FEAR & GREED | Business News Nat Cabinet meets amid fuel crisis; housing market tumbles; EV sales surge
Mar 29, 2026
National Cabinet meets to tackle soaring fuel prices and regional supply worries. Discussion of wider supply shocks affecting fertiliser, airfares and pharmaceuticals. Coverage of a Wall Street tech sell-off tied to AI concerns. Housing market weakness with plunging auction clearance rates. Rapid surge in electric vehicle purchases and rising EV finance activity.
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National Cabinet Acts As Fuel Crisis Deepens
- National Cabinet is meeting because soaring fuel prices and a prolonged Middle East conflict are hitting everyday Australians.
- Government will underwrite private fuel purchases to ease importer risk while states like Victoria trial free public transport to reduce petrol reliance.
Middle East Conflict Is A Broad Inflationary Shock
- Supply chain impacts from the conflict extend beyond fuel to fertiliser, airfares, freight, and pharmaceuticals, which will feed directly into inflation.
- Michael Thompson notes Australia imports ~90% of medicines and has limited fuel days of supply, creating sustained inflationary pressure.
Markets Wrestle With Prolonged Geopolitical Risk
- US and regional military actions are escalating and markets are pricing in a prolonged conflict, hitting equities especially tech.
- Wall Street indexes entered correction and the Nasdaq fell as big AI-spending tech names like Microsoft and Meta plunged.