🗞️ It's a bird...

Good morning. A near-Earth "asteroid" recently spotted by astronomers poring through telescope data has turned out to be Elon Musk's car.

The International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center announced the discovery of a new asteroid on January 2nd, however confirmed the following day it was in fact Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster.

We have no idea why Musk has a car in space but apparently it has a 22% chance of hitting earth, within a million years or so.

All the headlines and more below...

AUSTRALIAN NEWS

Wholesale energy prices soar as coal falters and a lack of connection hinders the grid

• Wholesale electricity prices surged 80% in late 2024 due to coal outages, high temperatures and limited grid connections. LINK

• A 282% tobacco excise rate increase has driven consumers to black market cigarettes, reducing government revenue to $9.7B. LINK

• Three-quarters of Australians are dissatisfied with the availability of affordable housing in 2024, compared to a median of 50% in the OECD. LINK

• Economics degrees are losing popularity as students discover formal qualifications may not enhance corporate finance careers. LINK

• Rooftop solar growth delivered 46% renewable energy in the National Electricity Market during the December quarter. LINK 

• APRA will refresh its governance framework for financial institutions in FY25 following recent controversies. LINK

GLOBAL NEWS

Meta to pay US$25 million to settle Trump's 2021 lawsuit over suspended accounts

• Meta Platforms said it has agreed to pay about US$25 million to settle a lawsuit by President Donald Trump over the company's suspension of his accounts after the Jan 6, 2021 attack at the US Capitol. LINK

COMPANY NEWS

Class action hits Lovisa over wage disputes

• Lovisa faces a Federal Court class action over allegations of exploiting young staff between FY19-FY25, including mandatory purchase of company jewellery and improper meal break provisions. LINK

• Amazon has partnered with NAB to launch PayTo, a direct bank payment system that reduces credit card fees. LINK

• NAB and CBA continue to face challenges with mule accounts despite significant investment in scam prevention. LINK

• TPG has signed a $1.6B network-sharing deal with Optus to expand Vodafone's coverage to 98.4% of Australians. LINK

• Microsoft and OpenAI are investigating potential unauthorised data access by DeepSeek through OpenAI's API. LINK

• SoftBank is negotiating a US$40B investment in OpenAI while planning a US$500B AI data centre project. LINK

• Toyota sold 10.8 million vehicles in 2024, remaining the world's top-selling automaker for a 5th straight year. LINK

• The Fair Work Ombudsman has found Hamilton Island Enterprises must repay $28M to thousands of underpaid staff over a decade. LINK

• Qantas will update its staff uniforms for the first time since 2013 as part of its brand transformation. LINK

• REA Group has achieved a $32.6B market value following optimistic property listing forecasts with listings at highest level since 2017. LINK

• Microsoft generated a Q2 revenue of $69.6B while Azure cloud growth slowed to 31%. LINK

• Meta has exceeded quarterly revenue expectations at $48.39B whilst planning $119B in AI and metaverse investments. LINK

• Tesla has posted Q4 results below earnings expectations whilst maintaining strong after-hours trading performance. LINK

• Zip has delivered a record transaction volume of $3.4B and 50% growth in cash earnings to $35.3M for Q2. LINK

• Appen delivered a quarterly revenue of $66.7M due to increased demand for large language models. LINK

• Country Road Group has reported a 6.2% sales decline during late 2024 due to operational challenges. LINK

• Treasury Wine Estates has benefitted from a 34% yearly increase in Australian wine exports. LINK

• Perpetual has grown its assets under management to $230.2B as favourable currency movements contributed $15.8B. LINK

• A UK firm has acquired Brisbane cybersecurity startup Assetnote for $100M following its success with Qantas and Atlassian. LINK

CHART OF THE DAY

The looming retirement crisis

ONE MORE SCROLL

Editor’s Pick: Stare at smokers to stop them, Hong Kong health chief urges public.

Draft Pick: Australia Women’s cricket team sweat on Ellyse Perry’s fitness after dominant day against England.

Odd Pick: Elementary school student goes permanently blind after eating too many chicken nuggets.

TOGETHER WITH

TRIVIA

Brexit: Breakup or Breakthrough? Test Your Memory!

On this day in 2020, the UK formally left the EU, ending 47 years of membership. How well do you remember Brexit?

1. On what date did the UK hold the Brexit referendum?
   A) 23rd June 2016

   B) 31st October 2019

   C) 29th March 2017

   D) 1st January 2021

2. What percentage of voters chose to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum?

   A) 47.8%

   B) 50.8%

   C) 51.9%

   D) 52.6%

3. Who was the UK Prime Minister when the Brexit referendum took place?

   A) Boris Johnson

   B) Theresa May

   C) David Cameron

   D) Gordon Brown

4. What was one of the most famous slogans used by the Leave campaign during the Brexit referendum?

   A) "Make Britain Great Again"

   B) "Take Back Control"

   C) "A Stronger Britain"

   D) "Unite and Prosper"

5. What was the official name of the final Brexit trade agreement signed between the UK and the EU?

   A) Brexit Withdrawal Agreement

   B) EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

   C) UK Independence Deal

   D) Brussels Trade Pact

Answers below

OUR SOCIALS

ANSWERS

1. A) 23rd June 2016
2. C) 51.9%
3. C) David Cameron
4. B) "Take Back Control"
5. B) EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here