Thursday, 31 October - Are we out of the woods yet

Good morning. It’s Thursday, 31 October. In your Squiz Today…

• Inflation drops but rates aren’t expected to follow yet

• Dozens of people have died in flash flooding in Spain

• And the scary amount we spend on Halloween… 😱

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said Aussie Rules player turned Seven commentator Matthew Richardson on Instagram after falling into his pool during a routine clean - and capturing the whole unfortunate incident on camera before sharing it with the world. They say it’s getting up after the fall that counts…

Are we there yet?

The Squiz

Inflation has dropped - but economists don’t expect interest rates to do the same this year. Yesterday, the Bureau of Stats released some new info that numbers nerds - economists, journalists and pollies, mainly - are watching very closely. Long story short - the Consumer Price Index is at 2.8% for the year to September, down from the 3.8% recorded to June. It hasn’t been that low since the early days of the pandemic back in June 2020 - and it’s a sign - but not complete confirmation - that cost-of-living pressures are easing. 

Is inflation really coming down? 

That’s a fair question because stuff - like your grocery shop or fuel - still seems expensive… Here’s where we have to dig a bit deeper, so hang in there. That 2.8% figure relates to a ‘basket of goods’ tracking heaps of things like food, clothes, public transport and education to measure how prices are rising (or falling…). And then there’s the ‘trimmed mean’ - which isn’t a description of your cranky friend who’s watching what they eat… It cuts out any irregularities or outliers in the data to paint a clearer picture of what’s really going on. That rate dropped, too - going from 4.0% to 3.5%. It's higher because it doesn't include the big drop in what consumers are paying for electricity, which is being driven by temporary government subsidies. The upshot is that while inflation is heading down overall - it's not clear if that's a long-term trend or a blip. 

So - interest rates? 

The Reserve Bank's decision on whether to cut them will be based on inflation being in a target range of 2-3% - and Governor Michele Bullock has said that they look closely at the trimmed mean when making that call. And to be painfully obvious - 3.5% is clearly not in the 2-3% range… So, to the reaction from our pollies (who have a looming federal election in their sights…). The government is pleased with the drop in inflation, but Treasurer Jim Chalmers has warned the conflict in the Middle East could drive it back up again… As for the Coalition, it says there’s still a lot of work to do. The Reserve Bank meets next week, but few economists are expecting a cut on Melbourne Cup Day, so giddy up for the next round of economic chat in the week ahead…

Squiz the Rest

Flash floods kill dozens of people in Spain

The Spanish Government has called for 3 days of mourning after flash flooding in the country's southeast has killed at least 72 people and left dozens more missing. More than a year’s worth of rain (up to 320mm in some areas) fell in 8 hours from Malaga to Valencia, causing major damage to homes, roads and bridges. The military has been called in to help rescue people trapped in houses and cars - and videos/photos online show people climbing into trees to avoid being swept away in the floodwaters and others being airlifted from rooftops by chopper. The rain is expected to ease today, but reports say the flooding is the worst recorded in the country in 3 decades. Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez has told people his government “won’t abandon you”.

Albanese denies asking for flight upgrades

After days of questions about his friendship with former Qantas boss Alan Joyce, PM Anthony Albanese has issued a statement to say he “did not ever” call Joyce asking for a flight upgrade. The Coalition has been pushing for an inquiry into the PM's relationship with Joyce after allegations were revealed in journalist Joe Aston's new book The Chairman’s Lounge, that Albanese accepted 22 free upgrades from 2009 to 2022 and that the friendship weighed into his decision to block Qantas’ competitors. Coalition Leader Peter Dutton said Albanese needed to clarify whether he’d contacted Joyce directly about the upgrades, which is what’s alleged in Aston’s book. The PM has moved to nip the story in the bud, but with Parliament returning next week, he’ll no doubt be bracing for turbulence…

Beijing has blast off

China’s space program has taken another giant leap after it successfully launched a craft carrying ‘moon bricks’ as the first step in a grand plan to build a base on the moon. The Shenzhou-19 rocket launched from a remote part of the country’s northwest early yesterday - with Beijing inviting a small group of foreign reporters (including Aussie journo Will Glasgow*) to watch the takeoff. The 3 astronauts on board are heading to China’s space station for 6 months and will conduct tests on the bricks to see if they can handle the brutal conditions on the moon - aka highs of 180C and lows of -190C… China’s goal is to put one of its own on the moon by 2030, with President Xi Jinping declaring "to explore the vast cosmos…  and build China into a space power is our eternal dream”.

*In a quirk of timing, we had The Australian’s Will Glasgow on News Club this week… Check the newsletter out why don’t you? 

The Diamonds regain their shine

The Diamonds have rebounded to clinch a win in the final game of this year’s netball Constellation Cup against the Kiwis. Our world #1s entered the match having already lost the series, but they recovered their form, downing the Silver Ferns 63-50 in Melbourne. Coach Stacey Marinkovich said the win was a “huge” boost for the team. “There were some smiles, there were some high fives, and we celebrated the moment in the moment as opposed to just worrying about what was next”, she said. The Diamonds have been under pressure, even from former captains, after being outgunned by more than 10 points in the first 3 games of the annual 4-test series, so they’ll be pleased to have closed the year on a high - as did our bloke netballers, the Kelpies, who made it a clean sweep last night. 

Halloween has snuck up again

Holy Moly we haven’t seen a ghost - we were just shocked to hear Aussies now spend $450 million on costumes, treats and spooky decorations for tonight’s spookiest of nights. Even though we’re in the middle of a cossie livs squeeze - it appears for 1 in 5 of us, Halloween is now a locked-in thing with kids everywhere getting their street into trick or treating. Of course, Americans have always gone huge on 31 October - with some estimates suggesting they spend more than $4 billion just on outfits… And while we’ve already talked about  Raygun being this year’s fav -  we can’t wait to see if other trends like characters from Beetlejuice or Inside Out hit our streets tonight… And if dressing up is not your schtick, you could just invest in an ugly pumpkin… 

While we’re on the topic, the Squiz Kids team has a new Halloween bedtime story out today - Squiz-E and the Ghostly Glow. You can find it here.

Your Shortcut to the final sprint of the US presidential election campaign

Apropos of Nothing

Police in NSW have made a big breakthrough in the case of $600,000 of stolen, limited edition Bluey coins - finding 40,000 of them in a storage locker in western Sydney. That’s a lot of dollarbucks… 

The Turkish Government is at odds with over 1,000 stores in Germany - over kebabs. Turkey wants döner kebabs recognised as a national speciality, which would leave German restaurants unable to use the name. South Aussies might be willing to share ‘yiros’…

The world’s tallest teen, Olivier Rioux, stands at 7’9” (that’s 2.4 metres…) and - perhaps unsurprisingly - is getting a lot of attention in US basketball circles. Despite all the eyes on him, he’s staying grounded - he says his biggest challenge is ducking under door frames…

Squiz the Day

9.15am (AEDT) - Coles to release 1Q25 sales results to the ASX - online

10.00am (AEDT) - A Senate inquiry into proposed new cyber security laws will begin public hearings - Canberra

6.00pm (AEDT) - 2024 AIER Ron McCallum Debate, Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt and opposition counterpart Michaelia Cash will argue the theme: Artificial Intelligence at Work. Trick or Treat? - Sydney, or register for the livestream

Woolworths, Wesfarmers and JB Hi-Fi annual general meetings

ABS data release - Retail Trade, September; International Trade Prices Indexes, September; Building Approvals, September

A reminder it’s the last day to submit your income tax return (if you’re lodging your own)

🎃 Trick or treat, it’s Halloween

World Cities Day 

Birthdays for Peter Jackson (1961), Vanilla Ice (1967), and Willow Smith (2000)

Anniversary of:

• Michelangelo completing the painting of The Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel (1541)

• the 'last successful cavalry charge in history' by the 4th Australian Light Horse during the Battle of Beersheba in WWI (1917)

• the completion of the Mount Rushmore Monument (1941)

• the birthdays of painter Jan Vermeer (1632) and poet John Keats (1795)

• the deaths of magician Harry Houdini (1926) and actors River Phoenix (1993) and Sean Connery (2020)