Hey hey, Flux fam!

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

Today's big stories:

💥Rokt smashes the Aussie venture capital raising record

🎤Spotify buys Aussie podcast platform Whooshkaa

👆The US Federal Reserve could raise interest rates in 2022

Oh and get this...

Thought it couldn't get worse for ol' Meta? Think again. Nearly 50,000 Facebook users in more than 100 countries may have been hacked by surveillance companies working for the government agencies or private clients.

Rokt my world: Aussie e-commerce unicorn smashes venture capital raising records

Background: Rokt is an e-commerce tech company founded by the former Jetstar CEO back in 2014. It lets advertisers get exposure to new customers via partner websites.

What happened: So, if you were to book a flight with Qantas to Sydney...you might be shown deals for hotels or car rentals. You can thank Rokt for that. It's so successful because it knows the customer's buying intention is high in that moment.

What else: This crew have plans to IPO in the US in 2023. And to prep for this, Rokt raised a record $$458 million in pre-IPO capital. It's the largest single venture capital raise in Aussie history. Wawaweewa!

So what's the key learning?

💡Pre-IPO capital is money raised by a company in the lead up to its planned IPO because generally a company wants to accelerate its growth numbers before it goes public (and it needs capital to do that).

💡This process starts anytime from 3 months to 18 months before the company's planned listing. But these can be pretty risky for investors.

💡Pre-IPO capital raises are offered without an official prospectus for the IPO. There's also no guarantee when - or if - the company will actually IPO. So sometimes, shares are offered at a discount to the planned IPO price.

Spotify buys Aussie podcast legends Whooshkaa and leave some for the rest of us, would ya?

Background: Whooshkaa is an all-in-one podcast platform. They help businesses host, promote, distribute and monetise podcasts.

What happened: But their real specialty is broadcast-to-podcast tech, which means they can turn radio broadcasts into podcasts (B2P) - and in a jiffy.

What else: It's this capability that attract music GOAT Spotify, who bought the company for an undisclosed amount. It means Spotify can ramp up their podcast strategy...and get a foothold in the B2P space.

So what's the key learning?

💡Over the last 5 to 10 years, the podcast industry has shifted from being made up of largely indie creators...to a fully-fledged commercial operation. And B2P has been a key driver for this growth over the years.

💡For radio stations...this expansion makes sense. They're just taking the content from a radio station and repurposing it for podcasts. Commercially, it also makes sense. Long podcasts = more opportunities for more ads.

💡For listeners, it's also great. It means people can listen to their favourite radio shows whenever and whenever they want.

OH BOY: After *that* inflation data, the US Federal Reserve is looking to raise interest rates

Background: In the US, it was announced that CPI rose 6.8% in November. That means a 'basket' of goods and services from November 2021 increased by 6.8% compares to November 2020. Ouch!

What happened: This is the largest increase in CPI since June 1982. And it's a key indicator that inflation is getting out of hand.

What else: Now, the US Federal Reserve will announce a new policy which is likely to lead to two to three interest rate hikes in 2022...and another three to four in 2023. And this could be a sign of things to come in Oz.

So what's the key learning?

💡One of the key jobs of a Federal Reserve or Central Bank is to keep price growth stable. That's why we have inflation 'targets' - ya know the aim to keep price growth at around 2 to 3% 'over time'.

💡Because generally, interest rates and inflation have an inverse relationship. When interest rates are high = inflation is low, and vice versa.

💡This is because when interest rates are low, people can borrow more money, which means they have more money to spend. This causes the economy to grow and inflation to rise. So, central banks will likely hike rates in the short-term to nudge inflation down.