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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is an ABC podcast.
Do you think you'd never be targeted with disinformation? Well, remember hearing about those new Australian road rules? Curfews for drivers over 60 and mandates to keep your lights on. That was actually an AI disinformation campaign. G'day, it's Hamish McDonald here.
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Go get your own oil. That's a US president's message to allies who are dealing with the worst energy crisis since the 1970s. But in the US, markets surged, hanging big hopes on Trump's intimations that the war in Iran might be ending soon. But mission accomplished may not mean oil is flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, here in Australia, the RBA says it's got a plan to lower costs for consumers moving to rid the country of sneaky card surcharges. But will these measures have an impact and who will be left paying? Welcome to ABC Business Daily.
Music
I'm Carrington Clarke.
And I'm ABC's national business reporter Adelaide Miller.
Adelaide, as we speak, we've just had another extraordinary day on Wall Street. This time it's almost a euphoric rally on even the suggestion that we might be seeing an end to this war sometime soon.
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Chapter 2: What are the implications of the US market surge on global energy prices?
Donald Trump claims that America doesn't even really use this straight. They're not reliant on the oil. That is true. But the price of oil and energy is international. And the Americans are facing higher prices when they fill up their cars because the price of international energy affects them too.
And yes, America as a country is making a lot of money out of selling its oil and energy reserves at much higher prices. But this is biting politically in America. So I don't think Donald Trump can actually claim victory while Americans are still paying huge prices every time they fill up the car. And we did see
in America, the price of gas, as they call it, what we call petrol, breaching $4 a gallon. So I think that will build political pressure on Donald Trump to come up with a solution, even though he would like other countries to take ownership of opening up the Strait of Hormuz. Other countries, understandably, are holding back because it is so dangerous.
And I think, understandably, the populations of those other countries would be very worried if they were sending their soldiers into potentially harm's way in order to fix this situation.
So yes, optimism seemed to rule on Wall Street overnight, but you would have to think that unless there is real evidence that that Strait of Homeless is going to be open, that this is going to be a short-lived rally.
It's a marathon, not a sprint, that's for sure.
Okay, well, switching gears, you've been spending a lot of time looking at the Reserve Bank's changes to the way credit and debit card charges are enacted here in Australia. You're in the lockup. Give us a flavour for what it was like inside.
It was a big day yesterday.
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Chapter 3: How is the RBA planning to eliminate card surcharges in Australia?
We were in the lockup. Actually, there were so many of us there. We were sort of split across two rooms. We had media in one room and then stakeholders in another room and... There were a lot of colourful people either very happy or quite frustrated with the announcement yesterday because obviously there are a lot of people, a lot of businesses that are affected by these changes.
Talk us through why did the RBA feel it was necessary to actually look at the way that card charges are put onto customers and what they're suggesting is the answer.
Yeah, the announcement yesterday, essentially, that surcharges are going to be banned from October this year was essentially 18 months in the making. The RBA was consulting with so many payment stakeholders. I think they had something like 250 or 60 written submissions over that 18-month period. There was 150, more or less, meetings that took place.
There's a lot of people that have a lot to say about card surcharges. But that's also because the issue at hand is not just the surcharges, but also all the behind the scenes fees and charges that happen also to businesses. So it was it was a big announcement essentially from October.
As I said, there'll be no more surcharging when you go and say buy a coffee in the morning or you go and you're going out for lunch. We've all become quite used to these surcharges. And the reason that this consultation or review, extensive review took place was because the RBA Governor Michelle Bullock said that surcharges are not working as they were intended to.
It was at a time where there were different types of payments, cash payments, and so it gave a People are reason to pay with cash, but now we're in a time where most people are paying with card and it's not really providing competition because card is the dominant.
I mean, you say people have gotten used to it. I spent five years away from Australia, a few visits back. But I will say in that time, the use of surcharges has increased markedly. I don't remember paying for your meal and then seeing a surcharge pop up after the fact.
In fact, one of the major differences I notice in shopping in America versus shopping in Australia is in America, they do add tax on top of whatever the advertised price is. And then obviously, when it comes to things like a meal, you're also paying a tip on top of that.
So the price that you're actually paying for whatever it was that you were purchasing was actually 30% plus often than what was on the sticker. But this surcharge did seem to become ever-present here in Australia. And as you say, I think when the RBA brought in these rules, the idea was to give transparency to what it was costing the business to actually...
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