Kate Ainsworth is a business reporter with the ABC's Business Reporting Team. After joining the broadcaster in 2020, she spent two years as a reporter in Hobart before working with its national digital and mobile teams in Brisbane.
She has previously worked in commercial radio and media research, and studied economics and media at the Queensland University of Technology.
You can contact Kate via email at Ainsworth.Kate@abc.net.au or securely at kateainsworth@protonmail.com.
After months of saving, households are starting to feel confident enough to spend. Some economists say it is an early indication the stage 3 tax cuts are finally having an impact.
Australia's biggest bank has paused its plans to charge customers a $3 fee to withdraw their own money at bank branches around the country, a day after it was announced.
Some Commonwealth Bank customers who withdraw cash at branches or post offices will soon be charged $3 for the privilege, after the bank announced it was migrating a legacy everyday account to a newer offering.
Despite finishing lower for the day, the ASX has ended the week higher, while the ACCC has given interim clearance to an alliance between Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways.
Australians are set to spend almost $7 billion in just four days during this year's Black Friday-Cyber Monday sales, as the cost of living sees more shoppers eager to snap up a bargain.
Hundreds of Woolworths staff have walked off the job indefinitely at distribution centres in Victoria and New South Wales, demanding better pay and working conditions.
The rate of business failures is now the highest it has been since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is only set to grow as the cost of doing business squeezes companies from all sides.
Two of Australia's biggest pharmacy brands are joining forces to become a multi-billion-dollar pharmaceutical juggernaut. Here's why the competition watchdog gave the deal the all-clear.
Topic:Explainer
Discount pharmacy retailer Chemist Warehouse will be allowed to merge with Sigma Healthcare to create an $8.8 billion pharmaceutical giant after being approved by Australia's competition regulator.
Bitcoin pushed to a new record high as investors digest US election results while 'Trump trades' push global markets higher and officials from the Treasury, ATO and ACCC faced Senate estimates.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has kept interest rates on hold at 4.35 per cent for its eighth-straight meeting despite inflation falling to its lowest level in almost four years.
Although national property prices increased again in October, the latest CoreLogic data suggests the housing market is cooling ahead of forecasted interest rate cuts early next year.
Mosaic Brands, the Australian fashion retail company behind clothing brands including Rivers, Katies and Millers, has been placed into voluntary administration.
A year after its shareholders fired a warning shot over executive pay, Qantas' board has made up with investors. Those who help keep its planes in the skies can only hope their reunion is the next stop.
Qantas shares touch a record high as it holds its annual meeting under the cloud of an engineer's strike, but avoids a board spill. WiseTech shares lead the ASX higher after the company's founder stands down as CEO. Here's how the session unfolded on the ABC markets blog.
After Qantas was ordered by the Federal Court to compensate 1,700 former workers, an industrial relations lawyer says the airline will still have saved millions of dollars once it pays its legal bills, ex-employees, and any extra penalties.
Qantas is facing a multi-million-dollar compensation bill after it illegally sacked hundreds of workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Federal Court ordering three former employees will receive a share of $170,000.
A day after setting a new record high, the Australian share market ended lower on Friday after data confirmed China's economy was still losing steam despite the country ramping up its economic stimulus packages.
Customers with Westpac and St George have experienced difficulties accessing their internet banking for the third day in a row. Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government has been in contact with the bank.
The federal government's threat to ban excessive debit card surcharges by 2026 has been welcomed by customers and small businesses who have been hit with higher costs for years — but not everyone is on board.
Complex state planning laws and allegations that Woolworths and Coles are hoarding blocks of land to keep competitors out are facing further scrutiny from the ACCC as it investigates the country's concentrated supermarket sector.
The Australian share market closed higher on Thursday, with a big jump in lithium stocks after iron ore giant Rio Tinto announced it will buy Arcadium Lithium for almost $10 billion in an all-cash deal.
Some of our biggest banks made headlines for cutting interest rates this week, even though the Reserve Bank of Australia has kept rates steady for months. Here's why they're lowering them, and what it means for households.
Topic:Explainer
The Australian share market closed flat on Friday, following Wall Street's retreat overnight, while Treasurer Jim Chalmers says an overhaul of the Reserve Bank has been stalled for "too long". Look back at the day's events.
Hundreds of former Rex employees could face an even longer wait to be paid their entitlements after administrators applied for an extension to find a buyer for the airline.