🗞️ Alcaraz Triumphs

Good morning. If you’re feeling tired today, it’s likely because you watched Carlos Alcaraz become the youngest player to complete a career Grand Slam (winning all four majors).

Over the weekend, Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina were crowned 2026 Australian Open champions to round out a big few weeks of tennis.

While they take home $4.15 million, the ATO also wins, claiming a $1.7 million in tax from each of the winners.

All the headlines and more below...

AUSTRALIAN & GLOBAL NEWS

RBA signals possible rate rise as inflation persists

• The RBA is expected to raise interest rates to curb persistent inflation as recent monthly data shows easing pressure. LINK 

• Australia’s federal and state governments agreed to a $219B 5-year hospital funding deal as they aim to ease pressure on health and aged care systems. LINK

• Australia’s transfer balance cap for tax-free super will increase from $2M to $2.1M on 1 July 2026 as inflation data triggers the adjustment. LINK

• The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations is replacing short-term call centre staff with contractors. LINK 

• Australia’s producer prices rose 0.8% in the December 2025 quarter and 3.5% annually as strong housing demand and infrastructure projects pushed costs higher. LINK 

• Victoria introduced a minimal regulation strategy to attract major data centres as it aims to fuel economic growth while managing resource concerns. LINK

• The Australian Open boosted Melbourne’s hospitality and tourism sectors as bars and hotels reported near capacity and strong sales. LINK

• Probate fees, the fees charged to validate someone’s will, in Victoria reached $31.7M last year as they now fund over one-third of budgets in some courts. LINK  

• Increased government spending caused two-thirds of the $57B budget deficit blowout over the next decade as per the Parliamentary Budget Office and top economists. LINK

• Baby Boomers are reshaping Australia’s wealth by downsizing homes, directing assets into cash and superannuation as more pass wealth to children. LINK 

COMPANY NEWS

Apple posts $205B revenue as iPhone 17 sales surge

• Apple posted $205B in quarterly revenue as Australians are buying iPhone 17s in record numbers despite delayed AI feature rollouts. LINK

• CBA and Westpac are defending a mortgage market position as Macquarie grew its loan book by 2.45% in December ahead of major peers. LINK

• Star Entertainment returned to a quarterly profit with Q2 revenue of $301M and EBITDA of $6M, managing regulatory and operational issues. LINK

• Serval, an AI start-up, has hit a US$1B valuation in under 2 years, highlighting the rapid growth of global software innovation. LINK

• Open Projects Group, a QLD construction firm, has collapsed into liquidation, leaving over 75 employees jobless and projects across the state in limbo. LINK

• ResMed reported an 11% revenue rise to $2B for the quarter as strong global demand for sleep and respiratory care devices has exceeded expectations. LINK

CHART OF THE DAY

The WHO’s largest contributors

ONE MORE SCROLL

Editor’s Pick: The people with a higher salary than you and the jobs they work.

Draft Pick: Alcaraz wins the Australian Open in four sets beating Djokovic.

Odd Pick: ICE agents ate a meal at a Minnesota Mexican restaurant then arrested the staff who worked there.

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TRIVIA

Some True or False questions to start your week:

1. Sound travels faster through water than it does through air.

2. A day on Venus is longer than a year on Venus.

3. Human blood is blue until it comes into contact with oxygen.

4. The "Dolly" sheep was the first ever animal to be cloned by humans.

5. There are more trees on Earth than stars in the Milky Way galaxy.

Answers below

OUR SOCIALS

ANSWERS

1. True - Sound travels roughly 4x faster in water due to density.
2. True - Venus takes 243 days to rotate and 225 days to orbit the Sun.
3. False
4. False - Sea urchins and salamanders were cloned decades before Dolly.
5. True - Earth has ~3 trillion trees; the galaxy has ~100-400 billion stars.

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