🗞️ Baby Recession

Good morning. It seems the opportunity for that inappropriate aunt to ask, "So, when are you having kids?" is greater than ever.

According to KPMG Australia's analysis, the country is experiencing a baby recession, with births dropping by 4.6% year-on-year. The number of births in 2023 was the lowest since 2006, largely due to the rising cost of living affecting younger adults.

Don’t forget to tell your aunt that the median age for first-time mothers has risen from 27 to 31 years, and for fathers, from 31 to 34 years, between the early 2000s and now.

All the headlines and more below...

AUSTRALIAN NEWS

Australian scientists genetically engineer common fly species to eat more of humanity’s waste

• Australian scientists have genetically engineered black soldier flies to consume more organic waste and produce ingredients for lubricants, biofuels and high-grade animal feeds. LINK

• Australia's birth rate has plummeted to the lowest level since 2006 due to prolonged inflation and high interest rates, creating a 'baby recession'. LINK

• Business class airfares remain high post-pandemic, with some routes more expensive than before, despite a 13% drop in economy fares. LINK

• National rents in Australia remain unchanged over the last quarter but have risen over 9% year-on-year. LINK

• Rising veterinary bills are prompting Aussies to consider euthanasia for sick pets. LINK

• Brisbane’s median house price is set to surpass $1M within the next 3 months. LINK

• 4 out of the top 10 most expensive houses sold last year were held for less than 5 years. LINK

• The population of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians has surpassed the millionth person mark. LINK

GLOBAL NEWS

Planet Sets Record for Hottest Day Twice in a Row

• The entire Earth had its hottest day ever in history — 2 days in a row on Monday averaging 17.15°C on a global scale. LINK

• 9 Ethereum ETFs saw net inflows of US$106M and US$1B in trading volume on their first day of trading on US stock exchanges. LINK

• Russian house prices have risen by 172% in Russia’s biggest cities over the past 3 years. LINK

• At this rate, Russia could lose another million soldiers in Ukraine over the next 5 years. LINK

COMPANY NEWS

Nestlé cuts sales growth outlook as consumers become increasingly cost-conscious

• Nestlé lowered its sales outlook due to consumer cost-consciousness. LINK

• Apple Maps is now available on the web in beta to compete with Google. LINK

• Ferrari will accept crypto payments in Europe following success in the US. LINK

• Scyne to cut 90 jobs amid lower demand for public sector work, reflecting a broader trend of reduced government spending. LINK

• Ampol is seeing stagnant retail returns and lower refinery margins, despite a projected growth in its convenience division. LINK

• Macquarie Group flagged higher green investment income for the second half of the year but reported flat first-quarter results. LINK

• Unilever beat H1 profit expectations despite lower-than-expected sales growth. LINK

• Vodafone reported a 5.4% quarterly rise in service revenue, despite a decline in its biggest market Germany. LINK

• AstraZeneca raised its full-year sales and profit forecast after strong demand for its cancer, rare disease and heart disease medicines. LINK

• IBM beat Q2 revenue estimates and raised its annual growth forecast, driven by higher AI-related spending. LINK

• Alphabet seeing concerns over rising AI infrastructure investments and competition for ad dollars on YouTube. LINK

• Meta removed about 63,000 accounts in Nigeria involved in financial sexual extortion scams targeting adult men. LINK

• Westpac settled a secret legal matter with a former executive, with a Federal Court judge agreeing to permanently suppress the dispute's details. LINK

• Reddit has started to block its site from appearing in search engines other than Google, following a new deal with Google allowing the use of Reddit data to train AI models. LINK

• Fortescue expects iron ore mining costs in Western Australia to rise by up to 10% next year. LINK

CHART OF THE DAY

Home Price Growth

• National rents held steady at $600 per week in June 2024 but have risen by 9.1% since June 2023, reflecting tight rental conditions despite a 10.7% increase in total listings over the quarter.

• The rental vacancy rate increased to 1.4%, and properties stayed on the market longer, with median days rising to 21, while rental yields remained stable at 4.4%.

• Tough rental conditions are pushing more renters to buy, with first home buyer loans up 6.2% and investor loans up 7.9% annually, as capital city rent growth (+10.3%) outpaced regional markets (+8%).

HIGHER OR LOWER

It’s Game Time

Higher or Lower - US Politicians Edition: This week, Biden finally stepped down after making several blunders and probably realising he is just quite old to be President. But how old is he?

In today’s game, we'll give you a number for each politician and you have to guess if they are older or younger.

• Donald Trump - 81

• Barack Obama - 64

• Joe Biden - 80

• Kamala Harris - 55

• JD Vance (Donald Trump’s VP) - 43

• And for a bonus 10 points, how old is America’s oldest living President - Jimmy Carter?

Answers below

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ANSWERS

Lower than 81 at 78 years old (Trump)

Lower than 64 at 62 years old (Obama)

Higher than 80 at 81 years old (Biden)

Higher than 55 at 59 years old (Harris)

Lower than 43 at 39 years old (Vance)

99 (Carter)