Given all the levers the Reserve Bank (RBA) has at its disposal to manipulate the economy, cynics could be forgiven for concluding that its ability to rein in inflation ‘blows big ones’. Early last week, we learned that headline inflation rose by 3.8% in October, up from 3.6% in the previous month. The trimmed mean - often a better indication of the underlying trend – also rose from 3.2% y
As the festive season arrives, retailers are getting ready for their busiest season of the year, and consumers are getting ready to find the best deals. When are consumers shopping? While many have only just begun to put up decorations and get into the spirit, research from Afterpay shows that Christmas is coming early, with 67% planning to complete most of their Christmas shopping between Septemb
The relationship between Jefferies and First Brands is drawing fresh scrutiny, with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) beginning an early-stage inquiry into the investment bank’s dealings with the now-bankrupt car parts group. According to people familiar with the matter, the regulator has asked Jefferies for details on whether investors in its Point Bonita fund were giv
United States markets closed higher on Friday, with major benchmarks posting gains during a shortened session following the Thanksgiving holiday. Thin trading volumes and strength in retail and technology shares supported sentiment, while expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut in December continued to build. the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 289.3 points or 0.6% to finish at 47,716
Images of tobacco stores destroyed by fire have become increasingly common on Australia’s television screens in recent years as a criminal turf war rages. The gang violence is not just damaging property and threatening the safety of the public, it has cost some of the nation’s biggest retailers billions of dollars in lost sales and the government $6.7 billion in lost excise. The growing illi
Qantas is celebrating the launch of its newest aircraft today, with its first two next-generation Airbus A321XLR aircraft taking off this morning for their first commercial flights. The two A321XLR aircraft, 'Great Ocean Road' (VH-OGA) and 'Outback Way' (VH-OGB), are operating their inaugural commercial services between Sydney and Melbourne and Sydney and Perth respectively. Qantas is the first airline in the Asia Pacific region to fly the new aircraft type, and the fourth airline globally. The A321XLR features a wider and longer cabin than previous generation narrowbody aircraft, with wider seats, higher ceilings, larger windows, fast and free Wi-Fi and space for around 60 per cent more bags than Qantas' Boeing 737s. The A321XLR use less fuel per seat than the 737 it replaces
QANTAS
Mascot, AustraliaThe latest CommBank View examines the shifting forces and underlying tensions shaping Australia’s economy, global markets, and the outlook for 2026. The Australian economy is at a crossroads heading towards 2026. There are a range of potential domestic and international scenarios that could rapidly shift the outlook. But CBA economists are still predicting a final RBA interest rate cut early in the year.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
AustraliaThe Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has determined that Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac) has completed a multi-year risk transformation program required by APRA and, consequently, APRA will remove the remaining $500 million capital add-on applied to Westpac. Following an APRA investigation in 2020, Westpac entered a Court Enforceable Undertaking (CEU) with APRA in December 2020 where it committed to remediating specific prudential weaknesses identified by APRA in its culture, governance and accountability, and address the root causes of these issues. In response, Westpac established the Customer Outcomes and Risk Excellence (CORE) Program and appointed an independent reviewer.
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority
Canberra, Australian Capital TerritorySQC quantum reservoir delivers deep learning performance with reduced training time and hardware demands. Telstra and Silicon Quantum Computing (SQC) today announced results from a joint initiative taking quantum computing out of the lab and into the telecommunications industry – marking a new milestone in Australia’s journey towards quantum-enabled digital infrastructure. Over 12 months a Telstra-SQC team explored how quantum machine learning could enhance Telstra’s response to a complex challenge in connectivity: predictive analytics. Advances in predictive network analytics have the potential to reshape customer experiences, from pre-empting and resolving network issues, to powering personalised services like dynamic bandwidth upgrades responding to real-time demand. Today, Telstra uses a combination of machine learning and AI to help predict network performance and detect changes in network patterns. These systems analyse metrics like latency and bandwidth to predict potential variances.
Telstra
Melbourne, Victoria
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JPMorgan Chase will build a new three million square foot tower in London’s Canary Wharf, it said today after the United Kingdom announced its autumn budget. The tower will contribute UK£9.9 billion to the local economy, the company said. It will accommodate up to 12,000 people, and act as JPMorgan Chase’s main headquarters in the United Kingdom. “London has been a trading and financial hub
Activist investor and Saba Capital founder Boaz Weinstein is calling for the removal of the entire board at the Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust (EWIT) Saba holds around 30% of shares in the Trust, which is led by Baillie Gifford. Weinstein released the letter on Thursday, which called for a overhaul of the entire board, after they have “objectively and categorically failed” to meet shar
Sales of Korean cosmetic products are creating a retail race in the United States as social media pushes the products to a new, Western audience. Sales of these cosmetic and skin care products, commonly known as k-beauty, have skyrocketed in the States as platforms like TikTok popularise them. New research found that k-beauty sales are forecast for a 37% increase this year, compared to 2024,
A new report by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) found that while there has been progress with the gender pay gap, women earn, on average, A$28,356 less than men a year. The report reveals that the gender gap fell from 21.8% last year to 21.8% this year, indicating that for every A$1 a man earns, on average, a woman earns 78.9 cents. WGEA CEO Mary Woodbridge said the gender pay ga
Copper’s paper price might be playing dead, but the physical market is screaming for units as the spread violently flips into backwardation. With a ravenous United States arbitrage draining global stocks and majors desperate for M&A, the junior sector is finally poised to capture the windfall of a market running on fumes. The London Metal Exchange (LME) cash copper price has been treading water
