Bite-sized business news from Australia and around the world
Anthropic’s new legal AI tool spooked investors, wiping billions off legal publishers as AI threatens traditional research models.
LIV Golf has burned billions backing its PGA disruption, with profitability still years away despite selling team stakes.
AustralianSuper records its first net outflows as easier switching and weaker performance push members to shop around.
Franchise-heavy films are underperforming, raising fears the US box office may miss its US$10bn target as audiences grow pickier.
Ahead of a potential IPO, SpaceX is absorbing xAI and X, unifying Elon Musk’s AI, data and space ambitions under one roof.
The RBA lifted rates to 3.85% after inflation spiked, as rising household spending continues to defy cost-of-living pressure.
Paramount+ plans a TikTok-style short-form feed to boost daily engagement as streaming platforms blur with social apps.
Australian music now makes up under 10% of streams as algorithm-driven platforms favour global artists over local acts.
Nine is selling radio and regional TV while buying QMS Media, reshaping its portfolio toward faster-growing ad formats.
Tesla’s revenue fell for the first time, but investors are backing its pivot toward AI, robots and autonomous vehicles over car sales.
Meta posted record earnings and is doubling down on AI, committing over $100bn a year to stay competitive in the race for superintelligence.
An activist investor is pressuring CoStar to retreat from residential property — a move that could quietly weaken Domain and benefit REA.
Gold and silver have hit record highs as investors flee fiat currencies and pile into hard assets amid debt and inflation fears.
ByteDance has sold TikTok’s US business to American investors at a steep discount to avoid a shutdown and keep the app alive.
Kayo has lifted prices 15% as new owner DAZN shifts from subscriber growth to squeezing more revenue from locked-in sports fans.
Saks Global filed for bankruptcy after rising debt and falling sales, leaving luxury brands unpaid and spotlighting the decline of department stores.
Ryanair turned a public spat with Elon Musk into a viral “idiot sale,” using outrage-driven attention to boost bookings and sales.
Australia’s Big Four are pocketing billions from $320bn of zero-interest “lazy deposits,” quietly boosting profits even as loan growth slows.
Porsche’s global sales fell 10% in 2025 as China demand slumped and EV delays wiped €1.8bn from earnings.
OpenAI is testing ads inside ChatGPT’s free and Go tiers, marking a major shift in how the $500B AI giant plans to make money.
ACSI’s new guidelines signal a shift in how $1.9 trillion of super money engages with ASX companies, refocusing on value over virtue.
ACSI’s new guidelines signal a shift in how $1.9 trillion of super money engages with ASX companies, refocusing on value over virtue.
Rio Tinto and Glencore are in early merger talks, eyeing scale and copper growth, but investors aren’t fully sold.
Wikipedia is getting paid by Big Tech for AI training data, as rising scraping costs force a rethink of “free” content.
Bonds’ owner is selling its Australian brands after a profit slump, as new parent Gildan reshapes the global business.
ChatGPT just became the most-downloaded free iPhone app of the year, signalling that AI assistants are shifting from novelty to everyday habit.
ASIC fines 12 major private companies for failing to lodge audited accounts, after finding more than 70% of large proprietary firms non-compliant.
Australia’s under-16 social media ban is now live, forcing platforms to verify ages or face $50m fines as teens flock to alternative apps.
Airwallex doubled revenue to $1B in a year and raised $330M at an $8B valuation, using momentum to boost optionality... not because it needed cash.
Paramount has gatecrashed Netflix’s $72B deal for WBD with a massive $108B hostile bid, leaving shareholders to choose the final winner.
The RBA held the cash rate at 3.60% despite stubborn inflation, giving homeowners relief but keeping all future moves firmly on the table.
Lululemon’s founder is calling out its CEO for losing the brand’s soul as competitors rise and shares plunge 52% this year.
Spotify Wrapped 2025 hit 200M users in 24 hours, proving that user-driven sharing beats paid ads every December.
Premier’s profits tumble as Smiggle loses its shine and leadership—proof that weak demand and a missing CEO can rattle investors.
Unilever is spinning off its ice cream empire into the new Magnum Ice Cream Company, which will debut as a standalone global giant.
Real-world testing shows top EVs falling short of their advertised range, renewing worries about reliability as adoption continues to grow.
H&M faces falling sales, a wage underpayment probe, and a shrinking store network as it reassesses its place in the Australian retail market.
Shopify suffered a major Cyber Monday outage, locking merchants out during peak sales and sparking a 5% drop in its share price.
Collins Foods boosts profit and upgrades forecasts as KFC same-store sales climb, proving demand is growing beyond just new store openings.
Metcash’s food sales grew, but a plunge in legal tobacco purchases slashed profits as smokers shifted to the illicit market.
Harvey Norman defies the retail slowdown with a 9% sales lift, driven by booming growth in Slovenia, Croatia and the UK.
Meta is in talks to buy Google’s TPUs starting 2027, a surprise move that could chip away at Nvidia’s dominance and shift power in the AI hardware race.
El Jannah has been bought by General Atlantic for nearly $1B, with major expansion ahead and the founders keeping a stake to ride the next growth wave.
SkinKandy is chasing a $400m IPO to fuel its US expansion, but past beauty listings show how tough it is to win long-term investor confidence.
Industry super funds are spending tens of millions on marketing, prompting regulators to question whether the costs truly benefit members.
Temple & Webster posted solid growth but missed revenue expectations, triggering a 30 percent share price plunge as investors punished the gap.
A failed US bid opens the door for DMGT to buy The Telegraph, highlighting how legacy media turns to consolidation to survive the digital giants.
Aussie-founded Chronosphere is sold to Palo Alto Networks for $3.3B as real-time monitoring becomes essential after major cloud outages.
TikTok grabs naming rights to a major Sydney venue, taking its influence offline as Gen Z cuts screen time and digital brands go IRL.
Monash IVF cuts earnings again after its embryo mix-ups, shares slump—then suddenly surge 37% after rejecting a $300M takeover bid.
Entain is cutting 120 jobs and winding back perks as rising costs and tighter regulations hit the gambling industry, signalling a shift in employer power.
Reece cops a second strike as frustrated shareholders hit back at falling earnings and a rough US acquisition, triggering a board spill vote.
Adobe is buying Semrush for $1.9B to strengthen its creative ecosystem and give users built-in marketing, SEO and data tools without leaving Adobe.
Nvidia beats sky-high expectations with a $57B quarter, but its massive influence cuts both ways as markets swing sharply on its every move.
Qantas is extending its Frequent Flyer perks to Jetstar for $199 a year, strengthening its dual-brand hold on the market and boxing in Virgin Australia.
AI-generated country artists are now topping Billboard charts, signalling a major shake-up for a music industry built on human emotion and storytelling.
ChatGPT rolls out “Groups,” letting up to 20 users collaborate in one chat—another clear step in OpenAI’s move toward becoming a social platform.
Airtasker raises $17M through cash and media-for-equity with iHeartMedia to supercharge its US/UK expansion... though investors weren’t thrilled.
Visa is testing stablecoin payouts, letting businesses send instant digital-dollar payments as it gears up for the future of global money movement.
Google unveils new AI shopping tools that track prices, auto-buy items, and call stores for stock info, aiming to reinvent how people shop online.
Xero posted strong profit and revenue growth, but worries over its Melio acquisition and weak US performance sent its share price down 9%.
Skims secures $225M at a $5B valuation, fueling its push into apparel, activewear, and global retail as celebrity-led brands continue to dominate.
DroneShield pulled a mistaken contract announcement, then its executives dumped millions in shares, triggering a 30% share price plunge.
Menulog, once Australia’s food delivery leader, loses ground to global giants and falls below 10% market share, forcing its exit from the industry.
Football Australia’s push to raise betting fees sparks backlash from bookies, with some pulling soccer bets amid tense profit-sharing talks.
Myer revamps its loyalty program and launches a new beauty box to win back younger shoppers after a tough year of falling profits.
Zip’s US arm is now the company’s powerhouse, driving 70% of transactions and marking a major revival for the Aussie BNPL pioneer.
Kering sold its beauty arm to L’Oréal for €4B to cut debt and refocus on fashion, marking a major pivot under its new CEO.
After 15 months in administration, US firm Air T is buying Rex Airlines, but most creditors—including the government—won’t be repaid.
CommSec’s profits soared 36% to $156M as market volatility sent Aussies trading in droves, boosting its user base to 3 million.
Nestlé’s new CEO plans to cut 16,000 jobs after sales dip, aiming to save billions and reset strategy as part of a global “new year, new me.”
EssilorLuxottica’s revenue hits record highs as AI-powered Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses soar in demand, turning novelty into necessity.
Mayne Pharma wins court battle after Cosette tried to ditch its $672M takeover. Shares jump 14%, but FIRB approval still looms.
Elon Musk’s xAI launches flirtatious AI companions Ani and Valentine, igniting debates on emotional AI, ethics, and user wellbeing.
Macquarie sells Aligned Data Centres for $61B to Nvidia, Microsoft, and others... proof that AI’s growth is driving huge infrastructure bets.
As Australia moves to ban social media for under-16s, Meta and Google roll out new teen safety tools to stay ahead of regulators.
Paramount Skydance makes a $42B offer for Warner Bros. Discovery, chasing streaming scale, but the deal’s debt risk keeps Hollywood cautious.
Pop Mart’s viral Labubu toys are booming, with shares up 350% as Australia becomes a key market, fueled by strong demand and spending power.
Treasury Wine Estates faces a brutal double hit from weaker China demand and US distribution woes, sending shares to a decade-low.
DAZN bought Foxtel for $2.2B but still posted a $936M loss in 2024 despite $3.2B revenue, banking on 2026 to finally reach profitability.
Netflix expands beyond streaming, letting users play games like Tetris and Pictionary on smart TVs using phones as controllers.
CommBank moves its core systems to the cloud with AWS, aiming to modernise banking, cut costs, and outpace slower rivals like ANZ.
Hackers claim to have breached Salesforce, stealing data from 39 major companies, including Qantas, and threatening to leak it online.
Aldi and Costco hit $17.5B in Aussie sales, pushing Coles and Woolies to sharpen prices as competition heats up in the supermarket showdown.
Guzman y Gomez bounces back with an 18.6% sales rise and launches a $100M share buyback to boost confidence after a rocky earnings slump.
Paramount Skydance is buying Bari Weiss’ The Free Press for $150M, proving creator-led media can rival legacy outlets in reach and influence.
Cboe Australia just got ASIC’s nod to list companies, ending ASX’s monopoly and setting the stage for real competition in Aussie markets.
Eagers Automotive is betting $1B on CanadaOne, taking its booming Easyauto123 model global... but Aussie success doesn’t always travel well.
Peloton’s spinning back with AI-powered fitness tech to regain momentum, but investors can’t tell if it’s real innovation or just hype.
General Pants shuts a quarter of its stores as fast-fashion rivals like Shein and Temu outpace the once “cool kid” of Aussie retail.
Armaguard secures a lifeline deal with banks and supermarkets, keeping Australia’s cash system alive under a new utility-style model.
Amazon hit with $2.5B in fines and refunds as FTC cracks down on Prime’s “subscription traps,” forcing changes to sign-up and cancellation.
Trump threatens 100% tariffs on foreign-made films as Hollywood loses productions to countries like Australia offering big tax breaks.
Seven West Media and Southern Cross are merging into a $415m content giant, as broadcasters consolidate to survive the shifting media landscape.
Accenture will cut 11,000 jobs in a $865M restructure, urging staff to reskill for AI as new bookings soar to $5.1B despite IT contract losses.
Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund and partners will acquire EA for $55B, in a record buyout that underscores gaming’s growing private equity appeal.
The RBA held the cash rate at 3.60% as inflation hit 3%, signalling a wait-and-see approach to balance growth, stability, and economic volatility.
Alibaba deepened its AI push with a new Nvidia deal and model launch, pledging billions more in Capex that lifted its shares 8%.
