The Reserve Bank will shine new light on why it decided to hike interest rates, while fresh data should offer insight into whether a further increase is on the cards.

Minutes from the central bank’s last meeting in early February, where it unanimously decided to kick up interest rates 25 basis points to 3.85 per cent, will be made public on Tuesday.

While governor Michelle Bullock has fronted press conferences and two federal parliamentary hearings on the rate call, the minutes are expected to reveal the factors that led to the decision.

Ms Bullock has previously said a resurgence in inflation forced the bank’s hand, with the speed of consumer spending and business investment catching the RBA’s board off guard.

Looking ahead, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics will help fill in more of the picture for the central bank for future rate calls.

Wednesday will reveal wage data for the final quarter of 2025.

NAB senior economist Taylor Nugent said wage growth was largely expected to come in at 3.4 per cent year-on-year, which would be in line with forecasts from the Reserve Bank.

He said a boost in wages in services professions would likely see a 0.8 per cent rise for the quarter.

“There will be a boost of around five basis points from the October tranche of pay rises related to the work value case for aged care workers,” Mr Nugent said.

“Wage price index growth has been supported over the past year by public sector wage agreements that incorporate some catch up growth.”

Thursday will see all-important labour force figures for January released.

After December’s figures saw a drop in unemployment to 4.1 per cent, driven by more 15 to 24-year-olds heading into work, the jobless rate for the start of 2026 is likely to tick up.

Mr Nugent said there would likely be a 20,000-person boost in unemployment, with the rate also growing to 4.2 per cent.

“The past three Januarys have seen a 10-15 basis point rise in the unemployment rate that was partially reversed in February because there have been more people unemployed but attached to a job they are waiting to start than was normal prior to the pandemic,” he said

“After the surprise two-tenths fall in December, it does support the expectation for some reversal in January.”

An encouraging update on inflation has meanwhile helped calm Wall Street investors wracked by worry over how artificial-intelligence technology may upend the business world.

The S&P 500 barely budged on Friday, a day after tumbling to one of its worst losses since Thanksgiving.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 48 points, or 0.1 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2 per cent.

Australian share futures climbed 26 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 11,215.

The S&P/ASX200 fell 125.9 points on Friday, down 1.39 per cent, to 8,917.6, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 143 points, or 1.54 per cent, to 9,138.8.

The freshly minted Liberal leader has doubled down on plans for a hardline immigration policy, pledging to cut migrant numbers and focus on those who reject Australian values.

But Angus Taylor has offered few details of how the coalition he now leads will deliver on the promise to weed out those who “reject our way of life”.

The new opposition leader, who toppled Sussan Ley in a partyroom vote on Friday, has been laying out his plan for the adrift Liberals as the conservative party bleeds votes to the anti-immigration One Nation.

Mr Taylor and deputy Jane Hume have been quick to vow to lower taxes, focus on housing affordability and take “green ideology” out of energy policies.

But the leaders have also been vocal on immigration, saying that migrant numbers needed to be driven down.

“Standards have been too low, numbers have been too high and we haven’t explicitly shut the door on people who reject our way of life, who don’t believe in our core values,” Mr Taylor told Sky News on Sunday.

High migration put stress on housing and infrastructure, he added, suggesting intelligence agencies could play a greater role in assessing would-be residents.

“It’s important … they do assess whether or not these people have demonstrated in the past that they reject our way of life or whether they want to bring the hate and violence from another place,” Mr Taylor said.

But even with an injection of new leadership energy, the party finds itself in a difficult position, pollster Kos Samaras said.

The Liberals faced the same challenges as those present under Ms Ley, including the loss of support among most voter groups.

Mr Samaras said some Gen X and right-wing cohorts who formerly voted for the Liberals were rejecting the established centre-right political party, while progressive voters and women were also being driven away.

“Angus Taylor cannot be ultra conservative on certain issues and then try to pretend he can talk to progressive Melbourne and Sydney,” he told AAP.

“He’s going to get wedged as Sussan Ley was wedged.”

The founder of a key Liberal women’s network has quit her organisation and the party two days after its first female leader was turfed out in the leadership spill.

Charlotte Mortlock founded Hilma’s Network in 2021 to boost female representation in the Liberal party.

She worked on the proposal to have gender quotas in the party, which was recently dumped by the NSW branch.

“Due to recent events I have decided there are other ways I can support women and Australia,” Ms Mortlock said.

“I have decided the time has come for me to step down as executive director of Hilma’s Network and I have also relinquished my Liberal Party membership.”

Mr Taylor toppled Ms Ley 34 votes to 17 in the ballot, ending her tenure after only nine months.

Shortly after the spill, Ms Ley revealed she would spend the coming weeks in her regional NSW electorate of Farrer before resigning from parliament.

A by-election will then be needed to choose a new MP for Farrer in what looms as a significant early test for Mr Taylor.

He will need to prove he can stave off challenges from independents and One Nation, which has been polling above the coalition.

A young entrepreneur says there’s still plenty of potential in the used car empire he founded, and he’s not going anywhere despite selling it for $120 million.

Matt Wright sold MCT Automotive Group, owner of the cars website Cars4Us, to Toyota Tsusho Corporation for the hefty sum just six years after starting the company.

The business has ballooned from humble beginnings of four people working from a Brisbane warehouse that could hold seven cars to turning over roughly 4000 vehicles a week, with tidy annual revenues of about $500 million.

What began as a wholesale operation soon branched into sales and trade-ins to the public, with a commitment to offering people more than regular dealers for their old car, while tapping into the rising digital habits of car buyers.

“When we started, the largest online car buying company was buying 60, 70, cars a week. We got there within 60 days,” Mr Wright told AAP.

“Fast forward to today, six years later, we buy 350 on a bad week, but realistically, 400 to 450 vehicles a week.”

The flagship lot in Brisbane’s Eagle Farm has ballooned to hold about 1000 cars, the second-largest in Australia.

MCT’s scale aims to condense the car-buying experience potentially into a single trip, while the turnover rate supports competitive prices.

“Typically, when you’re trying to buy a car, it’s a Saturday, you’ve got four dealerships written down, you spend an hour on each dealership, driving between each one. It’s a nightmare,” Mr Wright said.

“What we like to do is get people in and you just stay with us and if you don’t like the car you came in to buy, we’ve got three, four, five other variants or combinations of that car.”

Mr Wright came to Australia from the UK as a 20-year-old backpacker and quickly fell in love with the country.

“I was taken aback and couldn’t imagine anywhere else I would want to spend my life,” he said.

“Being the other side of the world on your own really accelerated that learning for life and, quite possibly, is the reason why I was successful in business, perhaps at … an earlier age than most.”

Another key to Mr Wright’s performance is his work ethic, and like many founders, he regularly clocks up working weeks of 80 to 100 hours.

“I’ve learned to refocus and adjust what I’m spending that time on, and through the continued support of a growing team of good people around me, and good leaders in the business,” he said.

“But workload, I would say, has never really changed.”

And despite his $120 million windfall, Mr Wright will continue doing what he does best to assist with the handover to Toyota Tsusho, Toyota Group’s Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed arm.

“I’m excited to be able to stay and help steer the business over the next couple of years which, regardless of selling it, I want nothing more than to see the company, in the group, reach its potential,” he said.

“It might be the biggest retail site on the east coast, it might be the biggest car buyer in the country, but it really does have a lot more potential than that.”

The future might be unclear beyond this particular horizon, but the young entrepreneur knows one thing for certain: there’s more work to be done.

“I’m certainly not contemplating a life that doesn’t involve running more businesses, running my own businesses, but I’m fully committed to these guys for a couple of years,” Mr Wright said.

“My father’s 75 and still works, you know? I’ll be doing the same.”

Australia’s trade minister is confident a long-stalled agreement can be reached after high-level negotiations with European Union counterparts.

Trade Minister Don Farrell engaged in constructive and positive discussions with EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic and agriculture commissioner Christophe Hansen in Brussels on Friday.

Negotiations over the proposed free trade agreement began in 2018 but have fallen twice at the final hurdle as Australia pushes for greater access to European markets for local beef producers.

EU negotiators have so far refused to budge on the key demand.

Good progress was made in ⁠narrowing gaps on a small number ​of outstanding matters, the trade ministers said in a joint statement on Friday.

“The ministerial-level engagement was constructive and positive and allowed the two sides to converge positions on a range of issues,” the statement said.

“The principals will now report back to their leaders.”

Despite years of tough negotiations, agriculture remains the deal’s central sticking point.

Australia initially pushed for more than 30,000 tonnes of beef, while Europe tried to whittle down the quota to protect domestic farmers who oppose more meat flooding the market and eating into their income.

However, negotiators are still at an impasse over some import restrictions.

Even though other free trade deals Europe has signed, such as with Canada and New Zealand, allocated tens of thousands of tonnes of tariff-free meat, they haven’t been able to use the vast majority due to Europe’s strict import controls.

A free trade deal would give Australian exporters greater access to global markets of more than 450 million people.

After two days of meetings, Senator Farrell said he was pleased with the progress made during his short trip.

“As I’ve said repeatedly, any agreement must be in Australia’s national interest and provide real benefit for Australian business, producers, exporters and workers,” he said.

“I am confident that both Australia and the European Union will reach agreement that benefits both of our economies.”

It comes months after Mr Sefcovic travelled to Australia, where he revealed the final stages of negotiations could be finalised in 2026.

“That is achievable,” he said in November.

A monumental task of healing a fractured party, developing robust policies and holding onto the seat left behind by Sussan Ley confronts the new Liberal leader.

In his first press conference as opposition leader, Angus Taylor laid out his plan for the Liberal Party’s fresh direction under his and deputy opposition leader Jane Hume’s reins. 

He promised lower taxes, a focus on housing affordability and a tough stance on immigration. 

“We must restore Australia to a country where life is affordable, where our kids can buy a home, where you can raise a family, and … where we unapologetically, unapologetically defend Australian values,” Mr Taylor said on Friday after easily defeating Ms Ley in a leadership ballot. 

Political expert Zareh Ghazarian said Mr Taylor – who has held the seat of Hume for 13 years – had taken on “the hardest job in politics” with many issues needing immediate attention.

“Number one is the party itself,” Dr Ghazarian told AAP.

“A big challenge is having a united party room that is accommodating of different views.

“There’s also the challenge of reconciling and having a more stable relationship with the National Party after it dissolved twice this year.”

Ms Ley announced her resignation from politics soon after being deposed, triggering an eventual by-election for the NSW seat of Farrer.

Dr Ghazarian said the by-election posed a “potentially dangerous opening” for the Liberals.

“The test of leadership is often at the ballot box and this will be (Mr Taylor’s) first test,” he said.

“The Liberal Party will have to combat the potential of One Nation and I think that’s going to be very difficult.”

Ms Ley held the seat for 25 years, taking it from the National Party in 2001 after the retirement of former Nationals leader Tim Fischer. 

Opinion polls reveal a surge in support for One Nation, with the latest Newspoll showing the minor party overtook the coalition with 29 per cent primary vote support.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson issued a call out on social media for “community-minded locals” to throw their hat in the ring for the party.

Michelle Milthorpe, a Climate 200-backed independent candidate for the seat in the 2025 election, announced she would recontest Farrer. 

Ms Ley’s margin was reduced to 10.9 per cent in 2019, and 6.2 per cent in 2025 in contests against independents.

“The coalition has been consumed by its own internal contests at a time when people are crying out for leadership,” Mrs Milthorpe said. 

State independent MP Helen Dalton, a former Shooters and Fishers Party member, said she would consider running for the seat.

As the Liberal Party looks to develop its policies, Dr Ghazarian said Mr Taylor should adopt former prime minister John Howard’s approach of accommodating the conservatives and moderates within the party. 

“He must have a pragmatic element, rather than being an ideological party,” he said.

“That would mitigate divisions emerging and the sense that there are winners and losers within the party.”

The European Union and Australia, whose plans for ‌a sweeping free trade deal have been put ‌on hold since 2023 due to ‌disputes over certain sectors such as farming, have made progress on resolving areas of disagreement, they said.

“Good progress ‌was achieved ‌in ⁠narrowing gaps on a small number ​of outstanding matters. The principals will now report back to their leaders,” said European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic and Australian Trade ⁠Commissioner Don ‌Farrell ​in a joint statement on Friday.

A previous attempt to ​reach a ‌trade deal failed in 2023, with Australia ​wanting greater access for lamb and beef exports to Europe, while the ​EU ​wants greater ​access to Australian critical minerals ‌and lower tariffs on manufactured goods.

Senator Farrell met with EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic and agriculture commissioner Christophe Hansen.

“As I have clearly and consistently said, any deal must be in Australia’s interests and include new, commercially meaningful market access for Australian agriculture,” Senator Farrell said pre-departure on Wednesday.

“I don’t do bad deals.”

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is expected to arrive in Australia in coming weeks, which adds pressure to have the deal ready to sign during her trip.

It’s hoped the trade ministers’ meeting clears the path for the agreement to be signed.

The EU wants to compete more strongly with the US and China, and ​last month struck a trade deal ​with India.

with AAP

Dubai port ‌giant DP World says its chairman and chief executive Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem had resigned, an announcement that followed mounting pressure ‌over his alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

Bin Sulayem, one of the Middle East’s most prominent business figures, is among the highest-profile executives to face scrutiny and be removed from roles following the recent release of the Epstein files.

Dubai’s ruler on Friday also issued a decree appointing a new chairman for Dubai’s Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, one of the several roles previously held ‌by Bin Sulayem.

DP World ‌appointed Essa Kazim ⁠as chairman of its board of directors and Yuvraj Narayan as group chief executive ​officer, Dubai Media Office reported earlier.

Members of the US Congress said Bin Sulayem’s name appeared in documents published by the US Department of Justice, prompting renewed questions over his past interactions with Epstein, a convicted sex offender. Reuters was not able to independently verify the allegations in the files.

Bin Sulayem has overseen DP World’s transformation into one of the world’s largest port and logistics operators. The ⁠company says it handles around 10 per cent of global containerised trade with operations spanning ‌countries including ​Canada, Peru, India and Angola.

But pressure has been building on the Emirati logistics firm after ​two companies, the ‌UK development finance agency and Canada’s second-largest pension fund, said this week they would suspend all new investment with DP ​World over Bin Sulayem’s alleged Epstein ties.

Incoming chairman Kazim currently serves as governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre. Narayan, who joined DP World in 2004 and most recently served as deputy CEO and CFO, has held several senior ​roles ​within the company.

The Epstein files, among millions ​published by the US Department of Justice, suggest a close relationship ‌with Bin Sulayem for more than a decade after Epstein’s conviction in 2008 on prostitution charges involving an underage girl.

The documents include emails and text messages that appear to show discussions between Epstein and Bin Sulayem about business, conversations about sex and plans to visit Epstein’s Caribbean island.

The documents show the late disgraced financier’s web of relationships with prominent people in politics, finance, academia and business. ​Being named in the files is not evidence of criminal activity.

Epstein was found dead in a New York jail ​cell where he was being held ⁠on sex-trafficking charges in August 2019. His death was ruled as suicide by hanging.

Australia continues to face the “hard business” of reconciliation despite the successes of Indigenous Australians, says the man who delivered a momentous parliamentary apology to the Stolen Generations.

A commemorative breakfast on Friday, marking 18 years since former prime minister Kevin Rudd delivered the apology in federal parliament, was attended by political leaders, Indigenous trailblazers and members of the Stolen Generations.

Dr Rudd paid tribute to Indigenous ingenuity over the years since in a pre-recorded speech delivered from Washington DC.

“There have been failures and successes along the way,” Dr Rudd said.

“We are tempted often just to focus on our failures. In some respects, that’s our normal human nature at work. 

“But it’s not good for the country, nor for Aboriginal people just to do that.” 

Despite this, the former prime minister conceded the “hard business” of reconciliation goes on.

“Regrettably, not all support it,” he said.

On January 26, a man allegedly threw a homemade bomb, which failed to detonate, at an Invasion Day crowd in Perth.

The incident has been declared a terrorist act and police allege the accused, whose name has been suppressed by the courts, was motivated by “pro-white male” racist ideology.

“It was an outrageous assault,” Dr Rudd said.

“Not only on (Indigenous men, women and children), but their non-Indigenous supporters and the right of all citizens to protest peacefully.”

It followed the Bondi Beach terror attack on December 14, when 15 people were killed after two gunmen opened fire on Jewish people celebrating Hannukah.

Mr Rudd said Indigenous and Jewish Australians shared the bond of experiencing the indignity of racism on our shores.

“We must never heed the call of those who seek to dehumanise and divide,” he said.

“Racism is not simply harmful, it is also unpatriotic.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the apology was an important step forward, but not the end of action.

“Saying sorry was never intended as the final word, but as the beginning of a bigger, brighter story, a story in which we keep working to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians until that gap belongs to history,” he said.

Mr Albanese on Thursday delivered his annual statement on Closing the Gap outcomes, which found just four of the 19 targets were on track to be met by 2031.

ACT Supreme Court Justice Louise Taylor, the first Aboriginal woman appointed to a superior court in Australia, said survivors deserved a special place in the national story.

“For the apology to have ongoing meaning – as it should – our reverence for survivors must be reflected in modern day government policy,” she said.

This included properly taking up the challenge of the recommendations made in the 1997 Bringing Them Home report.

Survivors of the Stolen Generation will be able to access $87 million of support services over the next four years, which will include family tracing and reunification efforts.

The funds will also go towards access to redress schemes and health services.

Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said survivors, who suffered immeasurable harm, needed continual and meaningful support.

“Sadly, for many of our people, the distress and hurt continues today,” she said.

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Asian shares retreated from record highs on Friday as worries about ‌shrinking margins in the tech sector hit the likes of Apple, driving investors into safe-haven bonds ahead of key US inflation data.

Overnight on Wall Street, the ‌technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled 2.0 per cent after Cisco Systems posted quarterly adjusted gross margin below estimates as costs of memory chips surged. That drove its shares down 12 per cent and wiped out ‌about $US40 billion ($A56 billion) of its market cap.

The selloff spilled over into tech giants like Apple , which tumbled 5.0 per cent in the biggest daily drop since April last year when US President Donald Trump’s sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs spooked markets. Transportation companies also got caught up in worries about AI disruption.

“The prevailing tone in markets is a rotation toward more defensive areas of the equity market and companies with steady, less cyclical and more predictable earnings,” said Chris Weston, head of research at ‌Pepperstone.

“It is clear ‌that investors are viewing ⁠developments in AI and AGI through a new lens, attempting to price a future that feels more uncertain ​and structurally disruptive than before.”

On Friday, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.6 per cent, trimming this week’s gain to 4.1 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei skidded 0.9 per cent, but was still up 5.3 per cent for the week.

Chinese blue chips dropped 0.6 per cent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slid 1.5 per cent.

Both Nasdaq futures and S&P 500 were up 0.1 per cent, while EURO STOXX 50 futures climbed 0.2 per cent.

Precious metals attempted to recover from heavy losses. Gold rose 1.0 per cent to $US4,972 ($A7,008) an ounce, after losing over 3.0 per cent on Thursday, while silver ⁠climbed 2.0 per cent to $US76.8 ($A108.2) an ounce, having plunged 10 per cent overnight.

The broad ‌selloff in stocks ​pushed buyers towards US Treasuries, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note tumbling seven basis points overnight, its biggest drop since October 10. It was steady ​in early Friday ‌trade at 4.1154 per cent.

A very strong auction of the 30-year bonds helped drive longer-term yields lower. 30-year yields slumped 8.5 basis points overnight to 4.728 per cent, its ​lowest since December 3.

Fed funds futures also rallied to reverse most of the losses after the payrolls data that led markets to pare back the chance of a rate cut in June. A move in June is now back in play, with the chance priced at 70 per cent, and ​a ​total easing of 60 basis points is expected this year.

Much attention ​will be on the US inflation data due later in the day. ‌Forecasts are centred on a monthly rise of 0.3 per cent in the core measure, which is enough to see the annual rate slow to 2.5 per cent from 2.7 per cent previously.

“Even an in-line result would reflect a meaningful deceleration from December and that could bolster animal spirits and spark energy back into the cyclical trade,” said Jose Torres, a senior economist at Interactive Brokers.

In the currency markets, the risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars took a step back. The Aussie was steady at $US0.7089 ($A0.9992), having lost ​0.5 per cent overnight, while the kiwi traded at $US0.6033 ($A0.8503), after slipping 0.3 per cent overnight.

Oil prices were flat after a sharp 3.0 per cent slide overnight on falling demand, easing fears ​of renewed Middle East conflict and an ⁠expected increase in supply.

US West Texas Intermediate crude tacked on 0.2 per cent to $US62.95 ($A88.72) per barrel, while Brent crude ​futures edged up 0.2 per cent to $US67.65 ($A95.35) per barrel.

The cost of snail mail could be set to rise again as Australia Post indicates it wants stamps priced 70 per cent higher than they were four years ago.

The post office asked the consumer watchdog on Friday to consider allowing the cost of stamps to rise 8.8 per cent from $1.70 to $1.85, bringing prices closer in line with comparative countries.

Large letters up to 125 grams would increase from $3.40 to $3.70 and letters between 125 and 250 grams will rise from $5.10 to $5.55.

Plummeting mail volumes are being blamed for the need to hike lift prices.

Outside of last year’s federal election, letter numbers dropped more than 11 per cent in the last financial year, to levels not seen since the 1930s.

It left Australia Post more than $230 million out of pocket to provide the letter sending service, even including the increased traffic from postal voting.

Stamp prices have surged in recent years, having been $1.10 in 2022 and $1.50 in 2024.

Despite the 68-per-cent leap, the post office insists Australian stamps among the most affordable among major economies.

Based on purchasing power parity, the OECD average is $2.60, with New Zealand more than doubling prices since 2020.

Plus the average Australian, buying five stamps a year, will barely notice the change.

The 15-cent hike is hoped to halve letter losses to $85.7 million, Australia Post says.

“As letter volumes continue to fall as customers increasingly take up digital options, Australia Post needs to ensure the letters service remains sustainable,” Australia Post chief executive Paul Graham said.

The cost of concession and seasonal stamps will not rise under the proposal, staying at 60 and 65 cents respectively.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will assess the proposal and has called for consumer and business feedback.

“The feedback we receive will help inform our consideration of Australia Post’s proposal, with a preliminary view to be released in the coming months,” Commissioner Anna Brakey said.

Australia Post has forecast further 20-cent stamp hikes in both 2027 and 2028.

Communications Minister Anika Wells has the final say on whether the increase can go ahead.