🗞️ Memory lane

Good morning. Apple has raised prices on MacBooks and iPads, saying it can no longer absorb the soaring cost of memory chips being driven by the AI data centre boom.

The iPhone is untouched for now, but Apple's cheapest laptop just went from $870 to $1,000 months after launch.

In case you wanted to see just how far technology has come, here is a video of a farmer buying a Mac laser printer in 1995 for US$1900.

All the headlines and more below...

AUSTRALIA BANS PRICE-GOUGING THAT NO ONE CAN DEFINE

From July 1, Australia becomes the first country with a supermarket price-gouging ban. Only Coles and Woolworths qualify - they're the only retailers over $30B revenue. Aldi made $13.9B last year. Metcash (IGA) pulled $10.5B.

The ACCC defines price-gouging as "significantly excessive" compared to cost plus a "reasonable margin." Neither term is defined in the legislation. The regulator decides case-by-case based on "relevant circumstances." No comparable law exists anywhere - Europe targets pharma giants, the US only activates anti-gouging during declared emergencies.

The ACCC has no preconceived idea what it expects to find. It plans to wait for complaints and cross-check pricing data. Both supermarkets noted that despite multiple inquiries, including a year-long ACCC investigation that called them an oligopoly - no one's found evidence of price-gouging yet. The watchdog says deterrence is the point even if it finds nothing.

AUSTRALIAN NEWS

• The federal government is preparing tougher laws that double maximum fines to $99M for big tech companies that fail to enforce Australia’s under-16 social media ban. LINK

• Australian musicians including Paul Dempsey have discovered that millions of songs and novels, featuring works by Kylie Minogue and others, have been scraped to train AI without permission. LINK

• The Australian Financial Crimes Exchange has nearly completed a broker portal that will register non-compliant mortgage brokers as major banks confront more than US$4B in suspected home loan fraud. LINK

• The federal government introduced a world-first ban on supermarket price-gouging targeting Coles and Woolworths, as only these very large retailers exceed $30B in revenue. LINK

• The Australian government has begun enforcing online safety codes that require Google and Bing to use reasonable age determination to shield children from harmful content or face US$49.5M fines per breach. LINK

• The federal underlying budget deficit narrowed by half to $10.9B by May 31 in FY25 as delayed spending and soaring tax revenue improve the fiscal outlook. LINK

• Cotality data is expected to show national dwelling values fell in June as federal budget cuts to investor tax breaks and rising borrowing costs have accelerated housing downturns in major cities. LINK

• Flight Centre reported a 36% weekly jump in bookings with Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad after DFAT eased its travel advisory, as Middle East carriers progressively restore Australian services. LINK

CBA CUTS RATES AS MORTGAGE APPLICATIONS CRASH 11% IN A MONTH

Commonwealth Bank dropped rates up to 8 basis points after mortgage applications fell 11% in June compared to last year - matching May's decline following Labor's negative gearing changes. CBA's 30-year, $800,000 owner-occupier loan now sits at 6.15%, down from 6.22%. That's still above Macquarie's 6.09% and ANZ's 6.14%, but sharper than Westpac at 6.18% and NAB at 6.28%.

CBA has lost market share every month this year through April while Macquarie climbed past 7%. Investor applications collapsed 20% in the three weeks after the budget. Barrenjoey says if rivals match the cuts to protect share, mortgage returns could fall below cost of capital. If they don't, their loan books shrink.

CBA is betting a price cut buys momentum in a contracting market while everyone else has the same mortgage book to defend.

COMPANY NEWS

• KPMG has repeatedly called the employee at the centre of its audit leaks scandal a whistleblower as he seeks confirmation of protected status under the Corporations Act or Taxation Administration Act. LINK

• Canva has launched Canva Grow 2.0, an AI-powered creative marketing automation platform, building on MagicBrief and recent acquisitions including Ortto, SimTheory, Doohly and Mango AI. LINK

• Property Investors Alliance is under a months-long probe at NAB, as several of its entities have been referred to AUSTRAC by CBA over suspected financial crimes. LINK

• Airwallex lifted its valuation to US$11B after raising US$320M in new funding, as AUSTRAC orders an external audit into suspected financial-crimes compliance breaches. LINK

• KPMG has faced intense criticism during a 10-hour parliamentary hearing over its lawyer-driven, uncooperative response to a whistleblower, which observers compared unfavourably to the PwC scandal. LINK

• Ampol secured a 5-year ACCC exemption from Australia’s new cash mandate as it triples its cashless U-Go fuel network, drawing criticism from Cash Welcome. LINK

• Culture Amp has cut 70 jobs, or 9% of its workforce, 7 months after axing 60 roles, as new CEO Caroline Rawlinson realigns the company’s strategic priorities. LINK

• White Fox reported FY24 revenue of $425.5M and net profit of $104.4M, up 133% year-on-year, and paid founders a $76M dividend. LINK

• CDC has warned that speculative developers are clogging data, water and electricity project pipelines during the AI-linked data centre boom, creating risks from inexperienced “cowboy” operators. LINK

• Nine Entertainment and Foxtel have agreed in principle to a record $5B NRL broadcast deal to 2034 worth about $700M a year across Australia and New Zealand. LINK

• WiseTech has patched a serious CargoWise WebTracker security flaw with no signs of exploitation as it plans to sacks 2000 staff and replaces them with AI amid rising cyber attack concerns. LINK

2026 AUSCORP SALARY SURVEY

Since late 2022, your employer can no longer stop you discussing your pay. But most people still have no idea what the person next to them earns. We're trying to fix that.

This is our biggest survey yet and the more people who contribute, the harder it gets for anyone to be underpaid without knowing it. Anonymous, takes 2 minutes, and the results go straight back to the community.

CHART OF THE DAY

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ONE MORE SCROLL

Editor’s Pick: Ibrahim Mahama unveils massive textile commission at Art Basel.

Draft Pick: Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup.

Doctor’s Pick: Vaping likely causes lung and oral cancer.

BRAINTEASER

In this number pyramid, each block is equal to the sum of the 2 numbers beneath it. Your challenge is to fill in the missing numbers.

Clue: The number in the bottom-right block is 11.

Answer below

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