Reading Time: 6 minutes If you’re one of the many dissatisfied workers in Australia who feel they’re not being fairly compensated for their capabilities, you have two options — find a new, better-paying job or ask for a pay rise. The Hays Salary Guide 2024-25, based on a survey of 15,000 Australian professionals, finds that 86% of Australian organisations plan to offer pay rises in the year ahead. That’s down from a high of 95% last year, and the value of intended salary increases has also dropped. The survey also shows the mismatch between what employers plan to offer and what employees feel ..read more

Reading Time: 4 minutes I have physically tested and reviewed most standing desks on the Australian market. Omnidesk’s latest flagship – the Ascent – has so far escaped my scrutiny. But this is all about to change. I’ve watched all the reviews online (so you don’t have to), scoured Reddit and read customer reviews, to bring you my verdict. Let’s dive in. Quick Verdict. The Omnidesk Ascent is a stunner with its sleek design and gorgeous hardwood top options. If you have a decent budget (around $1400), get the Wildwood spec for the beauty of its hardwood. The Ascent has features you’d expect in ..read more

Reading Time: 2 minutes The University of Cincinnati conducted a study on the ergonomics of home office setups, titled “The Home Office: Ergonomic Lessons From the ‘New Normal'”. What did they find? Most people’s home office setups are horrible. Slouching behind kitchen and coffee tables is the norm. Lounging on couches and beds is not uncommon, either. The findings of this study, which surveyed the WFH habits of 843 employees, did not surprise us. However, HR leaders responsible for designing and executing hybrid workplace strategies will want to sit up (ha) and take notice. (Related: Complet ..read more

Reading Time: 4 minutes The UK’s official currency, the British pound (GBP), is one of the world’s most popular currencies for international trade and forex trading. It’s the strongest of the G10 currencies — with one pound sterling buying $1.26 US dollars, €1.18 euro, and around $1.90 Australian dollars. Compared to this currency stalwart, there’s less demand globally for the Australian dollar (AUD) and the Aussie also suffers when risk sentiment is high or commodity prices dive, due to our significant reliance on China’s growth. Learn what’s ahead in 2024 for the exchange rate between the AU ..read more

Reading Time: 5 minutes The financial sector dominates the top end of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), with the Big Four banks being some of the most commonly held shares in Aussies’ portfolios. As one of Australia’s oldest and most prosperous banks — founded by the government in 1911 and privatised in the 90s — Commonwealth Bank shares are considered a blue chip investment. The company is large, financially stable and pays steady dividends. Is now the time to add Commbank shares to your portfolio? Discover more about the stock’s performance, share price predictions and how to invest ..read more

Reading Time: 5 minutes While browsing through my local Officeworks, I spotted an attractive, reasonably priced standing desk. It offered a compact (120 X 60 cm) desktop with a tray, front-mounted charging ports, and an 8-year warranty. All for $499. What’s not to like? By the way, an almost identical standing desk also sells under the Flexispot Comhar brand name globally, and is also available in Australia. The main differences are: Different choice of desktop colours. Addition of a crossbar between the legs. Pros Cons Attractive Looks. Modern design will elevate your home office ..read more

Reading Time: 7 minutes As the world’s leading supplier of graphics processing units (GPUs) used to power advanced AI models, Nvidia has capitalised on the rise of ChatGPT, and a host of other enterprise applications powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Five years ago, Nvidia’s market capitalisation was below US$100 billion. In March 2024, its valuation passed US$2 trillion, and in recent weeks, it briefly surpassed the US$3 trillion point. The company’s revenue growth has also been incredible. Its fourth-quarter sales data released in February this year showed a 400% year-over-year incre ..read more

Reading Time: 6 minutes Mega-cap US technology stocks continue to outperform, with the Nasdaq Composite Index up 6.90% in May 2024. Of the Magnificent Seven stocks, Nvidia is clearly leading the way in terms of share price gains — but Microsoft [MSFT’ stock has also gained over 12% year-to-date. Publicly-listed in March 1986 on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker MSFT, Microsoft initially became a household name for its Windows operating system and productivity software. Now, the multinational company is also a leader in cloud services, through its Azure platform, and artificial intelli ..read more

Reading Time: 7 minutes The Australian property market is still growing, with property prices and rents continuing to increase as supply shortages continue to worsen. Nationally, residential real estate is a $10.6 trillion market and Australian property prices have increased by almost 9% in the 12 months to May 2024. Much to the dismay of house hunters — but potentially to the benefit of property investors — the Australian property market is expected to keep growing in the second half of 2024. Inflation remains higher than the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is comfortable with. Rate cuts are ..read more

Reading Time: 8 minutes Confession time. I’ve reviewed so many office chairs that I no longer get excited about them. A couple of years ago, I’d get giddy when a new box arrived at my doorstep. These days, ergonomic office chairs blend into an ocean of bland, plasticky sameness. To me at least, they look more similar than different, and above the $800 price point, tend to have nearly identical features. Does this make me jaded? Or more objective? You decide, but when the (awkwardly named) Sihoo Doro S300 arrived, I was fully expecting a YABEC (Yet Another Boring Ergonomic Chair), wrapped in a ..read more