Job Shortages, Japan, and Spotify Books

Australian News

• VIC Government will enforce an extra 1% tax on vacant land to areas outside Melbourne and abandoned plots.

• 36% of roles saw worker shortages over the last year, up from 31% in 2022, with the most shortages seen in the health sector, where 82% of roles lacked workers. Almost 70% of information technology jobs were deemed short of workers followed by design, engineering, science and transport at 54%.

• 30-day late payments on prime quality home loans was 1.38% in Q2, up from 1.25% in the March quarter.

• Airfares will not fall until mid-2024 with low capacity keeping prices high and regional routes most affected.

• VIC Government blew another $40M on cancelled consultants and venues while $1.3M was already spent on lawyers after the fallout of its Commonwealth Games cancellation.

• Migration agents working on behalf of temporary workers seeking to come to Australia will face tough new background and character checks as part of the AU Government’s crackdown on the exploitation of visa holders.

Global News

• Japan’s property sector sees ‘golden period’ as foreign investments surge 45%.

• Biden cancels US$9B in student debt for 125,000 borrowers.

Company News

• CBA’s shrinking mortgage book fell for the second month in a row in August, by 0.3% to $543M.

• LinkedIn will use AI to help firms find job candidates.

• Qantas-owned Network Aviation saw 210 pilots walk off the job, causing mass flight disruptions.

• Airbnb is plotting a push into longer-term housing rentals and a renewed drive on experiences.

• Investment company Challenger signs its first Australian sport sponsorship deal in its 38-year history, in golf.

• Westpac to expand South Pacific presence, deciding against the sale of its PNG and Fiji banking businesses.

• WeWork will close 2 of its Sydney offices.

• Block to cut 1% if its 12K global workforce.

• Netflix plans to raise prices after actors strike ends.

• Meta's Instagram and Facebook to charge EU users US$14 for its ad-free service.

• Spotify ups audiobook push by giving its premium subscribers access to ~1.5 audiobooks each month.

• FIFA is considering lifting its ban on Russia.

• Amazon used a secret algorithm to raise prices.

• TikTok halts e-commerce service in Indonesia following ban.

This Week’s All Star Picks

• Another 550K Australians will roll off fixed mortgages onto higher variable rates in the coming months.

• German sandal maker Birkenstock to IPO at up to $14.2B.

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

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

• 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.

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

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

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