🗞️ Don't be like that

Good morning. A Turkish court has ruled that liking photos of members of the opposite sex on social media can be considered grounds for divorce.

Consider this a new warning for the digitally-active and maritally-strained: social media likes can be fatal.

All the headlines and more below...

AUSTRALIAN NEWS

Sydney housing affordability hits breaking point

• Sydney’s median house price is expected to reach $1.9M in 2026 while average-earning couples will struggle to buy within 30km of the CBD without additional financial assistance. LINK 

• Australia’s GDP rose 0.4% in the September quarter as the 2.1% annual growth rate was driven by public and business investment despite weak spending and inflation concerns. LINK 

• A growing number of young Australians are struggling to upgrade from units to houses as stamp duty and minimal equity limit property mobility. LINK 

• Data centre developers must now offset energy use via renewables or gas under the National AI Plan. LINK  

• More than 4M small businesses will benefit from the $20,000 instant asset write-off extension until 2026 as it provides immediate tax relief on eligible items. LINK 

• The federal government's first home buyer deposit scheme has caused mortgage application delays of up to 16 business days at major banks including CBA and NAB. LINK 

• Australia's capital cities, particularly Perth and Brisbane, have the world's lowest urban population densities among cities with over 1M residents. LINK 

• Australian borrowers historically lost money fixing mortgage rates but now see fixed-rate loans as appealing as interest rates are expected to rise. LINK  

• Women benefit more from working from home than men as unequal domestic roles contribute to mental health and flexibility gaps. LINK 

COMPANY NEWS

OpenAI targets Australian start-ups in AI push

• OpenAI is launching an Australian office and has offered free credits to VC-backed start-ups as it partners with Coles and CBA. LINK

• REA Group launched a new tool called RealAssist that uses OpenAI technology to give realestate.com.au users personalised insights. LINK  

• Chemist Warehouse has been ordered by the Fair Work Commission to enter a union agreement under new bargaining laws while potential pay rises affect 300 workers in SA. LINK  

• Qantas will merge its domestic operations with regional carrier QantasLink to streamline management while preparing for the arrival of 200 new planes as regional service guarantees remain unchanged. LINK  

• Golf Australia attracted 100,000 fans to the Australian Open under its new strategy combining influencers, entertainment and rising youth interest. LINK

• Qantas announced a leadership reshuffle with expanded executive roles while some job cuts are expected before Christmas but not for front-line staff. LINK 

• Fashion brand White Fox, valued at $2B, faces ASIC penalties after it failed to meet required financial reporting obligations. LINK 

• BYD Australia expanded its electric vehicle range, now offering every Chinese-made model to local buyers. LINK 

• Netflix and Amazon spent a record $414M on Australian content in FY25 as local content quotas approach. LINK

• Transurban reaffirmed its FY26 dividend guidance and increased its half-year payout to 34c per share following strong toll road performance. LINK

• Optus internet issues disrupted landline access to emergency services across QLD as the company works urgently to restore NBN services. LINK

• Google improved the Play Protect system to block spying apps that target banking data. LINK

CHART OF THE DAY

Household consumption accounts for half of the economy

ONE MORE SCROLL

Editor’s Pick: Adolescence lasts into 30s - new study shows four pivotal ages for your brain.

Draft Pick: 'One massive week': Kyrgios reveals final career goal.

Odd Pick: Car towed twice in 15 days before anyone noticed a dead body in the back seat.

AUSCORP RUNS

Trade your commute for a morning jog and a free GYG brekky burrito and drink to kick-start the day. This is a friendly, no-ego run before work with a small group so it stays social and safe. 

Even though we’re all out of free brekky burritos (they were all gone in the first 2 hours), you’re still more than welcome to join the run.

And if a GYG burrito feels like a bit much at 7AM on a Tuesday, we hear there may be some charcoal chicken making an appearance early next year.

TRIVIA

The 11-question quiz that appears below has a twist. What's the answer?

1. What is the most commonly used word in the English language?

2. What is the currency of Brazil?

3. ‘RESAWN’ is an anagram of what word?

4. How many humps does a Bactrian camel have?

5. Fill in the blank for this movie title: ‘__ Is Spinal Tap’.

6. What English word once referred to a peculiar or eccentric individual in the late 1700s?

7. If 376,006 = google and 7,734 = hell, then what does 51 equal?

8. The Spanish term ‘la’ most commonly refers to which English word?

9. What building is home to the US Congress?

10. Fill in the blank word in this Steinbeck book title, ‘__ Mice and Men’.

11. What country name translates as ‘land of the long white cloud’?

Answers below

OUR SOCIALS

ANSWERS

Answer: Wellington.

Each of the answers, in order, spells the sentence: ‘The real answer two (to) this quiz is the capitol (capital) of New Zealand’.

1. What is the most commonly used word in the English language? THE
2. What is the currency of Brazil? REAL
3. ‘RESAWN’ is an anagram of what word? ANSWER
4. How many humps does a Bactrian camel have? TWO (TO)
5. Fill in the blank for this movie title: ‘__ Is Spinal Tap’. THIS
6. What English word once referred to a peculiar or eccentric individual in the late 1700s? QUIZ
7. If 376,006 = google and 7,734 = hell, then what does 51 equal? IS (based on typing the numbers into a calculator then turning it upside down)
8. The Spanish term ‘la’ most commonly refers to which English word? THE
9. What building is home to the US Congress? CAPITOL (CAPITAL)
10. Fill in the blank word in this Steinbeck book title, ‘__ Mice and Men’. OF
11. What country name translates as ‘land of the long white cloud’? NEW ZEALAND

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