🗞️ CrowdStrike or McAfee

Good morning. If you're struggling for motivation at work this morning, spare a thought for the customer service reps and IT department at CrowdStrike who have no doubt been working non-stop since Friday afternoon.

A CrowdStrike update caused a significant tech outage with impacts felt across the globe. The list of impacted Australian businesses was wide-ranging including Coles, Woolworths, CBA, most airlines/airports and NRL fans (given both KFC and TAB were down).

For those who don't remember, in 2010, McAfee had a colossal glitch with Windows XP that took down a good part of the internet. The man who was McAfee's CTO at that time is now the CEO of Crowdstrike. The McAfee incident cost the company so much they ended up selling to Intel.

All the headlines and more below...

AUSTRALIAN NEWS

Share hire e-scooters to be permanently legalised across Victoria

• Sydney commuters to face major peak hour disruption for an entire week as light rail workers strike. LINK

• NSW government has set up a taskforce to investigate drivers selling demerit points online. LINK

• Share hire e-scooters will be permanently legalised across Victoria in October, along with tougher rules and penalties. LINK

• Perth home completions declined for the second quarter as rising costs make most projects unviable. LINK

• A father from Kogarah died attempting to save his twin daughters as their pram rolled onto train tracks in Sydney. LINK

• Australia’s hospitals are overburdened with elderly patients receiving high-intensity care without clear benefits. LINK

• Mortgage cliff concerns are subsiding as borrowers adapt to higher interest rates, improving the outlook for housing delinquencies. LINK

• Work from anywhere policies are making employees more likely to stay at their companies longer. LINK

• Home Affairs Minister said it could take up to 2 weeks to fully resolve the IT CrowdStrike outage. LINK

• VIC government announced an independent review into the criminal behaviour within the CFMEU. LINK

• Tasmania is considering a return to passenger rail services amid declining public transport and a struggling bus network. LINK

• Doctors are warning of increased hospitalisations due to psychosis from prescribed medicinal cannabis. LINK

• Australia's tobacco excise is pushing smokers to the black market, impacting retailers and reducing tax revenues. LINK

• Quail Island on the Great Barrier Reef, visited by Captain Cook in 1770, is up for sale and expected to fetch $20M. LINK

GLOBAL NEWS

Microsoft says about 8.5 million of its devices were affected by CrowdStrike-related outage

• A CrowdStrike software update caused a global tech outage affecting 8.5 million Microsoft devices, grounding flights and disrupting essential services. LINK

• Joe Biden has withdrawn from the US presidential election. LINK

• Japan set a record with 3.14 million visitors in June, as the weak yen boosts tourism. LINK

• Global coal usage is expected to rise this year, while nuclear power is set to hit record levels in 2025. LINK

• France's champagne producers called for a cut in grape harvests after sales fell more than 15% in H1 2024. LINK

• Airlines currently face historic wait times for engine maintenance due to parts and labour shortages. LINK

• Tech giants are set to invest over $1T in AI infrastructure. LINK

• A second subprime crisis is more likely with Donald Trump in the White House. LINK

COMPANY NEWS

OpenAI unveils cheaper small AI model GPT-4o mini

• CBA’s PayID transactions and grocery payments at Coles were affected by CrowdStrike's outage. LINK

• Meta's content moderation vendors were hit by the global tech outage. LINK

• AMEX's Q2 revenue rose 9% due to robust spending by wealthy customers but missed expectations. LINK

• Booking.com violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by accessing Ryanair's website without permission. LINK

• Australia fined American Express $8M for breaching credit card distribution rules by targeting luxury brand customers. LINK

• Mecca settled a human rights case against a former Mecca worker. LINK

• NRMA Insurance is reinforcing its "help" message and repositioning as "A Help Company". LINK

• Netflix added over 8M subscribers in Q2, driven by a password-sharing crackdown and titles like "Bridgerton" and "Baby Reindeer". LINK

• OpenAI launched GPT-4o mini, a cost-efficient AI model that is more affordable and less energy-intensive. LINK

• Apple is in talks to licence more films from Hollywood studios to boost its streaming portfolio. LINK

• Sky News Australia may have to rebrand as its Sky licence nears expiration. LINK

• APRA will halve Westpac's $1B capital penalty, recognising improvements in risk management and governance. LINK

• Operator Bus Queensland refused government funding for wage increases for its drivers, despite a state-subsidised wage deal offer. LINK

• Amazon Prime Day saw shoppers spending a record $14.2B online during the event. LINK

• MediSecure was hit with a cyberattack affecting the personal information of 12.9 million Australians, with customer details leaked on the dark web. LINK

• Fortescue’s Andrew Forrest remains committed to the company's green energy strategy, despite $2.1B in losses over the past 4 years. LINK

• Guardian Early Learning is up for sale for $1B with private equity firm Affinity considered a frontrunner. LINK

• Whitehaven Coal reports rising costs and inflation, missing its cost targets and facing issues with its $6.4B move into QLD coal. LINK

• Musk's Starlink satellites are now providing internet connectivity to Pacific Island countries. LINK

• Former NSW premier Dominic Perrottet will join BHP in Washington, managing the miner's external affairs in the US. LINK

• Google will infuse AI into the US broadcast of the Paris Olympics via commentators. LINK

TRIVIA

It’s Game Time

Who/Everyone wants to be a Millionaire: Ever wonder how you’d fare if you were put in the chair? Here’s your chance to be that slum dog…

For $100: Which planet is closest to the Sun?
A) Earth
B) Venus
C) Mars
D) Mercury

For $1,000: In which year did the Titanic sink?
A) 1905
B) 1912
C) 1920
D) 1930

For $50,000: Which of the following men does not have a chemical element named after him?
A) Albert Einstein
B) Niels Bohr
C) Isaac Newton
D) Enrico Fermi

Answers below - prize money not actually included

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ANSWERS

1. Mercury
2. 1912
3. Isaac Newton