Hi there. It's Tuesday, November 8 and you're reading The Loop, a quick wrap-up of today's news.
Let's start here
Consumer confidence has plunged even lower than the levels seen during the GFC, causing a record number of households to slash their Christmas spending plans.
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index dropped 6.9 per cent in November, and is now only just above COVID-19 pandemic lows.
"Christmas spending plans are very subdued this year," Westpac's chief economist Bill Evans says.
"Nearly 40 per cent of consumers expect to spend less on gifts this year — the highest proportion planning cutbacks since we started asking the question in 2009, the average being 33 per cent."
But separate figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show most people are yet to cut back their spending more broadly, with the largest increases compared to 2019 in clothing and footwear (up 35.1 per cent), recreation and culture (up 31.4 per cent), furnishings and household equipment (up 24.7 per cent) and food (up 17.6 per cent).
What Australia has been searching for online
- Rebel Wilson. The beloved Aussie actor has announced the birth of her first child, Royce Lillian, thanking her "gorgeous surrogate who carried her and birthed her with such grace and care". The announcement sparked congratulatory messages from the likes of Taika Waititi, Brittany Snow and Octavia Spencer, to name a few.
- Midterm elections. There's not much to see in the way of results just yet, but some big names have been out and about urging people to vote — from current President Joe Biden to former presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump and a raft of other politicians and celebrities.
What else is going on
- Former US president Donald Trump says he'll make a "very big announcement" next week as speculation about a 2024 presidential run grows. He told a rally in Ohio that he wants "want nothing to detract from the importance of tomorrow" — aka midterm elections — but flagged he'll have something "big" to say on November 15
- Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has named his 26-player squad heading to the World Cup in Qatar. Teen sensation Garang Kuol is among the fresh faces on the squad, with almost half of the 26 chosen players having ten caps or fewer and 17 players going to their first World Cup
You're up to date
See you tomorrow.
ABC/wires
