Electric Trucks, French Bugs and Country Road

Australian News

• Home prices rose an average of 0.8% across AU in August.

• There is an egg shortage in AU due to bird flu, floods and fires with Aussies consuming 18M eggs/day.

• In the last 3 months, the premium end (top 25%) of the Sydney housing market grew only 2.2% in value.

• Nearly 1 in 5 borrowers are shelling out more than 30% of their income on mortgage repayments.

• 68% of workers find that they are more efficient 4 out of 5 days.

• Farmland investment returns are at their lowest levels in years due to slowing capital growth and weaker commodity prices.

• AU Gov to target the exploitation of student visas by education agents and colleges in new crackdown.

• NSW is likely to run out of landfill entirely within 10 years as councils plead for more state funding.

• Construction sector administrations jumped 38% in the year to September 10, a 255% spike from 2021.

• Chinese home buyers purchased $3.4B worth of approved AU residential real estate purchases over the 2022-23 year, up more than 40% from last year.

• Battery-powered mine trucks would haul less ore and spend less time on the road than diesel-fuelled alternatives.

• AU coal shipments fell more than 20% in August, the lowest in at least 5 years out of the Port of Newcastle, the world’s busiest coal export terminal.

• ACCC calls for a review into childcare subsidies as Aussie couples with 2 children spent 16% of their net household income on net childcare costs in 2022, compared to the OECD average of 9%.

Global News

• The royal family's official website went down after it was targeted in a cyber-attack by Russian hackers.

• The World Bank cuts its forecast for China’s growth in 2024 as China’s policymakers set one of the lowest growth targets in decades for 2023, of about 5%.

• France has accused Australia of undermining its relationship with NATO and deterrence against Russia in Ukraine, by supporting a UN treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons.

• France is trying to fix a bedbug scourge before the Olympics with reports of bugs in trains, cinemas and airports.

• The US narrowly dodged a government shutdown on Sunday with Biden signing off on government funding for an extra 45 days.

• China's lottery ticket sales soar amid a weak economy, dismal job prospects and youth unemployment.

Company News

• Bank of Queensland will cut 250 jobs to improve systems and complete the integration of ME Bank.

• Westpac doubled the average growth of its competitors in August with its mortgage portfolio now worth 21.4% of the market.

• Country Road Group, owner of Witchery and Mimco, has unveiled plans to invest up to $82M to improve operations, open new stores and potentially expand overseas.

• ANZ Bank had a major technology outage on Friday.

• Apple identifies issues causing overheating in the iPhone 15 including a bug in the iOS 17 software.

• Meta’s new AI assistant is trained using information found on public Facebook and Instagram posts.

Other Picks

• Collingwood have claimed their 16th AFL premiership while the Panthers won the 2023 NRL Grand Final.

• Japan startup develops ‘Gundam’-like robot with $3M price tag.

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