cut the rate by a quarter point.

Bill Pulte, a Trump appointee to the agency that regulates mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has accused Cook of signing separate documents in which she allegedly said that both the Atlanta property and a home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, were both “primary residences.” Pulte submitted a criminal referral to the Justice Department, which has opened an investigation.

Claiming a home as a “primary residence” can result in better down payment and mortgage terms than if one of the homes is classified as a vacation home.

Fulton County tax records show Cook has never claimed a homestead exemption on the condo, which allows someone who uses a property as their primary residence to reduce their property taxes, since buying it in 2021.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Weary of bomb threats to mosques and schools and mounting levels of persecution, Muslims in Australia are calling on the government to take Islamophobia seriously.

More than 50 recommendations to tackle prejudice have been outlined in a landmark report by special envoy to combat Islamophobia Aftab Malik.

They include enacting federal religious freedom laws, updating religious discrimination legislation and reviewing counter-terrorism policies in an effort “to engender a fair, respectful and inclusive environment”.

But some advocates say there should be no specialist envoy roles and the way to address racism would be to adequately resource the Human Rights Commission.

The Australian Palestinian Advocacy Network says anti-Palestinian racism and the reports findings are deeply connected but this has not been recognised.

“The Australian government has failed by restricting its focus to Islamophobia through the Islamophobia envoy, while deliberately ignoring and refusing to quantify the widespread anti-Palestinian racism and discrimination that has surged since October 7,” APAN executive member Lama Alqasem said.

“That refusal itself is a form of racism because it denies Palestinians recognition, safety and justice.”

Mr Malik’s report released on Friday with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese comes after a man staged an alleged bomb hoax at a Gold Coast mosque and an Islamic school in Brisbane received a bomb threat that forced the evacuation of hundreds of students and staff.

The Islamophobia Register’s Queensland-based executive director Nora Amath said Muslims felt targeted and afraid against the backdrop of recent anti-migrant rallies.

“We’re seeing an escalation of intensity,” she told AAP.

“For the very first time, we’re seeing back-to-back physical assaults and back-to-back bomb threats which is all very concerning.”

Dr Amath said the fear was compounded for Muslim women when they were in public by themselves or with other women.

“They are seen as easy targets … who are weak and vulnerable because of misrepresentations that they are submissive and oppressed,” she said.

Islamophobic incidents had “skyrocketed” since 2023 with a 150 per cent increase recorded by November 2024, Mr Malik said the register’s research showed.

Muslim women and girls accounted for three-quarters of all Islamophobia victims, three-fifths of physical assaults and every target of reported spitting incidents, the report said.

Most of the perpetrators were men.

One in three Australians also had expressed negative views about Muslims, research has found.

Australian National Imams Council senior advisor Bilal Rauf said the report strengthened the case for religious protections, which the peak religious body has lobbied for.

He said the onus was on Mr Albanese and his government to take the recommendations seriously, “so it’s not just lip service”.

The Australian Muslim Advocacy Network was more critical, saying it did not share the government’s rationale for establishing the Islamophobia and anti-Semitism envoy roles but welcomed the recommendations.

The network supported new measures to treat hate crimes more seriously without expanding crimes and police powers or restricting free speech. 

“The recommendation to establish independent scrutiny panels to improve the way hate crimes are policed is a positive step,” the network said.

“All communities deserve equal protection from hate and applying different standards creates unfairness in a multicultural society.”