If you'd like to continue with an ABC blog, head over to the one still going into the Bruce Lehrmann defamation case.

The ASX 200 has closed up 0.45% to 7,817 points.

The top movers were Arcadium Lithium and Liontown Resources up 5.82% and 5.22% respectively.  

Ten of 11 sectors ended higher, with tech the best performing.

And speaking of coffee, my colleague took a look at the rise in food trucks in Melbourne - and they've got the data to prove it.

The benefits of a mobile food van over a traditional bricks and mortar cafe include more flexibility with costs, so you can get it up and running quickly without as many overheads, as well as the ability close up shop if it turns out the business didn't go as well as you hoped.

Coffee vans are having a particular renaissance, apparently.

Read more here:

Never too late in the day for a coffee. Thanks for your comment

The Reserve Bank, both under previous governor Philip Lowe and his successor Michele Bullock, has talked about treading a "narrow path" where inflation is brought under control while some of the gains in the labour market are retained.

For context, prior to the pandemic jobs boom, unemployment in Australia hadn't been below 5% since June 2011 and it was hovering just above 5% when the pandemic struck in early 2020.

Post-pandemic, unemployment reached a low of 3.5% for several months, most recently June 2023 (seasonally adjusted).

When the RBA talks about retaining some of the post-pandemic jobs gains, their forecasts imply that they see unemployment returning to around 4.4 or 4.5%, and this being compatible with inflation returning to levels between 2-3%.

But Marcel Thieliant from Capital Economics believes that's unrealistic.

"We believe that the 'narrow path' of returning inflation to target while keeping unemployment below pre-pandemic levels is wishful thinking," he writes in a note out today.

"The Reserve Bank of Australia won't bring domestic cost pressures under control unless the unemployment rate rises to around 5%.

"With most of the drag from the previous policy tightening already behind us and the labour market still tight, we think the Bank won't be able to cut interest rates as sharply as most anticipate."

One reason for this is that Mr Thieliant can't see productivity growth recovering enough to justify the wage increases Australian workers are currently enjoying.

He says one factor behind this is the surging availability of labour due to Australia's record migration intake.

"In contrast to the US, where staff shortages tend to prompt firms to use existing workers more efficiently, firms in Australia tend to go on a hiring spree when workers are scarce," he says.

"This is made easier by the fact that net migration is strongly procyclical.

"One reason why that is weighing on productivity is because all else equal, rapid employment growth lowers the ratio of capital to labour.

"What's more, a rapid pace of hiring forces firms to spend more time training new hires and those new hires won't get up to speed immediately."

Mr Thieliant says Australia's unemployment rate is currently on track to rise to 5% by early next year, even though the jobless rate recently fell back to just 3.7%.

Capital Economics has shifted back its forecasts of the first rate cut from August to November, and warns borrowers not to expect a large reduction in their interest costs.

"The persistent tightness of the labour market will limit the Bank's room for manouevre," he warns.

"Accordingly, we only expect interest rates to fall to 3.6% next year instead of the analyst consensus of 3.25%."

A Northern Territory remote community has been without Telstra mobile phone reception every night for 12 consecutive days, leading local Yolŋu families to question what they "have done to be treated like this".

As of Wednesday, Galiwin'ku locals said Telstra reception outages had occurred each night since March 22.

Coverage drops out after 8pm and doesn't return until after 8am the next day, residents have told the ABC.

Nearby island Milingimbi is also reporting issues.

As the cost of living continues to bite, chicken is the most affordable meat in Australia. 

But farmers say they are going backwards because of what they describe as "unscrupulous" behaviour by powerful processors in one of the nation's most highly concentrated markets.

Read more from ABC's rural teams.

The index is now up 0.4%.

Minerals stocks like Liontown and Alumina are leading the pack, with gains of 7.2% and 5.1% respectively.

The index has lost 1.1% for the last five days, but sits 1.2% below its 52-week high.

Beebird Logistics has provided a direct mail service between Australia and China for years. 

However, the company is currently plagued by months-long delays, with parcels missing for almost half a year. 

Read more of this story for ABC's Stateline.