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Christmas parties are in full flight and there'll be another round this week. Just remember the three key pieces of advice before you launch into drink number one.

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Pick & Scroll News
December 18, 2025

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Good morning. Christmas parties are in full flight and there'll be another round this week. Just remember the three key pieces of advice before you launch into drink number one:

  • Your manager definitely wants some unsolicited feedback.

  • Your favourite work colleague will appreciate you saying, ‘we should hang out more outside of work’ and then never follow up.

  • Jane from Finance definitely wants to be spun around on the dance floor at 6pm while the sun is still up.

Have fun out there!


All the headlines and more below...

AUSTRALIAN NEWS

Australia’s deficit forecast to reach $36.8B this year

  • Australia’s deficit is forecast to reach $36.8B this year despite a $5.4B improvement, as Treasurer Jim Chalmers emphasised restraint amid climbing social program costs. LINK

  • The federal government will add $5B to its battery rebate scheme after most of the original $2.3B allocation was used within 6 months due to high demand. LINK 

  • Fewer investors now own 3 or more properties as rising costs and tight regulations caused many landlords to reduce holdings. LINK 

  • Generation X began entering retirement in 2025 as around 475,000 Australians retired under 60, marking a demographic shift in superannuation access. LINK 

  • Tobacco tax revenue is projected to drop by $22.3B by 2028 as a growing black market threatens to reduce Australia’s excise income to near zero. LINK

  • 86% of Australians are willing to share their location and medical data to improve the Triple Zero (000) service through AI. LINK 

  • Australia’s $42B hospital construction boom is delivering above-average property returns, creating a little-known lucrative opportunity for investors. LINK 

  • Australia’s transition to renewables has faced setbacks as gas plant costs soared and wind projects stalled amid increasing peak energy demand. LINK

COMPANY NEWS

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank scrap mandatory return to office policy

  • Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has backtracked on a plan to force employees to spend the majority of their week in the office and scrapped its mandate entirely, leaving the decision up to individual managers and staff. LINK

  • Imperium Markets issued the first Australian tokenised corporate bond using Macropod’s AUDM stablecoin, completing 2 trades in 4 minutes as part of RBA’s Project Acacia. LINK

  • Treasury Wine Estates faces major financial damage after overpaying $1.6B for DAOU vineyards, mismanaging its long-term strategy. LINK

  • Amazon is negotiating a US$10B investment in OpenAI, with plans to spend US$38B on AWS cloud services over 7 years to accelerate AI development. LINK

  • KPMG will maintain stable investment and employment over the next year as it launches an $80M innovation push amid weak Australian economic growth. LINK 

  • Credit Corp has made a $385M non-binding bid to acquire Humm Group and may approach shareholders directly if the board rejects the offer. LINK 

  • Cochlear plans to maintain a 12% R&D investment as weak Australian GDP growth continues whilst only 3% of eligible patients globally have received cochlear implants. LINK 

CHART OF THE DAY

UNESCO heritage food around the world

ONE MORE SCROLL

Editor’s Pick: How your boss can use your remote-work tools to spy on you.

Draft Pick: Alex Carey's maiden Ashes ton rescues Australia in Adelaide elevating his status against tough England competition.

Odd Pick: Cats meow more than twice as much at men, and we can only guess why.

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TRIVIA


Can you match the 5 countries with their version of Father Christmas?


Countries: France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal

Names: Babbo Natale , Sinterklaas, Weihnachtsmann, Père Noël, Pai Natal


Answers below

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ANSWERS

France: Père Noël
Germany: Weihnachtsmann
Italy: Babbo Natale
Netherlands: Sinterklaas
Portugal: Pai Natal


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