Rateseeker Round-up: August Finance and Business News
The finance and business sector has seen a slow down as COVID-19 continues to severely affect the nation’s economy. However, there were still some key announcements and updates to come out of the industry in August, including new figures on wage growth and an ACCC review into online marketplaces.
Take a look at the latest finance and business news from August below.
Wage growth slows to historically low levels
Wage growth across the country has remained at very low levels, which suggests the balance of power still favours employers. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that wages rose just 0.4% in the June quarter, which is one of the lowest numbers in recorded history.
When looking at the entire 2021 year from January to June, wages grew by a historically low 1.7%. Professional, scientific & technical services, Construction, and Education & training experienced the highest rates of growth. Meanwhile, Arts and recreation services, Administrative & support services, and Rental, hiring & real estate services saw the slowest rates of growth.
4 tips to buy a business without savings
While the traditional route to purchasing a business is to gradually accumulate enough cash in the bank, there are alternative ways to buy a business without savings.
If you want to purchase a new business, here are four alternatives:
- Tap into your home’s equity. If the value of your home is significantly larger than the unpaid portion of your home loan, you could borrow against the difference.
- Do a leveraged buyout. If you find a business that’s available for below market value, a specialist lender might be prepared to finance the purchase, as the value of the assets would be greater than the loan needed to buy them.
- Find shareholders. Other parties might be willing to buy a stake in your new business if you offer to do all the work, or if you can provide knowledge or contacts they don’t have.
- Vendor financing. The seller might give you the business for no money down, in exchange for you repaying the loan from your future profits.
Need help securing a business loan? Speak to the Rateseeker team today.
ACCC zooms in on online retail marketplaces
As the nation’s competition regulator, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is examining competition and consumer concerns with general online retail marketplaces. One of the issues it’s looking into is the link between marketplaces, like eBay, Amazon, Kogan and Catch.com.au, and third-party sellers.
As part of their review, the ACCC is considering pricing practices, the use of data, the terms and conditions imposed on third-party sellers, and the impacts on competition when the marketplace itself operates as a seller on the platform.
“These online marketplaces are an important and growing segment of the economy, so it is important that we understand how online marketplaces operate and whether they are working effectively for consumers and businesses.”
Rod Sims, ACCC chair
** General Advice Warning
The information provided on this website is general in nature only and it does not take into account your personal needs or circumstances into consideration. Before acting on any advice, you should consider whether the information is appropriate to your needs and where appropriate, seek professional advice in relation to legal, financial, taxation, mortgage or other advice.
