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Business

Surge in earnings must make us alert, not smug

The June trade surplus amounted to an external stimulus equal to 8 per cent or so of monthly national income in nominal or money terms. That makes it even more imperative that the RBA keeps on lifting interest rates to more normal settings – even now it is just easing back towards neutral.

Forecasters got it wrong

The inflation surge underscores just how much even expert forecasters and modellers got it wrong last year. Central banks and governments kept pumping up demand and failed to see early enough how supply-side problems were acute, not temporary, and would force inflationary spillovers. Had Labor been in charge then, it would have kept the JobKeeper support flowing.

Many of the same people, such as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, now caution the Reserve Bank not to “overreach” on the monetary normalisation, this time claiming higher rates won’t make any difference to supply-side issues such as logistics bottlenecks or Vladimir Putin’s energy blackmail. Yet, returning monetary policy back to something like normal can hardly be characterized as overreach in any sense.

The RBA still believes it was right to err on the side of over-insurance when the medical prognosis during the pandemic was very bleak. But the policymaking lesson, as economics editor John Kehoe suggested this week, is that there wasn’t enough of a reverse gear built into the stimulus juggernaut to back up a bit if circumstances were changing.

However, we now have a chance to get the policy house in order – on monetary settings, as well as fiscal policy in the October budget – while Australians are still in a reasonably strong position.

The contrasts elsewhere could not be greater. On Thursday, the Bank of England – astonishingly for a central bank – forecast the worst stagflationary downturn in Britain since the earlier postwar nadir of the mid-1970s. That experience drove the Thatcher reform revolution.

Recriminations over Bank of England policy in 2022 have become part of the brutal fight for the Tory leadership, but likely winner Liz Truss will need more than Thatcherish soundbites to fix the UK. And the US is already in a technical recession.

However, Australia can’t be complacent. Inflation will peak, but so will commodity prices. The RBA has lowered its growth forecast to 1.75 per cent in 2023 and 2024, which is still a soft landing.

Yet there are still too many disconnects in the public mind about the sources of Australian prosperity. Gas producers are being demonized for allegedly hoarding gas for export, when their sales are propping up the economy.

That detachment from reality doesn’t actually prepare Australia well for the leap to net zero, when some of these money-spinners will have to be replaced.

Politicians who have been cushioned by easy central bank money will also find they have to make unpopular decisions. It is best they start while this tailwind is still there.

Categories
Entertainment

Nicola Peltz Beckham shares cryptic post amid rumors of feud with Victoria Beckham

Nicola Peltz Beckham shared a cryptic instagram-post about being “hurt” just days after rumors of her feud with mother-in-law victoria beckham were first reported by Page Six.

The actress and daughter of billionaire investor Nelson Peltz posted a photo of herself with blood-shot, watery eyes attached to an emotionally-vulnerable caption.

“Sometimes I find it hard to show the sad bits of me. Growing up with seven siblings and two very strong parents made me really tough, they hammered it into me to not let people bring me down or hurt my heart,” she wrote.

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Nicola Peltz Beckham
Nicola Peltz Beckham shared a photo of herself with watery eyes. (instagram)

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“It made me put such a wall up to protect myself, especially in this industry,” the newlywed added.

“We all have days where people make you feel bad and it’s okay to be hurt by it. I love you all so much and truly appreciate all of your support.”

This post comes little more than a month after her wedding to photographer Brooklyn Beckham and just days after reports of bad blood between the Beckhams and the Peltzs.

According to Page SixVictorian Beckham and Nicola Peltz, “can’t stand each other and don’t talk.”

Allegedly, “the build-up to the wedding was horrendous.”

READMORE: Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson welcome baby boy via surrogate

The source said in the months before Nicola and 23-year-old Brooklyn’s star-studded Miami wedding, the 27-year-old actress and her wealthy family did not want Victoria “to be any part of the planning.”

The source claimed that Nicola wouldn’t clue the former Spice Girl in on anything and “communication was minimal.”

Even during the celebrations, “there was a feeling that the wedding was all about the Peltz family, as you can imagine, as it was their house and their daughter and their son making the speeches.”

Since then, there has allegedly been “non-stop petty drama” between the two families, which has also caused tension between david beckhamVictoria, and their son.

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Tracy Vo and Liam Connolly

Nine presenter Tracy Vo engaged to partner on holiday

Categories
Sports

Tennis 2022: Nick Kyrgios wows in ‘absolutely bonkers’ Washington Open win over Frances Tiafoe

Nick Kyrgios has survived an epic three-set clash against Frances Tiafoe to progress through to the semi-finals of the Washington Open.

After two and a half hours of high quality tennis, the Australian prevailed over the American 6-7 7-6 6-2.

Watch Tennis Live with beIN SPORTS on Kayo. Live Coverage of ATP + WTA Tour Tournaments including Every Finals Match. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

There was nothing in it in the first set, but Kyrgios didn’t do himself any favors with a double fault in the tie-break to give Tiafoe the upper hand.

The match went up a gear in the second set, culminating in an epic tie-break that Kyrgios won 14-12, as he somehow managed to save five match points.

Kyrgios and Tiafoe fired off several aces and countless lengthy rallies in an exchange that left tennis fans in awe.

The Washington Post’s Ella Brockway tweeted: “This Kyrgios-Tiafoe match is absolutely bonkers.

“There are few things in sports quite like The Nick Kyrgios Experience.”

Both players complained to the chair umpire on multiple occasions, unhappy with spectators in the crowd yelling out during points and as they were preparing to serve.

“I want to go to bed,” Kyrgios said midway through the third set.

He fired off a whopping 35 aces and 60 winners in total as he ran away with the third set, wrapping up the match at 1am local time in Washington DC

He will next face Sweden’s Mikael Ymer in the semi-finals as his quest for a second title in Washington continues.

On the women’s side of the draw, Australia’s Daria Saville continued her strong form with a 6-1 7-5 win over Rebecca Marino to book her place in a semi-final against sixth seed Kaia Kanepi.

Top seed Andrey Rublev won twice on Saturday (AEST) to reach the semi-finals of the ATP and WTA Washington Open, dispatching Americans Maxime Cressy and JJ Wolf at the US Open tuneup.

Rain forced double duty upon Rublev and several others but storms provided everyone a timely rest break between matches.

He will take on Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka in the other semi-final.

Read related topics:Nick Kyrgios

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Categories
Australia

Shooter Party founder John Tingle dies

John Tingle pictured in his office at State Parliament.

John Tingle pictured in his office at State Parliament.Credit:Nick Moir

“Apart from all else, of course, he was my greatest urger-on, fan and critic in my professional life and so proud I had followed him into journalism,” she said.

“He taught me at 15 what was the most important question to ask, cheered me on to tackle the small and mean people in politics, and [taught me] to not be afraid to celebrate the transformative people and moments it sometimes gives us. And to always report what you believe to be true.”

In an obituary, Laura Tingle wrote about her father’s love of classical music and sound equipment, which spurred his media career – initially as a panel operator, and later writing and reading the news at smaller stations.

John Tingle pictured at a Sydney gun shop in 1992.

John Tingle pictured at a Sydney gun shop in 1992.Credit:Robert Pearce

Throughout a long career, her father always seemed to be at the center of things, Tingle said – including exotic overseas assignments, attending a press conference for The Beatles at Sydney Airport, and filming Harold Holt at Cheviot Beach a month before the Prime Minister would go there.

“He retired to Port Macquarie and later to Wauchope, taking an active interest in the life of both communities and acting as an advocate for them,” Tingle wrote.

“He is survived by his sister Margaret, his three children and his two grandchildren, Tosca and Kristian.”

John Tingle hugs his granddaughter Tosca in 2006, when he retired from politics.

John Tingle hugs his granddaughter Tosca in 2006, when he retired from politics.Credit:Brendan Esposito

Laura Tingle’s obituary for her father, John, in full:

John Saxon Tingle (November 2, 1931 – August 5, 2022)

John Tingle had never planned a life in journalism or in public as a young man.

But for almost 70 years, Tingle, who has died a few months short of his 91st birthday, was a voice familiar to hundreds of thousands of Australians, as an ABC journalist, a commercial radio broadcaster, a politician and a community advocate.

He was born in Bondi at the height of the Great Depression and was carried across the brand new Sydney Harbor Bridge on the day it officially opened in March 1932 as a baby.

His parents – Leigh Lewis Tingle and Maureen Patricia O’Rourke – were a colorful pair: Leigh a frustrated thespian and dreamer who had been forced to go into pharmacy by his father; Molly also a dreamer on a plane all of her own.

With his younger sister Margaret, he grew up in a flat in the Bondi Beach hinterland, spending many of his days on the beach and nights listening to music on the radio.

At the age of 9 he heard the Swedish tenor Jussi Björling singing Puccini and it was the beginning of a lifelong love affair with both the singer and the composer.

He inherited his father’s love of sound equipment and, despite plenty of opportunities, always preferred to hear recorded music rather than live performances, arguing the recorded version was always going to be the better and more perfect performance.

It was this fascination with sound equipment and music that initially drove him into radio, where his ambitions were to act as a panel operator. But he found that, when he had been hired in a series of small town radio stations, he was often the only staff on hand and would find himself writing

and reading the news as well.

This led on to a cadetship in the ABC newsroom in William Street, Sydney, where he met and, in 1955, married Pam Chivers.

He had a long career with the ABC, working in both radio and television, including as director of TV news in Sydney at Gore Hill.

He would often go on what seemed to his children to be exotic overseas assignments, including to England, Africa, India and Papua New Guinea.

And he always seemed to be at the center of things – whether attending The Beatles press conference at Sydney Airport or, along with a then-aspiring cameraman Don McAlpine, swimming with then-Prime Minister Harold Holt at Cheviot Beach – where Holt was to drown just a month later – to record his passion for snorkelling and scuba diving.

Tingle moved into commercial radio at 2UE in 1969, and a long career as a talkback host – when that form of radio was at its peak – followed through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, primarily in Sydney but also in Melbourne and Brisbane. He also presented television programs for the Nine and Seven

Networks, as well as SBS and WIN in Wollongong.

John and Pam raised three children: Peter, Sally and Laura. But the marriage ended in divorce in 1976. Tingle subsequently married Gail Williams in 1980 and the pair were together until they divorced in 2012.

A lifelong interest in guns and shooting made the subject of Australia’s gun laws a particular passion which led him to found the Shooters Party in 1992.

Partly as a result of a dare, he stood for the NSW Parliament’s upper house in 1995 and – much to his shock – was successful.

He went on to serve the Parliament for eleven years, developing warm and sometimes unlikely relationships with other MPs from across the political spectrum. Labor’s Tony Burke, Independent MP Tony Windsor and Greens politician Ian Cohen were among those who remembered his contribution to intelligent debates about legislation well.

He retired to Port Macquarie and later to Wauchope, taking an active interest in the life of both communities and acting as an advocate for them. He is survived by his sister Margaret, his three children de el and his two grandchildren, Tosca and Kristia

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Categories
US

Lind Fire fully contained after destroying several homes, seriously injured firefighter recovering | News

LIND, Wash. – After destroying 14 structures Thursday, the Adams County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) said the Lind Fire is now fully contained.

ACSO said the firefighter who was airlifted to Spokane is now home with his family and recovering.

Local crews are mopping up and monitoring hot spots.

Last Updated: August 5 at 10:30 am

In a statewide briefing, Washington Department of Natural Resource (DNR) officials said the Lind Fire is not yet contained but is “looking really good.”

DNR said firefighting progress is moving in the right direction and they are optimistic that there will be no more damage to structures.

Last Updated: August 5 at 8:30 am

All evacuations have now been lifted for the Lind Fire, after 14 structures, including six homes and eight other structures, were lost to a quick-moving wildfire. Officials say the fire is now contained and under control, but crews will work through the night to make sure it doesn’t spark back up.

State fire assistance was put in place to support local firefighters who are working to contain it. Ground and air support responded to the fire.

The fire started on the south side of the town and began approaching homes. Adams County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) and Washington State Patrol (WSP) crews are helping with evacuations.







Entire town of Lind being evacuated, 10 homes already lost to quick-moving wildfire




Highway 395 was closed in both directions as well as SR 21 but has since been reopened.

The Red Cross was assisting displaced people at the Ritzville Elementary School.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more information becomes available. Check back for updates.

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Categories
Business

Woman arrived at the airport only to learn her flight was canceled five months ago

A woman’s travel horror story has shocked TikTok users after she shared her experience of traveling to the airport and learning her flight had been canceled five months ago.

TikTok user @parishilton49 told her viewers about her experience booking a holiday package to Greece with online travel agent On the Beach. She booked the $4500AUD holiday package to the Greek city of Thessaloniki in October last year in preparation for a May summer holiday.

But when she attempted to check-in online, she couldn’t find their flight.

READMORE: Plane passengers stunned by shocking barefoot act: ‘What is happening?’

tiktok flight horror story
A woman found out her flight was canceled five months before she arrived at the airport. (Tik Tok)

READMORE: Woman scores flight upgrade after being mistaken for soccer star

So she went to Bristol Airport to inquire about her flight which was scheduled for 6am the next day. The check-in assistant told her there was no flight to Thessaloniki and that, upon further inspection, the flight she had been booked on was canceled five months earlier.

The TikTok user said, “I am such a nervous flyer as it is, I absolutely hate it, so to hear this just sent me through the biggest anxiety of my life.”

She said she had never been informed by On the Beach or the airline, nor had she received a refund.

To make things worse, the airport worker told her none of the airlines servicing Bristol Airport were going to Thessaloniki.

She and her travel partner had already paid for parking and a one-night stay at a hotel in Bristol in anticipation of their flight as they live far from the airport.

The worker told her the only way they could get to the Greek city was to drive for two hours to London and take a new flight. So they did.

tiktok flight horror story
The response the TikToker received from On the Beach. (Tik Tok)

READMORE: Japan is open to travel. So why aren’t tourists coming back?

The travelers arrived at Gatwick Airport at 2am and paid an extra $1100AUD for the new flight along with more parking fees for their car.

They stayed up for another four hours to board their flight and luckily, their accommodation plans were still in place and the rest of their holiday worked out.

But when they arrived home and emailed On the Beach asking for compensation, they apologised, gave her a vague excuse that they tried to refund the flight and notify her months ago but that it didn’t process, and offered only some refunds.

While they compensated her for the difference in flight cost, the London Gatwick parking, the cost of the original canceled flight, and the transfer, they did not compensate her for any of the time she spent in Bristol or fuel costs for the drive to London .

The flight agent’s TikTok account replied to her original video after it went viral and offered a brief apology.

“You’re right, this sounds like a terrible experience and I can only apologize!” the comment read.

flight
The TikToker addressed the company’s response in a follow-up video. (Tik Tok)

READMORE: Plane passengers stunned by shocking barefoot acts on flight

in to follow up videothe TikTok user said she wasn’t that concerned about the money but rather wanted to make sure it didn’t happen to anyone else.

“It’s not so much the money that I’m worried about… It’s more the fact that we felt completely cheated of this holiday,” she said. “I don’t think this is something they can get away with.”

“I just want them to be able to take accountability and responsibility,” said the TikToker. “They have somewhat said y’know sorry it was an error but that’s not good enough.”

Viewers who followed her story were horrified.

One said, “Was just looking at booking with them… think we will pass.”

Another said, “Is this a joke??? They haven’t even refunded you for the hotel and parking you incurred because of THEIR ERROR absolutely insane.”

Many shared similar travel horror stories.

“I had the exact same thing with the last-minute, promised refund but it never came. So, [I] opened a small claims court and got all money plus parking,” said one user.

When chatting to others in the comments, the original TikTok poster suggested others “take it into your own hands with hotels and flights and don’t put your trust in them!”

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plane act man caught watching rude film on flight

Passenger slammed online for ‘gross’ act on flight

Categories
Entertainment

OnlyFans star has world’s most tattooed vagina

A British OnlyFans star says she has the most heavily tattooed vagina in the world, with an artist needing five separate sessions to needle her labia.

Over the years, Becky Holt, 34, has spent more than $42,000 on a tattoo “bodysuit” with artworks adorning her entire frame, from her face to her feet, The NY Post reports.

The blonde made sure not to neglect her pubic region, and recently sought to have the sensitive area inked — despite an intense amount of agony it caused.

“I was in an incredible amount of pain,” Holt told Ark Media of the fifth and final ink session that she underwent on July 5.

“It’s quite embarrassing having a tattoo artist between your legs but it needed to be finished as I want my body suit to be fully complete,” the mom-of-one added.

Almost a month on, Holt’s vagina is still “swollen” and she isn’t able to have sex with her partner, Ben.

“We won’t be able to be intimate until it’s finished healing which will be difficult for both of us as we have a very active sex life,” Holt divulged. “Foreplay for him only currently!”

Despite the sex drought, Holt’s beau has managed to find some humor in the situation.

“When I showed him how swollen it was he joked and showed me a picture of a ‘Monsters In.’ character saying my fanny looked like them,” the tattoo lover revealed.

Holt didn’t divulge what design she chose to have permanently plastered onto her labia, but shared photos of her trip to the tattoo parlor.

The blonde was seen wincing in pain as she sat on a chair with her legs spread while the artist needled away.

Holt believes she’s one of the only women in the world to have her vaginal folds inked, and says admirers have praised her for enduring the painful process.

“People can’t believe how brave I am for having my labia tattooed,” she bragged. “I’m not sure how many people in the world have this tattoo but I imagine I’m one of very few.”

This story originally appeared on The NY Post and was reproduced with permission.

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Categories
Sports

Tennis 2022: Nick Kyrgios wows in ‘absolutely bonkers’ Washington Open win over Frances Tiafoe

Nick Kyrgios has survived an epic three-set clash against Frances Tiafoe to progress through to the semi-finals of the Washington Open.

After two and a half hours of high quality tennis, the Australian prevailed over the American 6-7 7-6 6-2.

Watch Tennis Live with beIN SPORTS on Kayo. Live Coverage of ATP + WTA Tour Tournaments including Every Finals Match. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

There was nothing in it in the first set, but Kyrgios didn’t do himself any favors with a double fault in the tie-break to give Tiafoe the upper hand.

The match went up a gear in the second set, culminating in an epic tie-break that Kyrgios won 14-12, as he somehow managed to save five match points.

Kyrgios and Tiafoe fired off several aces and countless lengthy rallies in an exchange that left tennis fans in awe.

The Washington Post’s Ella Brockway tweeted: “This Kyrgios-Tiafoe match is absolutely bonkers.

“There are few things in sports quite like The Nick Kyrgios Experience.”

Both players complained to the chair umpire on multiple occasions, unhappy with spectators in the crowd yelling out during points and as they were preparing to serve.

“I want to go to bed,” Kyrgios said midway through the third set.

He fired off a whopping 35 aces and 60 winners in total as he ran away with the third set, wrapping up the match at 1am local time in Washington DC

He will next face Sweden’s Mikael Ymer in the semi-finals as his quest for a second title in Washington continues.

On the women’s side of the draw, Australia’s Daria Saville continued her strong form with a 6-1 7-5 win over Rebecca Marino to book her place in a semi-final against sixth seed Kaia Kanepi.

Top seed Andrey Rublev won twice on Saturday (AEST) to reach the semi-finals of the ATP and WTA Washington Open, dispatching Americans Maxime Cressy and JJ Wolf at the US Open tuneup.

Rain forced double duty upon Rublev and several others but storms provided everyone a timely rest break between matches.

He will take on Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka in the other semi-final.

Read related topics:Nick Kyrgios

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Categories
Australia

Hundreds queue as the North Melbourne bakery closes

For a second in line Andrea Kwon, it’s the pistachio and lemon cake, coated with thick buttercream icing, that holds a place in her heart.

“That’s the cake that my now husband got for me before we started dating,” she said. “That’s when I realized he liked me.”

Hundreds queued to snare one of the final 1300 slices of cake at Beatrix Bakes on Saturday morning.

Hundreds queued to snare one of the final 1300 slices of cake at Beatrix Bakes on Saturday morning.Credit:Justin McManus

Kwon was told the cake was off the menu while waiting in line, but she was later moved to tears when a slice was produced for her. “I did something magical,” Paul told her.

“I’m going to sit down and cry and cherish this cake,” Kwon said through tears and laughter.

But there is no special memory for her sister, Arielle Kwon. “I just like the cake,” she said.

News of the bakery’s closure sparked long queues over the past month.

A loyal Beatrix Bakes customer waits in comfort on Saturday morning.

A loyal Beatrix Bakes customer waits in comfort on Saturday morning.Credit:Justin McManus

The line to devour one of the final 1,300 slices of cake on Saturday morning snaked all the way down Queensberry Street and around the corner onto Dryburgh Street.

A limit of eight slices per person was set to ensure most cake fanatics wouldn’t walk away empty-handed.

The final menu included blueberry coconut shag, red velvet cake with white chocolate cream cheese and butter cream icing, rhubarb and cinnamon crumble with custard, and vanilla slice with passionfruit glaze.

Paull said she felt overwhelmed by the support for her shop, which opened in 2011.

Paull was overwhelmed by the response to her bakery closing.

Paull was overwhelmed by the response to her bakery closing. Credit:Justin McManus

“I’m just so proud of it. It’s an honor to have baked for everyone,” she said. “I feel so sad that this part of it is ending, [but] I feel excited about the next steps for me.”

Those next steps include selling whole cakes online, finishing a follow-up cookbook to her first – also called Beatrix Bakers – and running baking workshops.

Categories
US

Authorities chase suspected car thief through the San Fernando Valley

California Highway Patrol officers and law enforcement from all over Los Angeles chased a stolen car suspect for over an hour in the San Fernando Valley Friday night before finally taking him into custody.

The chase began in Sherman Oaks shortly after 9 pm.

Police chased the driver on the 101 Freeway, surface streets In North Hollywood and Burbank, the 5 Freeway, the 210 Freeway and seemingly everywhere in between.

At one point, the suspect jumped out of the allegedly stolen car and tried to steal another vehicle, but it was locked. At the same time, the suspected stolen car rolled into the back of the other car targeted by the driver, at which point of suspect jumped back into the first sedan and drove off.

The chase also extended through construction zones, freeway off-ramps and on-ramps.

The chase eventually ended near the 210 Freeway after the suspect hit what appeared to be a spike strip.

He suspect jumped out of his vehicle, tossed a bag to his side and ran a few feet before surrendering to police.

He was handcuffed and taken into custody without further incident. His identity of him was not released.

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