🗞️ The wealth factor

Good morning. A study of 218,000 people across nearly 150 countries found about 1 in 5 feel lonely on a typical day.

Loneliness sits at 17.8% in Australia and 15.7% across high-income countries generally, compared to 31.3% in low-income ones.

And despite everyone calling it an epidemic, researchers found no clear worsening trend, with rates actually falling in wealthy countries.

All the headlines and more below…

VICTORIA TO SPEND ONE IN EVERY TEN DOLLARS ON INTEREST BY 2030

Victoria is on track to spend 10% of its revenue servicing debt by 2030. The state's debt interest bill is rising faster than revenue growth, squeezing what's left for services and capital works.

Gross state debt across Australia has jumped from $266B in 2018-19 to a projected $650B in 2026-27, driven by pandemic-era spending, public sector expansion and cost-of-living relief. Victoria accounts for a disproportionate share of that increase.

Moody's warns the Middle East conflict is adding pressure through higher fuel, freight, energy and imported materials costs, which flow into procurement, service delivery and infrastructure expenses. Persistent inflation is also pushing up wages and contractor costs.

AUSTRALIAN NEWS

• Australia’s major banks are cutting ‘offshorable’ and ‘automatable’ roles while paying more for scarce senior risk and compliance experts as banks, insurers and super funds compete for limited talent. LINK

• About 13 million bedrooms lie empty each night as older Australians delay downsizing due to limited affordable options and worsening housing supply constraints. LINK

• Major banks in Australia are warning that widespread fraudulent loan applications are escalating and are urging faster ATO data sharing under the consumer data right to securely verify borrowers’ incomes. LINK

• Australian motorists and businesses are facing sharply higher fuel and input costs as Brent crude surges above US$90 a barrel, fuel excise savings unwind and geopolitical conflict disrupts oil supply. LINK

• ASIC has secured $480M in civil penalties in the first half of 2026, as total FY26 penalties reached $830M and $643.5M is being repaid to consumers. LINK

KMART CUT HIRING TIME FROM 44 DAYS TO 11.8 DAYS AFTER REPLACING HUMAN SCREENING WITH AI CHATBOT

The Wesfarmers-owned retailer now processes roughly 600,000 applications a year across more than 450 stores - a volume its human recruitment teams could only partially screen before.

Chief people and corporate affairs officer Tristram Gray says the old CV-based process meant thousands of applicants never received a proper review. The chatbot now handles initial screening for every role, shortlisting candidates before a human recruiter steps in.

Gray says early internal audits suggest the system has reduced screening bias rather than introduced it, contrary to his initial concern. Kmart has not disclosed which vendor supplies its chatbot or how the tool defines a strong candidate.

COMPANY NEWS

• Google is developing a new server chip called Frozen v2 that embeds elements of its Gemini AI model into hardware to ease an AI computing capacity crunch. LINK

• PayPal has received an US$53B take-private offer from Stripe and Advent International as its growth slows and competition intensifies. LINK

• KPMG Australia has delayed board discussions on appointing a new CEO to focus on a scandal over alleged unredacted Telstra audit leaks that insiders say is already costing major clients. LINK

• Qantas is facing potential strikes by its 1,700 long-haul pilots as unions hold a protected-action ballot over a rejected pay deal that included a 2-year wage freeze. LINK

• Domino's maintained its annual sales forecasts as a challenging macroeconomic environment and heightened competition in the broader QSR category pressure growth. LINK

• AliExpress has been fined €550M by the European Commission under the Digital Services Act for failing to tackle illegal, unsafe and counterfeit products on its platform. LINK

• Telstra chief Vicki Brady has told a Senate inquiry that the telco’s partnership with Starlink will allow Australians in mobile blackspots to text contacts to reach triple-0 indirectly. LINK

• IREN has signed new multi-year AI contracts worth US$2.8B as it targets annualised revenue above US$4B this year with 85% under contract and plans 1.2GW capacity in 2025. LINK

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CHART OF THE DAY

2026 World Cup shatters attendance record

ONE MORE SCROLL

Editor’s Pick: Josh Kerr revealed that after breaking the world record for the men’s one mile, he went for a beer, struggled to sleep and then went for another run just hours later. LINK

Draft Pick: Spain has secured a historic World Cup title with a 106th-minute extra-time winner from Ferran Torres over 10-man Argentina, while Leandro Paredes sparked an ugly post-match fracas. LINK

Doctor’s Pick: A global study led by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute has found antibiotic resistance in childhood infections increased across all regions between 2004 and 2022, with last-line resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella projected to reach 82% and 35% by 2035. LINK

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