It was a week where the world's largest economy couldn't keep the lights on yet again, AI companies burned through billions while everyone applauded - yet again, and copper finally made Washington's critical minerals shortlist. The world witnessed the longest government shutdown ever grinding into its sixth week and a US$38 billion OpenAI deal with Amazon, as the markets priced in growth and price
Tesla shareholders voted in favour of a US$1 trillion (A$1.534 trillion) compensation plan for Elon Musk, which could give the world’s richest man the largest corporate payout in history and potentially make him the first ever trillionaire. While the pay package was initially opposed by several high-profile investors, 75% of investors voted in favour of the plan, in a testament to shareholders'
Nancy Pelosi, the only female speaker of the United States House of Representatives, is set to retire from Congress. Pelosi, age 85, announced this week in a social media video that she would not be seeking re-election after a 38-year Congressional career. Pelosi was first elected in 1987 and went on to make history as the House’s first-ever female speaker in 2007. She is still the only w
Australian superannuation funds generated a 1.3% return for median balanced options in the accumulation phase in October as Australian shares improved, according to SuperRatings estimates. The super research house said this was the seventh consecutive month of positive returns and the sixth time in the last 25 years that the first four months of the financial year had delivered positive returns
With fund inflows tending to concentrate on the same rogues gallery of large-cap names, being a contrarian investor and not following the money trail - into already crowded trades - may be a productive strategy worth pursuing. With heavy passive fund inflows having reshaped Australia’s equity market over the last decade, InvestmentMarkets CEO Darren Connolly believes there’s never been a better
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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Fitness company Peloton have been hit with a safety recall for 833,000 of its exercise bikes, with two injuries reported. The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued the recall for the original Bike+ models, which start at AU$3,899, due to seat posts breaking and detaching during use. This is the second time Peloton has faced a recall due to issues with its seat post and the fifth recall o
A new deal between major pharmaceutical companies and the Trump administration will see the price of GLP-1 weight‑loss drugs lowered significantly under Medicare and Medicaid. The deal was struck between President Donald Trump, Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk and American company Eli Lilly. It will see price cuts for the drugs, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, of hundreds of dollars for those on
Expedia beat estimates on revenue and earnings per share driven by strong business-to-business bookings growth, with shares surging by more than 15%. Revenue grew by 9% year-over-year to US$4.41 billion, above Zacks estimates of $4.3 billion. Adjusted earnings per share were $7.57, up from $6.13 and passing estimates of $7.21. “Our strong third quarter results exceeded both our top and botto
The REA Group delivered strong yield growth in Q1 2026, with revenue rising 4% year over year. Overall revenue grew from A$413 million the same time last year ot $429 million and EBITDA grew 5% to $254 million. This was driven by a 6% increase in Australian revenue to $405 million, despite residential listings declining by 8%. Residential revenue alone grew by 4% year-over-year, coming at
Airbnb shares rose in after-market trading after the online accommodation marketplace reported flat profits for the third quarter of the 2025 financial year (Q3 FY25). The company said net income was US$1.374 billion ($2.11 billion) in the three months ended 30 September 2025, compared with $1.368 billion in the previous corresponding period (pcp). Revenue increased 10% to $4.095 billion due
