🗞 Four-day work week?

Firefighter arrested for a string of arson attacks.

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Pick & Scroll News
September 02, 2024


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Good morning. As Australia tightens rules to prevent after-hours work, the UK government is going a step further, as they look to provide a law that would let people skip a full day.


In what looks like another win for the employee, British workers are to be given new rights to demand a four-day week in a law planned for coming months, making that long weekend in Barcelona even easier.


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All the headlines and more below...

AUSTRALIAN NEWS

Date night swapped for meal kits as consumers feel the pinch

  • More consumers are opting for meal kits at home instead of dining out as cost-of living pressures rise. LINK

  • Australia experienced the sharpest decline in disposable income among OECD countries over the past 2 years. LINK

  • Australia's economic growth is expected to slump to 0.9% for the June quarter, the slowest rate outside the pandemic since the 1990s recession. LINK

  • Around 17,000 superannuation accounts are in options that failed the APRA performance test. LINK

  • Consumers are hesitant to buy EVs due to the high upfront cost, limited charging facilities and the potential for power depletion. LINK

  • High-growth, high-risk superannuation funds topped performance charts last year due to booming sharemarkets. LINK

  • Scammers are targeting Australians with convincing fake myGov emails during tax season. LINK

  • South Australia announced reforms to its taxi and ridesharing sector, including a $200,000 licence buyback scheme for Adelaide taxi owners affected by Uber's entry into the market. LINK

  • Sydney's property market shows signs of a slowdown as preliminary auction clearance rates drop, with mortgage stress likely contributing to an increase in homes being put up for auction. LINK

  • The Sydney Gateway, a toll-free motorway connection linking the M8 and St Peters Interchange with Sydney's airports, opened on Sunday. LINK

  • VIC police officers will resume industrial action, including alerting motorists to speed cameras and painting slogans on police vehicles. LINK

  • Wage growth for construction workers in VIC and NSW has tripled over the past 2 decades, keeping pace with the "Big Mac index," while wages for teachers and public-sector medical doctors have lagged behind. LINK

GLOBAL NEWS

UK workers to gain right to four-day week

  • UK workers could soon gain the right to request a 4-day workweek under a new law that will allow employees to compress their weekly hours into 4 days. LINK

  • Italy is considering imposing a tourist tax of up to €25 per night for high-end hotel rooms to help cities manage over-tourism and raise additional revenue. LINK

  • China's home prices are expected to decline 8.5% in 2024, a faster rate than previously forecast. LINK

COMPANY NEWS

OpenAI says ChatGPT's weekly users have grown to 200 million

  • OpenAI announced that its ChatGPT chatbot now has over 200 million weekly active users, doubling its user base since last year. LINK

  • Apple and Nvidia are in talks to invest in OpenAI, with a new funding round potentially valuing the AI startup at $147B. LINK

  • Austal is turning to debt markets to finance a $440M expansion of its shipyards in Alabama. LINK

  • Australia Post is now negotiating with major banks to expand its banking services and roll out smart ATMs nationwide after reporting an $88.5M loss. LINK

  • Dell Technologies raised its annual revenue and profit forecasts, driven by strong demand for its AI-optimised servers. LINK

  • Goldman Sachs is planning to cut a few hundred jobs as part of its annual performance review. LINK

  • Lululemon cut its annual sales and profit forecasts as demand for its premium activewear slowed in the US. LINK

  • All MySuper superannuation funds passed APRA's Your Future, Your Super performance test for the first time, while 37 trustee-directed products failed. LINK

  • Nokia is reportedly exploring options for its mobile networks business, including a potential sale or merger with Samsung Electronics. LINK

  • Ramsay Health Care reports that cost-of-living pressures are driving privately insured patients to public hospitals to avoid gap payments. LINK

  • TPG Telecom plans to cut 120 jobs and reduce costs by $20M as it navigates a 40% drop in half-year profit amid increased competition and higher network investment costs. LINK

THE ODD PICK

Firefighter arrested for a string of arson attacks

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CHART OF THE DAY

Real gross household disposable income per capita

COUNTRY OF THE WEEK

Vietnam Independence Day


It's Vietnam Independence day today, commemorating the declaration of independence from French colonial rule in 1945. How well do you know the country that brought us Banh Mi?

  1. What is the capital city of Vietnam?

  2. What are the two colours on the Vietnamese flag?

  3. Which UNESCO World Heritage site in Vietnam is known for its emerald waters and thousands of limestone islands?

  4. Which major river flows through southern Vietnam?

  5. What is the name of the tunnel system used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War?


Answers below

ANSWERS

1. Hanoi
2. Red and yellow
3. Ha Long Bay
4. Mekong River
5. Cu Chi Tunnels