News archive for February 2017

Homeowners in Sydney and across the east cost could be in for another wet and wild weekend with rainfall expected to worsen in the comings days.

With the recent news that former MP Mike Baird has been appointed to a top role at NAB, Mozo took a look at Baird’s career to date and his credentials for taking on the role.

It’s been a race to the bottom during 2017, with 18 financial providers having already slashed savings account interest rates this year, according to Mozo data.

As the cleanup from last weekend’s severe storm continues around Sydney, the Insurance Council of Australia has described the Saturday afternoon deluge of hail and thunder as a “catastrophe”.

EnergyAustralia customers can now earn up to 20,000 Velocity Frequent Flyer points on their electricity and gas plans.

With Easter already less than two months away, travel insurer InsureandGo has urged Australians to think strategically about public holidays, with the potential on offer to extend their vacations using just a handful of annual leave days.

Living in an affluent suburb is not necessarily an indicator of financial savvy and in fact rural Aussies come out on top as far as good credit goes, according to new data from getcreditscore.com.au.

The 2016 Australia's Best Cars awards are in, and Korean manufacturer Kia has proved the most impressive with the judges, winning three categories and placing five times.

Peer-to-peer lender Harmoney has recently set up shop in Australia, with Brisbane the first lucky city to host the fast growing company.

In what could be a world first, travel insurer Travelwithjane.com has announced a 16.2% discount to female customers on all its policies - a figure which reflects the current gender pay gap in Australia.

Citi Australia launched a new personal loan with a low rate of 11.99% today, helping Aussies fund their spending goals, big or small.

In good news for credit card holders, ANZ has announced that it will reduce the purchase interest rate on its Low Rate Platinum and Low Rate Classic credit cards by up to 2.00% - the lowest rates offered by the bank since 2003.

This year’s Mozo Experts Choice Deposit Awards have shown that when it comes to saving, there’s no one size fits all option - but there are great value savings and bank accounts out there for all kinds of Aussies.

According to Mozo data, term deposit rate cuts have become the norm after 22 providers reduced rates across a range of terms this month.

With questions surrounding the reliability of the energy sector following recent blackouts in South Australia and high temperatures in New South Wales, CEO for not for profit research group CO2CRC, Tania Constable has stated power shortages demonstrate a need to explore alternative options - not just renewables, to provide clean and affordable energy in Australia.

AMP has announced it will no longer be accepting new refinancing investment loans, and has increased rates on investment and interest only home loans, as concerns about meeting APRA lending limits rise.

It seems APRA may be forced to impose further restrictions on investment lending, as concerns persist over the amount of mortgages taken out by property investors.

As a number of devastating bushfires continue to rage across New South Wales having already destroyed 30 homes, all four major banks have introduced relief packages for customers affected by the fires.

Energy Australia has released a new offer of 20% Greenpower at no extra cost for the next 12 months, just as its managing director publicly threw her support behind renewable energy.

As a parent the snacks in your child’s lunchbox are probably the last thing on your mind when it comes to your family’s finances. What with everything from electricity bills to rent/home loan repayments taking the biggest chunk out of your budget.

Higher levels of consumer trust in the sharing economy, have coincided with a $600 million increase in size over the past six months, according to a newly released report.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has criticised banks with in-house financial advisors for favouring their own life insurance products to the detriment of consumers.

As NSW residents attempt to cool off in the midst of the ongoing heatwave, there are concerns that the high level of energy consumption could result in blackouts across the state at around 5.30pm this evening.

The figures are in and the ultimate question of love has finally been answered - men and women spend just as much on each other on Valentine's Day, with an average spending difference of just $4.

Update 15/2/17: CommBank has also increased rates on interest only investment loans by 12 bp and line of credit mortgages by 4 bp, effective as of April 3.

Most homeowners paying off a mortgage have no idea what rate their lender is charging them in interest annually, leaving thousands of dollars at stake as a result.

Marty Mcfly and Doc Brown watch out, because you might not have the skies to yourselves for much longer after Uber Technologies acquired former NASA engineer Mark Moore to lead its flying car program, Uber Elevate.

In the midst of turbulent global conditions, the Reserve Bank opted to keep rates on hold at 1.50% in its first interest rate announcement of 2017. Most experts had predicted the February outcome - but what’s in store for the rest of 2017 has everyone on the edge of their seats.

Always the rate chasers, here at Mozo we are constantly monitoring the term deposit market, so that we can pass on any key changes to Aussies looking to lock away their cash.

As expected by the vast majority of analysts, the Reserve Bank has opted to leave interest rates on hold at 1.50% at its first board meeting of 2017.

Close to three in four homeowners believe a big bank would not provide the best service in the case of a life-changing event such as unemployment, divorce or death, a new study of over 1000 Australians has revealed.

Urth Energy has gone into voluntary administration after providing customers with renewable energy for less than a year.

After finding that some customers with offset accounts attached to their home loans were overcharged in interest, Bankwest has recently refunded $4.9 million to around 10,800 customers.

Wesfarmers and Citi have recently announced a completed agreement that will see the latter take over distribution of Coles branded credit cards for the coming decade.

As many as 750,000 Aussie parents are charging school fees to their credit cards, leaving them footing not only the back to school bill, but steep interest charges as well, according to a new study conducted by SocietyOne.