… was how many taxpayers were pushed into the second-highest tax bracket in 2012-13, according to the Australian Tax Office. There were 46,450 more taxpayers in the top bracket.

0.4 per cent

… was the rise in the Commonwealth Bank's business sales indicator, a measure of economy-wide spending through its eftpos terminals, in April after gains of 0.5 per cent in each of the previous two months.

102.4

… points was the level of the Westpac/Melbourne Institute's index of consumer confidence in May, which was a 6.4 per cent lift in the month, the biggest post-budget bounce since 2007. The dividing line between optimism and pessimism is 100 points.

2.8 per cent

… was the rise in new car sales in the year to April.

49.1

… was the level of the HSBC manufacturing index for China in May, the third monthly fall.