The Bloomberg Australia Podcast

Australia consumes more cocaine per capita than any other country in the world — nearly double the rate of the US. In this episode, Bloomberg’s Angus Whitley joins host Chris Bourke to unpack the data behind the surge, why a wealthy, remote nation has become such a lucrative market for global cartels, and how cocaine use has spread across professions and age groups.
They examine the A$82 billion economic toll of illicit drugs, the role of organized crime, and how shipments — from commercial flights to offshore drops — are slipping into the country. Plus, are authorities making any headway, or is demand simply too strong to curb Australia’s growing appetite?
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Oil prices are surging as the escalating conflict involving Iran rattles global markets, sending investors scrambling to assess the fallout. While US stocks have been relatively steady, crude’s jump is sharpening concerns about inflation and what it means for interest rates worldwide.
In this episode of the Bloomberg Australia Podcast, Rebecca Jones talks to markets reporter Richard Henderson about how the turmoil is flowing through to the ASX, petrol prices and Reserve Bank policy. From energy producers and airlines to haven trades and AI giants, we unpack the winners, losers and the key risks Australian investors should be watching.
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Retiring comfortably in Australia just got a lot more expensive. New figures show couples now need about A$730,000 in super to fund a comfortable retirement — roughly A$40,000 more than six months ago — as living costs continue to climb.
On this episode of the Bloomberg Australia Podcast, host Rebecca Jones speaks with pensions reporter Amy Bainbridge about what the new targets mean for workers decades away from retirement, how super funds are adapting to an ageing membership base, and whether new retirement products — from annuities to AI-powered advice — could reshape how Australians spend their golden years.
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Sydney is one of the least dense major cities in the developed world — but that may be about to change. In the affluent suburb of Woollahra, residents are pushing back against a plan to revive a long-abandoned incomplete train station and build 10,000 new homes nearby. It’s a local fight with national implications, as governments grapple with soaring rents, a deepening affordability crisis and pressure to force wealthier neighborhoods to take on more housing.
Bloomberg’s Swati Pandey and Aradhana Aravindan join the podcast to unpack what’s at stake — from property prices and lifestyle trade-offs to productivity, inflation and the Reserve Bank. Can Australia fix its housing crunch without reshaping its most exclusive suburbs?
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Global markets have been on a rollercoaster, with billions wiped from two of the hottest trades of the past year: Big Tech and Bitcoin. At first glance they might seem unrelated – but both are deeply tied to the same force driving markets right now: the AI boom. As software stocks wobble, crypto swings wildly and tech giants ramp up spending on data centers, investors are being forced to reassess what comes next.
On this episode of the Bloomberg Australia Podcast, Rebecca Jones speaks with cross-asset reporter Richard Henderson about what’s behind the volatility, whether the AI trade is cracking or simply cooling off, and why some investors remain surprisingly bullish.
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