🗞️ August's Monthly Wrap

Good morning. As the last month of Winter comes to a close, we’re providing you with a snapshot of the top 3 August stories you need to know:

• Roundup of Australia’s ASX corporate reporting season

• The right to disconnect law, and

• The rise in scams on travel booking platforms.

Additionally, we’ve shared the top headlines that Aussie corporates have engaged with the most across our platform in August.

All the headlines and more below...

AUGUST IN THREE

1. Corporate Reporting Season

August represents the year-end reporting season as many Australian businesses navigate the conundrum of a strong performance to impress shareholders, but not too strong that someone in parliament mentions the words ‘price gouging’ or ‘parliamentary inquiry’.

A quick wrap on some of the key notable companies:

• CBA outperformed market expectations (again). Despite a slight year-on-year profit decrease, analysts reacted well to the performance on the back of a slowing housing market.

• JB Hi-Fi also proved it’s all about expectations as their profit declined 16% but it wasn’t as bad as forecast, which sent their share price skyrocketing.

• Rio Tinto and BlueScope Steel felt the strain from weaker demand in China.

• Coles proved they can’t win by posting a 4% profit increase and received pricing criticism from some MPs.

It's clear that Australian companies are navigating with cautious optimism, with firms being less gung-ho when it comes to new hires. The industrials and resource sectors are grappling with rising costs and softer revenues, while the financials sector is continuing to benefit from sustained high-interest rates.

Looking ahead, all eyes are on the real-life version of House of Cards as the US election drama continues. Markets never like uncertainty and with big decisions on interest rates to come and a guaranteed new US President, lots could change in the next month.

2. Right to Disconnect Law

In a law designed to stoke some fires in generational working norms - Aussie workers employed by large businesses now have the legal right to disconnect from work outside of official hours.

As younger workers enter the workforce, they’re beginning to challenge the traditional norms of long, unhealthy working hours, advocating instead for sustainable work practices that prioritise mental health. However, enforcing this new right is challenging.


How do you deal with fringe use cases like international time zones or emergencies? It’s hard to imagine CrowdStrike or Microsoft employees logging off at 5pm on the 19th of July and leaving the world to combust. With other less extreme examples, businesses and legal teams are going to have a difficult time in what is a global test case.

You get the feeling those grads working at McKinsey might find this ‘law’ an entertaining one. Feel free to abide by the law, but you may also never get a pay rise.

3. Travel Scams

Now that everyone has realised they don’t have a rich Nigerian uncle who they need to send money to right now, scammers are getting smarter and becoming more successful.

Platforms like Booking.com and Facebook Marketplace are becoming hotspots for fraud with Westpac recently calling out Meta for its failure to curb the spread of scams. Westpac highlighted hundreds of cases involving fake rentals and other deceitful schemes leaving people in the lurch for their weekend trip to the Hunter Valley.

ASIC, the banking regulator and not your favourite shoe brand, revealed that a mere 7% of scam victims are seeing their money returned by Australia’s banks and implored banks to improve their handling of such cases.

Stay safe out there and don’t be like André Poisson who was tricked into buying the Eiffel Tower by a scam artist in 1925.

WHAT DOES CORPORATE AUSTRALIA CARE ABOUT?

 🇦🇺 Top Australian News

1. Older workers are expressing frustration with younger colleagues’ challenges to long working hours. LINK

2. Attempts at bizarre tax deductions are increasing as households face cost-of-living pressures. LINK

3. Gen Z workers are leading the return to 5-day office workweeks, chasing in-person learning and the need for a focused work environment away from shared housing. LINK

4. The ATO is cracking down on misinformation falsely claiming that taxes are voluntary. LINK

5. The NSW government has mandated that more than 400,000 public servants return to office full-time amid productivity concerns. LINK

 🌏 Top Global News

1. The Snoop Dogg Olympics came to a close after 2 weeks of entertainment with Snoop making an estimated $9 million over the 2-week period - more than 95% of athletes combined. LINK

2. China's deepening steel crisis, with tumbling prices and dwindling profits, poses bad news for Australia’s economy. LINK

3. Gen Z’s love for the gym is becoming a problem for overcrowded gyms. LINK

4. America’s gross national debt topped US$35 trillion for the first time last month in August. LINK

5. An enormous error in US payroll data has overstated the US economic boom, leading to predictions of a possible jumbo rate cut by the Federal Reserve. LINK

 💼 Top Company News

1. The global streaming market is in upheaval as major streamers begin to bundle rival content to be more competitive. LINK

2. Google is replacing production of Chromecast with Google TV Streamer. LINK

3. Super Retail Group appeared in Federal Court to suppress documents in a lawsuit by its ex chief legal officer. LINK

4. The used car market in Australia remains resilient as cash-strapped buyers opt for cheaper models, with Carsales lifting its dividend as motorists turn to used cars. LINK

5. Morgan Stanley International’s chairman and British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch are among the bodies recovered after a luxury yacht sank in a storm off the coast of Sicily. LINK

CHART OF THE MONTH

How Commuting Can Be Worse for Your Happiness Than Losing a Limb

TRIVIA

It’s Game Time

Can you answer the top trivia questions from August?

1. What is the name of the nuclear power plant where the 1986 disaster occurred?

2. Does a convex surface curve inwards or outwards?

3. Who painted the Mona Lisa?

4. Who sings, "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word?

5. Who is the Aussie photographer who gained an international reputation specifically for their work with kids?

6. What is the smallest country in the world by land area?

7. Which year did the Berlin Wall fall?

8. Ukraine is known for being one of the largest producers of which agricultural product?

9. In the novel "Catch-22", what is the name of the bombardier who struggles to maintain his sanity?

10. In which sporting league is the Vince Lombardi trophy awarded?

Answers below

OUR SOCIALS

ANSWERS

1. Chernobyl
2. Outwards
3. Leonardo da Vinci
4. Elton John
5. Anne Geddes
6. Monaco
7. 1989
8. Wheat
9. John Yossarian
10. NFL