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- Sydney to Melbourne flights, Russians in Phuket, and Booking.com
Sydney to Melbourne flights, Russians in Phuket, and Booking.com
Dior releases a perfume for babies, Optus customers hit with phishing scams, and concrete prices have doubled..
Pick & Scroll News
November 13, 2023
One Read, All Perspectives
Australian News
A High Court ruling will see immigrant detainees released due to indefinite detention deemed unlawful. LINK
Aussie borrowing power has decreased by nearly 30%, after 13 interest rate hikes. LINK
Despite a dip in property prices in 2022 due to successive interest rate hikes, a blend of limited stock and strong demand has propelled prices back up in 2023. LINK
The Sydney-Melbourne route emerged as the highest revenue-generating flight route globally, amassing $1.9B revenue in H1 2023, almost double the pre-pandemic level, despite a drop in passenger numbers. LINK
There’s been a 50% surge in concrete prices since 2020 with a 70% leap in overall warehouse costs due to Victoria's $78.5B infrastructure pipeline. LINK
Australia’s high prevalence of autism in children, among the highest globally, is suggested to be plausibly linked to financial incentives provided by the NDIS. LINK
The average spending on streaming services by Australians has decreased by $5 a month compared to the previous year, as price hikes and the proliferation of streaming platforms drive users towards digital piracy. LINK
The RBA reckons inflation will remain at 4.5% until year-end and not dip below 3% until late 2025. LINK
Global News
A surge of Russians relocating to the holiday island of Phuket is causing a property price boom and sparking local resentment, as affluent Russians seek refuge from political unrest back home. LINK
Australia extends a refuge offer to Tuvalu, a Pacific island nation impacted by rising sea levels due to climate change. LINK
Company News
10.2M Optus customers are facing phishing scams targeting those seeking compensation. LINK
News Corp saw rising revenue and profitability to digital assets, while projecting further positive trends. LINK
Suncorp Bank's home lending portfolio contracted by $64 million in the September quarter amidst intensified mortgage competition. LINK
A cyberattack on DP World Australia left tens of thousands of shipping containers stranded at ports. LINK
Superfund HESTA incurs a $48,600 fine for utilising outdated figures in marketing, which the corporate watchdog claims could mislead customers regarding its product performance. LINK
Google is reportedly in talks to invest a significant amount in Character.AI, aiming to bolster the chatbot startup's capability to meet user demand. LINK
Booking.com resolves a tax dispute in Italy with a settlement of 94 million euros ($100.25 million). LINK
Allianz reports a 30% decline in third-quarter net profit to US$2.16B due to claims from natural catastrophes. LINK
OpenAI intends to collaborate with organisations to generate both public and private datasets for training AI models. LINK
The European Union sets a November 30 deadline for YouTube and TikTok to provide detailed measures on child protection against illegal and harmful content. LINK
Other News
Dior unveils a $441 fragrance, Bonne Etoile, for babies, diverging from traditional perfume compositions by employing 98% "natural-origin" ingredients. LINK
The recent Optus outage on Wednesday significantly hampered Australians' access to crucial over-the-phone services like Lifeline, evidenced by a 20% decrease in calls to Lifeline during the outage hours. LINK