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Apple, CBA and E-Scooters
First commercial fossil fuel-free flight, October's unexpected inflation figure, and Childcare fees rise.
Pick & Scroll News
November 30, 2023
One Read, All Perspectives
Australian News
Australian inflation fell unexpectedly to 4.9% in October from 5.6% in September, driven by decreasing clothes prices and easing supermarket costs, suggesting the RBA may maintain the cash rate at 4.35% in its December meeting. LINK
Australia’s free-to-air broadcasters gained two victories against streaming giants, with upcoming legislation ensuring their apps receive priority placement on smart TVs and an advantage in acquiring major event rights. LINK
The corporate regulator ASIC hopes the threat of criminal sanctions will improve audit standards, amidst a reduction in the number of audits reviewed annually and ongoing scrutiny of professional services firms like PwC. LINK
The ATO halts its push for historical debt repayments and promises to review its methods, following distress caused to taxpayers, likened to the robo-debt saga. LINK
A slight increase in residential construction value masks an impending slowdown in home building, as higher costs and rising borrowing rates make new projects less viable. LINK
The "bank of mum and dad" has contributed over $2.7B to the property market in the past year, with around 15% of borrowers receiving financial assistance from their parents, averaging $92,000 in NSW. LINK
Increasing childcare fees are deterring parents, especially women, from taking on more work or promotions despite cost-of-living pressures. LINK
Builders in Victoria failing to take out insurance before accepting deposits under a Major Domestic Building Contract will face fines up to $96,000 for individuals or $480,000 for companies. LINK
Proposed new laws aim to prevent Australian iconic sporting events from being exclusively broadcast on subscription services, ensuring free-to-air television has the opportunity to acquire rights before streaming services can siphon them off. LINK
Since its inception in February 2022, Melbourne's e-scooter trial, operated by Lime and Neuron, has seen over 5.5M trips, but also over 500 e-scooter riders admitted to hospitals in the past year. LINK
Short-term sale of properties within three years has reached a 10-year high, particularly in regional Queensland, driven by mortgage stress and capital growth. LINK
There has been a 50% increase in government spending on consultants and contractors to $4.2B in the 2021-22 financial year, with limited transparency and a significant portion going to just 5 firms. LINK
The Victorian government will repay $7M in unconstitutional electric vehicle taxes, with the process of identifying beneficiaries expected to take several months. LINK
Company News
Telstra and Qantas have suspended marketing on Google after their ads were found on Russian, Iranian, and pornographic websites by US-based Adalytics. LINK
Apple has ended its credit card and savings account partnership with Goldman Sachs. LINK
CBA is challenging Macquarie in the rental payment services market with its new Smart Real Estate Payments platform, aiming to streamline rental transactions in the $49B/year sector. LINK
Macquarie Group has reduced jobs in its operations division over the past three months, specifically in technology and cloud infrastructure as tech expenses impact its profits. LINK
CBA's new Yello rewards program is driving incremental sales to major retailers, emulating Afterpay's approach of using retail app engagement to promote merchant sales. LINK
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and its respirator manufacturing reported an increase in revenue and profit in the first half of 2024, adapting to a pre-pandemic trading environment. LINK
Temple & Webster saw a 27% rise in sales from July 1 to November 27 compared to last year, with revenues increasing 42% since October 1 and benefitting from reduced shipping costs post-pandemic. LINK
EML Payments' market value dropped significantly after its strategic review failed to reassure investors about resolving regulatory issues with the Central Bank of Ireland regarding anti-money laundering compliance. LINK
Harvey Norman cites surging costs as the biggest challenge, despite Black Friday sales boost, with overall sales falling 7.8% from July 1 to November 25. LINK
Okta reported that a hack on its customer support system resulted in the theft of all customer data, contradicting previous statements that less than 1% of customers were impacted. LINK
Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced Trainium2, a new chip for training AI models, and plans to offer access to Nvidia's next-generation H200 Tensor Core GPUs, indicating a significant advancement in AI model training capabilities. LINK
Meta detailed its advertising policies for the upcoming election cycle, requiring global advertisers to disclose AI use in political ad creation and blocking new political ads in the final week of the US elections. LINK
Other News
The first commercial trans-Atlantic fossil fuel-free flight, powered by high-fat, low-emissions fuel, successfully flew from London to New York, marking a significant milestone towards "jet zero". LINK
Managers are increasingly concerned that remote workers might be taking advantage of the flexibility to work remotely to secure additional full-time jobs. LINK
Cellular agriculture, likened to where solar power was 20 years ago and EV batteries a decade ago, is rapidly evolving towards affordability, potentially transforming half of the global meat and dairy industry with lab-grown food. LINK
Charlie Munger, legendary investor and key figure in building Berkshire Hathaway alongside Warren Buffett, passed away at the age of 99, just over a month shy of his 100th birthday. LINK
This Week’s Top Picks
Melbourne home values may experience a monthly decline for the first time since January due to an oversupply, while Sydney's market also slows down. LINK
The call centre industry is set for a revamp as AI and chatbots are likely to replace lower-level staff to improve customer complaint handling. LINK
PwC Australia is probing an incident where its new head of risk was tricked into revealing hiring details by a fake email account. LINK
Optus has confirmed cash compensation to affected customers, a move coming after initial criticism for offering only 200GB of extra data as an apology. LINK
The Australian dollar rose to a three-month high of US65.94¢, driven by Australia's diverging interest rate outlook with the US. LINK
Australian hospitality venues will soon need to disclose the origin of their seafood to customers, following the federal government's decision to mandate country of origin labelling. LINK
Potential housing density hotspots in Sydney are being discussed as politicians decide which suburbs will bear the brunt of meeting state housing targets. LINK
A remote working lawyer at Sydney intellectual property law firm Chrysiliou IP was found to have been unfairly dismissed for spending hours on non-work related online browsing, as the Fair Work Commission recognised the blend of personal and work activities in "the modern digitally connected era" and ruled that the browsing history didn't warrant immediate termination without notice. LINK