Australian businesses are not having an easy time. According to the latest reports, due to the dual impact of rising inflation and uncertain economic outlook, many companies are tightening their belts. The survey data is quite straightforward——about 65% of enterprises have already hit the brakes on investment, and 3/4 of bosses cite rising costs as the biggest obstacle to growth. More painfully, nearly half of the companies say they have no hiring plans in the next 12 months. Behind this series of cold data, it reflects that market concerns about the economic outlook are intensifying. Following this, investors and analysts are pondering one question: will the central bank once again take up the weapon of interest rate hikes?