Aussie Lobsters, Black Friday, and PwC

Australian News

• Lenders are scrutinising customers' spending patterns, including petrol purchases, to identify potential home loan defaults ahead of missed repayments. LINK

• Retailers are extending Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions to boost sales amidst rising living costs and interest rates. LINK

• National home values in Australia hit a new peak, increasing by 8.1% since earlier this year, despite the recent economic challenges including higher interest rates. LINK

• Working from home may face a higher risk of redundancy, as employers prepare for layoffs in the next 12 months. LINK

• Consumers may not see a significant price drop in food favourites like cherries and lobsters this Christmas. LINK

• Deakin University's national wellbeing survey reveals the lowest recorded economic sentiment among Australians, even worse than during the global financial crisis. LINK

• Nearly two-thirds of organisations fear their boards lack understanding of cyber challenges, with 57% of executives expressing concerns over their organisations' data management and protection capabilities. LINK

Global News

• The UK government's attempt to lift economic spirits with a £20 billion ($38 billion) tax cut annually was overshadowed by its own fiscal watchdog's bleak economic outlook, hinting at slowing growth and falling living standards. LINK

• Oil prices plummeted following the delay of an OPEC+ meeting as Saudi Arabia shows dissatisfaction with other members' oil production levels. LINK

• US consumer inflation expectations rose further with Americans expecting prices to climb at a 4.5% annual rate over the next year. LINK

• Indonesia is looking towards Australia to reduce its reliance on China in the electric vehicle (EV) race, with both countries committing to "mutually beneficial cooperation" on battery manufacturing and critical minerals processing. LINK

• China has signalled to the potential resumption of Australia's live lobster trade. LINK

Company News

• Optus customers are being targeted by a scam circulating via email, aiming to deceive individuals into providing their payment details. LINK

• New housing lending at CBA rose in October, led by a resurgence in owner-occupier lending. LINK

• HobbyCo is seeing consistent sales of board games and puzzles as families seek affordable entertainment. LINK

• Mercer faced a $12m fine from the Federal Court for wrongly billing customers $14.4m for services they never received. LINK

• PwC Australia ramped up its political donations to $370,000 last financial year, marking a 50% increase, before cutting donations altogether to restore its public standing post the tax leaks scandal. LINK

• Qantas CEO, Vanessa Hudson, faces criticism over continuous flight cancellations on Australia’s crucial business routes. LINK

• WeWork landlords are resisting the company’s plans to close many locations in bankruptcy, challenging the company's lease rejection timeline and rules. LINK

• Temu.com and Shein are experiencing a high volume of window-shoppers but lag significantly behind Amazon in converting these visits into sales. LINK

• Binance saw about $956 million withdrawn by investors following the resignation and guilty plea of its chief to money laundering. LINK

• Amazon is poised to receive unconditional EU antitrust approval for its $1.4 billion acquisition of robot vacuum maker iRobot. LINK

This Week’s Top Picks

• A disparity in income levels is highlighted as a traffic controller in Melbourne's Metropolitan tunnel earns $126,200 a year, significantly more than the starting salaries of nurses and teachers. LINK

• Binance CEO has agreed to step down and will admit to violating US anti-money laundering laws in a US$4.3B settlement. LINK

• OpenAI staff threaten to resign and join Sam Altman at Microsoft unless the board steps down. LINK

• The normalisation of flexible work during the pandemic is suspected to have contributed to Australia's post-pandemic productivity slump. LINK

• The betting industry saw losses as Australia won the Cricket World Cup, with bookmakers like Sportsbet offering higher payouts for an Australian victory. LINK

• Half of Aussies now view snacks as luxuries, curtailing purchases, while the average weekly expenditure increased by merely $1.20 since last year, reflecting a re-evaluation of spending priorities amidst surging supermarket prices. LINK

• A star rating system for cybersecurity is to be launched, mandating new safety benchmarks for consumer internet-connected appliances and banning default passwords to combat potential hacking threats. LINK

• NRL clubs reject Australian Rugby League Commission's proposal for gender and diversity quotas on boards and executive positions, citing potential contentious member votes. LINK

• China's Temu rapidly gains traction among Australian bargain shoppers, overtaking local platforms like Kogan, Catch, and MyDeal within six months of its launch in the nation. LINK

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