Angus Livingston and Daniel McCulloch
(Australian Associated Press)

A global trade war between the United States and China will hurt Australian consumers caught in the crossfire, the federal trade minister warns.

Donald Trump has slapped tariffs on $278 billion worth of Chinese goods, sparking the latest round of a battle that threatens the global economy.

"We urge all parties to step back from further escalating tariffs and to tackle trade-distorting subsidies or other issues," Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said on Tuesday.

"Australia's strong and growing economy - some 27 consecutive years of economic growth - is an example to the world of looking outwards."

The US president has announced a new round of tariffs against China to take effect from Monday, starting at 10 per cent, and rising to 25 per cent at the beginning of next year.

He threatened to drive the trade stake even deeper if Beijing retaliates.

Accounting giant KPMG estimates the escalation in the US-China trade war could cost the Australian economy at least $36 billion over the next decade, depriving the national economy of 0.3 per cent growth.

The global firm predicts Australia will be far more heavily bruised than the European Union or Japan.

"As a small, open economy anything that negatively influences our trading with other countries is a bad outcome for Australia," KPMG Australia chief economist Brendan Rynne told AAP.

"The real concern remains that this trade war develops into something that brings in other countries who adopt protectionist trade measures to ward off the excess goods that get built up in China and the US."

Senator Birmingham said Australia would continue to pursue trade deals, like ones currently being negotiated with the European Union and Indonesia, to keep the economy growing.

"We continue to have the backs of Australian industry. We'll work hard to ensure they aren't caught in the crossfire," Senator Birmingham said.

Australia has signed free trade deals with China, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia since 2013, while the Trans-Pacific Partnership and a deal with Peru are yet to be ratified.

Labor frontbencher Brendan O'Connor fears Australia suffer collateral damage in the global trade war.

"There will be ramifications - the extent and nature of which we don't know yet - but there'll be some impact on Australia," Mr O'Connor told Sky News.

"The retaliation is going to ripple through this region, without a shadow of a doubt."

Oliver Caffrey
(Australian Associated Press)

An Australian teenager has become one of the nation's highest paid sports stars after winning $3 million from just one e-sports tournament.

Melbourne's Anathan Pham collected more than $3 million for playing a major role in winning the richest ever e-sports team event.

The 18-year-old came home from The International Dota 2 Championships in Canada with more money than the best AFL players earn in a year, as his five-man team split the staggering main prize of $15.3 million between them.

His takings from this tournament alone would have placed him 19th for Australia's top-earning individual sportspeople last year, even above soccer heroes Aaron Mooy and Tim Cahill, as well as Wallabies rugby star Israel Folau.

Pham's team, named OG, defeated their more-fancied opponents PSG.LGD 3-2 in a best-of-five grand final series in front of a huge crowd at Vancouver's Rogers Arena on Sunday.

His teammates include a Finnish pair, a French man and a Danish veteran.

Pham's big win takes his career earnings to $3.8 million after he moved from Victoria to China in 2016 as a 16-year-old to chase his e-sports dreams.

Dota 2 is a five-on-five strategy game where teams play on a virtual battlefield, attempting to kill the opposing players and destroy their base.

Australian e-sports commentator David Parker, who goes by 'Godz' in the gaming world, said winning The International is Dota 2 is equivalent to the Super Bowl.

"Ana's victory legitimises all the years he poured himself into training and improving at the game," Parker told AAP.

"It also shows other Aussies that there is a career in gaming for the top players.

"It's a huge step for making professional gaming more accepted in Australian society.

"Monetary gains aside, this tournament is about naming a champion and Ana was instrumental in OG becoming the best team in the world."

Photo by Caspar Rubin on Unsplash

(Australian Associated Press)

More than a third of Australian parents are borrowing money from their child's piggy bank or account for urgent expenses, a new survey shows.

And nearly 30 per cent are lying to their children about money, the survey by the Financial Planning Association says.

The findings are part of the FPA's Share the Dream: Raising the Invisible-Money Generation national research report into Australian parents of children aged four to 18, released on Wednesday.

The research showed two thirds of parents (66 per cent) believed digital money is making it harder for their children to grasp the value of real money.

"That's why we're calling them the Invisible-Money Generation," FPA CEO Dante De Gori said in the report.

The findings showed Australian parents are stressed and concerned about their children's financial future, with more than two in five admitting they believe their children will lack the skills to become financially successful upon independence.

"In fact, three-in-five (62 per cent) parents believe their children's generation will be financially worse off than their own," the survey found.

This was despite parents saying the Invisible-Money Generation were more confident, financially literate and curious about money matters than they were at the same age.

Parents also admitted to not always being above board in their dealings with their children about money, with 38 per cent borrowing money from their child's piggy bank or bank account for urgent expenses and 29 per cent lying to their children about money.

However, working teenagers were more prepared for the future, showing a greater interest in learning about taxes and superannuation than those without a job.

The findings followed a national survey of 1003 Australian parents with children aged between four and 18 between June 13 and 25.

Money & Life
(Financial Planning Association of Australia)

Do you have adult children living with you? Thanks to housing affordability and stagnant wage growth, more kids are relying on Mum and Dad to keep a roof over their head well into their 20s and 30s. Get some advice on how to foster financial independence in your kids, so they'll be ready to stand on their own two feet when they leave the nest at last.

The stats are in Gens Y and Z are staying home with their parents for longer. Looking at results from both the 2011 and 2016 census from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) we see a 2% jump in the number of 18-24 year olds living at home, up from 41.4% in 2011 to 43.4% in 2016[1]. The rise in the number of 24-year olds still in the nest is even higher, up 3% during the five-year period[2]. This means nearly a third of 24 year-olds are still not ready to go it alone. The number drops to one in five of all Australian households continuing to have least one adult sharing a home with one or both of their parents[3].

Financial factors driving "Failure to Launch"

While there could be many reasons for adult children and parents choosing to stay under the same roof, the consensus seems to be that it's usually a financial decision. Over in the UK, where the number of young adults living at home is at its highest since 1996, the trend is seen by researchers as "a family response to high unemployment rates, poor job prospects and financial hardship among young adults[4]."

Here in Australia, it's thought that the persistent economic issues young people are facing, like housing affordability and sluggish growth in wages are more likely to be driving our own wave of 'failure to launch'households. On the other hand the ABS also points to a more general "delay in a range of life events" including tying the knot and starting a family[5]. There's also been a surge in numbers of both undergraduate and postgraduate university students in recent times[6]. With HECS debts looming when they move on to full-time work, many of these students could be expected to live with parents to save on living costs while they can.

A boom in Boomerangs?

With the rise in postgraduate enrolments being particularly steep in the last decade a 123% increase since 2006[7] it's possible that the growing 'Boomerang'kids phenomenon could be down to the need for Generations Y and Z to return to the family home so they can afford to invest in their future career. According to figures from the 2018 Deloitte Millennial Survey, 36% of millennials and 29% of Gen Z don't believe they have what it takes to thrive[8] in future workplaces where disruption by automation, data and technology will be the new norm.
Unlike the Failure to Launch category, Boomerangs are the young adults who've flown the nest, only to return later. Described by Dr. Edgar Lui, multi-generational living expert at UNSW, as "unable to sustain independent living", these adult children often come back following a spell studying or travelling, when a relationship ends or they're between jobs[9]. While Dr Liu acknowledges that not all multi-generational households choose this way of living for financial reasons, it's likely that a child who's paying their way through uni (again), experiencing the financial fall-out of divorce or is unemployed, will be struggling with their finances.

Paying their way to financial independence

Although supporting your kids during hard times might be second nature for you as a parent, it's very important to foster financial independence in your kids, whether they're living with you or not. Children can come to expect handouts from their parents and spend accordingly, even after they've struck out on their own. This is one of the reasons why journalist and self-confessed member of the Boomerang club, Natalie Reilly, encourages parents to charge offspring rent and board when they're continuing to live with them. "It boosts independence, financial responsibility and self-esteem," saysNatalie. She also hints at how important it is for young people to prepare themselves for the possibility of becoming the main provider in the household one day. "Before you know it, you'll have a house of your own with a partner and children and you'll be wishing you paid a teeny $100 a week," she says.

It's advice that CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional Jeremy Chiel of Stonehouse Group agrees with. He believes it's a step in the right direction to get young people in the habit of budgeting and saving to prepare them for a time when they'll be paying their own way. "If you can learn to appreciate the advantages of saving early, you're getting in a habit that can help you enjoy a comfortable lifestyle, whether you rent for a lifetime or buy,"says Jeremy.

A home of their own?

Jeremy raises an important issue here that's close to the hearts of many Australians and their kids. The great Aussie dream of living in your own home is still popular, so should children expect to stay with you rent-free so they can save their entire deposit? Or should you dip into your super or use equity in your own property as security for their first home? This is a very personal choice, of course, but it's important to remember young people can often benefit from a spell renting or living in a share house. It's an opportunity to build on their budgeting skills before making that big commitment to a mortgage, and gives them the flexibility they might need to go where the jobs are.

Make it work for everyone

Even if you come to a friendly agreement about finances, even the most harmonious families can expect a few tensions when adults kids stick around. According to Dr. Lui, privacy is considered to be the biggest disadvantage of multi-generational living for all parties involved[10]. So staying aware of each other's need for space and boundaries could be an important way for both generations to enjoy co-habiting for longer.

Returning to Natalie Reilly's point about raising adult kids to be independent and confident, making sure everyone is doing their bit for the household financially and practically could be a positive for their self-esteem. According to the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index for 2016, younger Australians are among the happiest in the country, with a notable exception. Young adults still living at home report the lowest levels of wellbeing 72, compared with a national average of 76.7[11]. Acknowledging that you're all in it together, respecting each other as separate beings, and doing what it takes to prepare kids for a solo flight might just be the answer to a happier household now and a successful future launch for your offspring.

Are your kids staying at home for their uni days or leaving the nest? Get some tips for discussing the money lessons that will matter to them as they start their university studies.

[1] ID, Are children staying at home for longer?, 14 July 2017, "In the 2011 Census, 41.4% of 20-24 year-olds were still living with parents. By 2016, this had risen 2% to 43.4%.
"https://blog.id.com.au/2017/population/population-trends/are-children-staying-at-home-for-longer/

[2] ID, Are children staying at home for longer?, 14 July 2017,"In 2016, 70% of 24-year-olds had left the family home to live independently. However, this is also the age bracket where we saw the biggest change between 2011 and 2016, with a 3% differential.
"https://blog.id.com.au/2017/population/population-trends/are-children-staying-at-home-for-longer/

[3] The New Daily, Boomerang kids and failure-to-launch: The plight of 'generation rent', Isabelle Lane, 6 July 2018, "Dr Lui said one in five Australian households was multigenerational (generally considered to mean one or more adult offspring living with one or more of their parents).
"https://thenewdaily.com.au/money/property/2018/07/06/boomerang-kids-and-failure-to-launch/

[4] London School of Economic and Political Science, Parents' lives made more miserable by boomerang generation, 14 March 2018
"http://www.lse.ac.uk/News/Latest-news-from-LSE/2018/03-March-2018/Boomerang-generation

[5] Domain, Why it's important that adult children living at home pay board, Natalie Reilly, "The ABS points to a "delay in a range of life events" and it's true that we are getting married and having children later. And then there's university attendance, which has boomed in the last 40 years.
"https://www.domain.com.au/living/why-its-important-that-adult-children-living-at-home-pay-board-20170523-gw8nbe/

[6] Universities Australia Data Snapshot 2017, page 21, PROPORTION OF PEOPLE IN AUSTRALIA AGED 25-34 WITH A BACHELOR DEGREE OR HIGHER, up from 27% in 2004 to 37.1% in 2016.

[7] The Australian, Battle for jobs triggers postgraduate surge, 23 October 2017, Tessa Akerman, "Competition in the job market has pushed Australians into further education like never before, with a 46 per cent jump in the number of people with postgraduate degrees over the past five years and a 123 per cent increase since 2006.
"https://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/battle-for-jobs-triggers-postgraduate-surge/news-story/edfa72a58f9fc9283482e7e1fc687be8

[8] The Deloitte Millennial Survey 2018, "Fewer than four in 10 millennials (36 percent) and three in 10 Gen Z currently in work (29 percent) believe they have the skills and knowledge they'll need to thrive.
"https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/millennialsurvey.html

[9] The New Daily, Boomerang kids and failure-to-launch: The plight of 'generation rent', Isabelle Lane, 6 July 2018"Boomerang kids are the result of an "inability to sustain independent living" for many reasons, Dr Lui said. Reasons include those who return home after relationships break down, to those returning from work, study, or travel overseas.
"https://thenewdaily.com.au/money/property/2018/07/06/boomerang-kids-and-failure-to-launch/

[10] The New Daily, Boomerang kids and failure-to-launch: The plight of 'generation rent',Isabelle Lane, 6 July 2018 "Dr Lui's research found companionship was the most valued aspect of multigenerational living, while a lack of privacy was considered the biggest downside.
"https://thenewdaily.com.au/money/property/2018/07/06/boomerang-kids-and-failure-to-launch/

[11] ABC, Adults living with their parents are Australia's least happy, survey finds, Ange McCormack, 20 December 2016 "Adults still living with their parents had a [wellbeing] score of 72, compared with a national average of 76.7
"http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/living-at-home-with-your-parents/8135918

The Financial Planning Association of Australia has published a new eBook, "How to talk money with children".  It offers ideas and activities to help kids and teens grasp the value of money in a digital world.

The eBook is free and available to download here.