Auction clearance rates are now at levels last seen during the 2022 housing downturn, according to Domain.On markets, the ASX is up solidly as oil prices drop on hopes of a Middle East peace deal.Follow the day's financial news and insights from our specialist business reporters on our live blog.Disclaimer: this blog is not intended as investment advice.PinnedFri 29 May 2026 at 11:23amFri 29 May 2026 at 11:23amMarket snapshotBy David ChauASX 200: +0.9% to 8,669 pointsAustralian dollar: flat at 71.6 US centsWall Street: Dow Jones (+0.1%), S&P 500 (+0.6%), Nasdaq (+0.9%)Europe: Stoxx 600 (-0.5%), DAX (-0.3%), FTSE (-0.8%)Asia: Nikkei (+1.7%), KOSPI (+2.1%)Spot gold: +0.6% to $US4,517/ounceOil (Brent crude): -1% to $US92.77/barrelBitcoin: +0.1% to $US73,545Prices current at around 11:20am AEST Live updates on the major ASX indices:Collapse all postsFilter PostsAll26Key Events11Market snapshot1AI1Key EventFri 29 May 2026 at 1:35pmFri 29 May 2026 at 1:35pmRBA to pause in June, but still not done hiking?By Emily StewartEconomic data out this week further strengthens the case for the Reserve Bank to hold interest rates at the June board meeting, says Capital Economics' Abhijit Surya.Headline inflation fell from 4.6% to 4.2% in April, while trimmed mean inflation only edged up marginally."Meanwhile, there are already signs that inflationary pressures are creating strains on consumers," he said in an analyst note."Indeed, household spending fell by 1.1% m/m in April, with the weakness being fairly broad-based."However, capital spending data showed private capex surged by 6.5% this quarter, driven by a boom in data-centre construction.But the latest survey, conducted across April and May suggests "firms are starting to pull in their horns"."While the data will give the RBA room to pause its hiking cycle in June, there are reasons to think its job is not yet done," said Mr Surya."For one thing, the weakness in household spending may prove fleeting....likewise, the pullback in firms' capex plans may be skewed by weak business sentiment.""The upshot is that we're sticking to our view that the RBA will deliver a final 25bp hike in Q3 to guard against upside inflation risks," Mr Surya said.GDP data will be released on Wednesday next week and the RBA board will meet 16-17 June.Key EventFri 29 May 2026 at 1:34pmFri 29 May 2026 at 1:34pmWill AI take your job? Alan Kohler interviews Anthropic's chief economistBy Michael JandaAnthropic's chief executive Dario Amodei has previously written on his personal website that he thought artificial intelligence (AI) could replace 50% of white collar jobs over the next five years, although has since walked back those predictions somewhat.When asked by Alan Kohler what he thought of his boss's views about the potential scale of AI-related job losses, Anthropic's chief economist Peter McCrory was far more moderate."That's within one of the realms of possibility, is this more disruptive scenario," he replied."AI is a general purpose technology. It is set to affect almost every occupation to some extent and every sector and the capabilities are improving very rapidly."I would say so far in the data, we don't see signs that workers in roles that are most exposed to AI have had any material increase in the rates of unemployment."And we're putting out research that's intended to help us monitor how things develop so that we can have a real time signal if that type of disruption ultimately materialises."So, large-scale AI-related job losses don't appear to be happening just yet, but watch this space...You can listen to the full interview with Alan Kohler via ABC Listen.Fri 29 May 2026 at 1:17pmFri 29 May 2026 at 1:17pmPush for a $US250 bill featuring Donald Trump's faceBy Emily StewartUS President Donald Trump's face could soon feature on a new $US250 bill as part of celebrations for the country's 250th anniversary of independence.US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent confirmed his department is prepared to design the note.Federal laws currently prevent the printing of a living US person on currency, but Mr Bessent said "we have to be prepared" as Republicans introduce legislation in Congress that would make an exception.Mr Bessent denied the Trump administration is behind the push, and insisted there was nothing inappropriate about it."There is proposed legislation in front of the House and in front of the Senate so that a living person, Donald J Trump, could be on a $250 bill. It's all up on Capitol Hill," he said."But we will stick to the law."You can read more on this story here:Fri 29 May 2026 at 12:44pmFri 29 May 2026 at 12:44pmAn optimistic take from JoshBy Michael JandaRe: outsourcing. Every business basically has to as their competitors are or will.