🗞️ State of the art

Good morning. When thieves stole $100 million in jewels from the world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris, they shocked the art world and revealed a serious digital weakness.

French media reports say the museum used its own name, Louvre, as a password for its surveillance system.

$100 million down, it must be time to change the password to Louvre1.

All the headlines and more below...

AUSTRALIAN NEWS

Consumers feeling merry in time for a Christmas splurge

• Australian consumer sentiment turned positive for the first time since early 2022 as the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index jumped 12.8% to 103.8, reflecting growing optimism despite inflation and rate concerns. LINK

• WA energy retailers including state-owned Synergy collectively overcharged customers tens of millions via auto-payments from closed accounts, affecting hundreds of thousands. LINK 

• Influencer engagement on TikTok has surged across generations in Australia as Boomers now favour finance and news while Gen Z prefers entertainment. LINK

• Frustrated Australian shoppers face systemic courier issues as complaints rise over mishandled deliveries with few options beyond retailer reporting. LINK

• NSW landlords could face fines of $165,000 or 1 year in jail under new laws as the government targets black market tobacco and vape sales by tenants. LINK

• The government will expand NDIS Commission powers to ban fraudulent auditors and restrict dodgy providers as it aims to reduce abuse in the $50B scheme. LINK

• Australian exports to the US hit a record $6.9B in Q3 with a 20% rise, as Trump-era tariffs unexpectedly failed to dampen cross-Pacific trade. LINK

• Russian misinformation networks are infiltrating Australian media and supply chains as they deploy AI disinformation and shadow shipping. LINK 

COMPANY NEWS

BHP must compensate workers over Christmas rostering

• BHP received a $100,000 fine for scheduling workers on Christmas without consent, as a new legal precedent requires employer approval for public holiday shifts. LINK

• CBA posted a $2.6B quarterly cash profit as growing home loans and deposits offset rising costs and loan impairments. LINK 

• Nine News is cutting 50 jobs including weather presenter Amber Sherlock as it reduces broadcasting and digital costs across the business. LINK

• Bendigo and Adelaide Bank cut 158 jobs as a tech restructure increased costs and missed earnings forecasts despite higher net interest margins. LINK 

• Megaport agreed to acquire US firm Latitude.sh for up to $459M as it raised $200M for expansion into India and beyond. LINK 

• Life360 announced a $183.8M acquisition of ad tech firm Nativo to expand its ad business as it reported record Q3 results. LINK

• Rokt reached a $7.9B valuation as profitable growth and IPO interest in the US boosted investor demand. LINK  

• Anduril Australia now employs over 250 staff as it boosts autonomous submarine production under a $1.7B contract with the Australian Navy, and plans to hire hundreds more. LINK 

• Google launched the $2699 Pixel 10 Pro Fold as it emphasised durability with IP68 water resistance over thinness despite a heavier build. LINK  

CHART OF THE DAY

The world's creative export giants

ONE MORE SCROLL

Editor’s Pick: Do you sleep in a "high stress" position?

Draft Pick: Aussie legend Greg Chappell pinpoints biggest flaw in plan for Marnus Labuschagne to open in Ashes.

Odd Pick: Minister defends decision to only consult pork industry on new pig welfare reforms.

TOGETHER WITH

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BRAINTEASERS

Listed here are 4 dad jokes. Your challenge is to work out the missing ‘punchline’ word/s in each joke. The number of letters in each missing punchline word/s is written in brackets.

1. What did the buffalo say when his son left for college? ‘_ _ _ _ _’(5).

2. Did you hear about the kidnapping at school? It’s okay, he ‘_ _ _ _’(4) up.

3. What is the best thing about Switzerland? I don’t know, but the flag is a big ‘_ _ _ _’(4).

4. What is orange and sounds like a parrot? A ‘_ _ _ _ _ _’ (6).

Answers below

OUR SOCIALS

ANSWERS

1. ‘BISON’.
2. ‘WOKE’
3. ‘PLUS’
4. ‘CARROT’

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