Happy Monday Flux fam!

Here's everything you need to know today - in under 3 minutes.

Today's big stories:

🤑 Gemini launches an income product for Aussies

👋 Westpac gears up to sell its super arm

👛 Hermés to list on the Euro Stoxx 50 after a stomper year

Oh and get this...

Coles has copped some serious heat from the Fair Work Ombudsman for allegedly underpaying nearly 8,000 staff around  $115 million...YIKES. It's alleged that some were underpaid as high as $471,000.

Gemini gives the gift of a new crypto income product this Xmas and is Santa real?

Background: Gemini is the crypto exchange that allows customers to buy, sell and store digital assets. It was founded back in 2015 by the Winklevoss twins (ya know, the tall twins played by Armie Hammer in the Social Network movie).

What happened: Last month, CommBank made a minority investment in Gemini...and now, they're planning to launch a new income product called Gemini Earn here in Oz.

What else: Gemini Earn will be a lending program where you can lend your personal crypto...and earn interest in return. We're talkin' anywhere between 2% for Bitcoin...up to 7% for other coins.

So what's the key learning?

💡Decentralised finance is like a financial system...but for cryptocurrency. It uses smart contracts on the blockchain to allow people to lend or borrow money from one another and trade crypto... No need to rely on brokers or banks to earn interest in savings-like accounts.

💡It's never really been possible to be remunerated for owning crypto...it's just been an asset, like gold, where you rely on its value appreciating.

💡So, decentralised finance makes crypto assets more valuable...because you can now hold on to them and earn interest on them. But there's definitely more risk involved!

Westpac gears up to flog its super arm...if anyone wants it

Background: After the Banking Royal Commission, Westpac wanted out of all of its specialist businesses (i.e. financial advice, insurance...and now its super arm, BT).

What happened: Westpac wants to flog its BT Super business to reduce its overall annual cost base by the end of 2024. But the timing of this sale is very...timely.

What else: BT's MySuper product actually failed the Government's Your Super, Your Future test this year...and if it fails again, it'll have to shut the door to new members.

So what's the key learning?

💡The Government’s Your Super, Your Future test means underperforming super funds are forced to tell customers to change super funds if they fail the test once...

💡But if they fail the test two years in a row, they’re unable to take on new customers, which could make them a little unappealing to potential new purchasers.

💡Westpac's pool of purchasers is already limited due to the fact that other financial institutions sold out of their super arms first...so the sale could prove to be a little tricky.

Hermés will list on the Euro Stoxx 50 and who's even buying these Birkins? Asking for a friend

Background: Hermés is the French luxury goods company that were founded back in 1837. They're best known for their Birkin - aka the most expensive bag in the world...We're talkin' anywhere between $40k...and $500k.

What happened: Despite the hefty price-tag, these babies sell. So it's not surprising the company is worth a huge $280 billion. And this crew had a stellar 2021, with shares rallying 90% so far.

What else: Now, the company is set to list on the Euro Stoxx 50 - aka the index that represents the 50 largest companies in the eurozone. This means their share price will probably jump even further thanks to the index effect.

So what's the key learning?

💡The index effect happens when a company is added (or removed) from a major share index. To recap, a share index covers a group of companies that fit a specific criteria (i.e. the ASX200 is the largest 200 blue-chip companies in Oz...or the S&P500 is the largest 500 companies in the US).

💡Companies are often added or removed from indexes based on their financial circumstances. So, when a company like Hermés is added to a big index, like the Euro Stoxx 50, all of the investment funds that have invested in the Euro Stoxx 50 will have to buy shares of Hermés.

💡And vice versa, they'll have to sell shares in the company if it drops off the index. In this case, Universal Music Group is dropping off in place of Hermés. All of this can either send the share price up (Hermés), or down (Universal Music Group).