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Business news from Australia and around the world: companies, deals, earnings, regulation and the people running them.
1818 articles · page 11 of 38
Reserve Bank deputy governor Andrew Hauser has warned the inflation outlook is "materially worse" than the bank projected two months ago, lifting market expectations of a rate rise at the November 3 board meeting to roughly a coin flip and sharpening the central bank's choice between taming prices and protecting jobs.
Anthropic is racing to secure cloud computing capacity for its AI models but finding major cloud providers increasingly see it as a rival, according to a leaked regulatory filing reported by The Wall Street Journal. The company, targeting a November initial public offering, reported $80.7 billion in net losses on $16.3 billion in revenue in the first half of the year, and warned it could spend over $750 billion on cloud contracts, some still being negotiated.
Netflix shares fell up to 6 per cent in after-hours trading on Tuesday after the company reported third-quarter earnings that narrowly beat analyst expectations but provided weak guidance for the final months of the year. The sell-off came amid slowing revenue growth, a reduced advertising forecast, and a major content leadership shake-up that saw top executives depart and the company's largest round of layoffs since 2022.
AI infrastructure startup Fireworks AI is in early talks to raise new funding at a valuation between $30 billion and $40 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, a jump that would roughly double its July valuation of $17.5 billion and underscore investor appetite for companies powering the AI boom.
Elon Musk said he will take no part in talks over a possible merger between Tesla and SpaceX, revealing that special committees at both companies are examining what would be the largest corporate tie-up in history. The news came as SpaceX posted its first quarterly profit as a public company, driven by a surge in revenue from renting out AI computing capacity.
The average price of dairy products rose 2.5% at the Global Dairy Trade auction overnight, reaching US$4021 (NZ$7075) per tonne, as dry spring conditions in New Zealand and expectations of an El Niño event supported the second consecutive price increase.
SpaceX released its third-quarter earnings report on Tuesday, revealing $14.58 billion in revenue, a 161% year-over-year surge that beat Wall Street projections. For the first time, the company's AI division, rebranded as 'Super Intelligence,' outstripped its Starlink satellite-internet business, generating $7.6 billion in revenue. Starlink added 1.6 million consumer subscribers, missing analyst forecasts, but enterprise and government revenue climbed 91% to $2.1 billion. SpaceX sees capital expenditures potentially doubling this quarter as it accelerates AI infrastructure spending.
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has confirmed it is conducting preliminary enquiries into Manchester City’s accounts and the work of its auditor, BDO, in a move that could lead to a formal investigation. The regulator’s newly appointed chair, Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia, has used the case to urge the government for statutory reforms, warning that the FRC currently lacks the power to compel information from non-listed entities such as the Premier League club.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is planning new rounds of layoffs this month, in November and in January, according to Fortune, adding to an organisational "reset" that has already seen thousands of job cuts across Microsoft's gaming division.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has sparked a conservative backlash after calling for a national wealth tax and inheritance taxes of up to 100%, saying that wealth inequality is a 'danger to society'. The comments, made in a New York Times interview, drew immediate criticism from Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and former Fox News host Glenn Beck, who called for a boycott of the airline.
The two largest Medicare Advantage (MA) insurers, UnitedHealthcare (UHC) and Humana, are terminating plans covering nearly one million seniors in 2027, according to a Healthcare Brew report. The moves reflect a broader industry retrenchment as payers respond to rising utilisation and medical costs by reducing benefits, shifting enrollees into narrower networks and canceling low-return plans, even as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services describes the market as stable.
The US housing market showed renewed signs of strain in September, with pending home sales plunging to a record low and housing starts falling well short of expectations, data released Tuesday revealed. The worsening conditions come as the Federal Reserve considers further interest rate increases in its ongoing battle against inflation, threatening to push already-high mortgage rates even higher and further squeeze affordability.
OpenAI has acquired Orchestra Bio, a San Francisco startup whose AI agents help drug companies manage the logistics of drug development, the company announced Tuesday. Financial terms were not disclosed. Orchestra's team and platform will be merged into Rosalind, OpenAI's life sciences suite, as rival AI labs race to own the software behind new medicines.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday certified the Boeing 737 Max 10, the largest and last model in Boeing's Max family to receive government approval, ending years of delay for an aircraft central to the manufacturer's recovery. The decision comes weeks after federal officials reviewed a navigation system glitch on the aircraft and determined it was not a safety-of-flight issue.
Australia's corporate regulator is investigating whether there were oversight, due diligence and compliance failures involving MGF Capital's authorised representatives, including Main Group FX. The ABC reported that Australians may have lost as much as $138 million through financial products they believed were offered by multiple authorised representatives under the Sydney firm's umbrella. More than a dozen Main Group FX investors told the ABC they were duped after believing the scheme was licensed and regulated. MGF Capital denies due diligence failures.
The Tasmanian government approved a $20 million loan to the country's only manganese smelter last year despite being warned there was a very high risk the money would not be recovered, internal documents show. The Liberty Bell Bay smelter closed in July and was subsequently liquidated, with the loss of more than 200 jobs.
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt owns about 1% of leading AI lab Anthropic, roughly half the stake held by CEO Dario Amodei, according to a Bloomberg report cited by TechCrunch. With Anthropic expected to go public before the end of the year at a valuation that could reach $2 trillion, Schmidt’s position could add as much as $20 billion to his net worth.
A confidential 2024 culture review of Seven West Media, commissioned after allegations that the network reimbursed a former Liberal staffer for drugs and sex workers, has revealed widespread claims of sexism, bullying and harassment, with staff describing a 'diabolical' corporate culture in which 'sacred cow' executives were protected by then-chairman Kerry Stokes. The 65-page report, by independent consultancy Interchange and obtained by the ABC, is based on 127 interviews and more than 800 survey responses.
Homebuilder sentiment has fallen to its lowest level since 2012, while housing starts dropped 5.2% in September and pending home sales hit their lowest mark since records began in 2001, according to fresh data from the Census Bureau and the National Association of Realtors. The deepening slump reflects a squeeze on both sides of the market: high mortgage rates near 7.4% are locking out buyers, while builders face soaring capital costs and competition for labour and materials from AI data centre construction and government borrowing.
Liverpool will open a 100,000 sq ft Beatles visitor attraction in 2028, with Apple Corps taking over the Beatles Story and moving it into the city centre in a project Paul McCartney called 'extraordinary'.
Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, a 28-year-old Canadian citizen, has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for attacking two correctional officers at a maximum-security US penitentiary in Pennsylvania and providing material support to ISIS, federal prosecutors said.
Ryanair's chief executive Michael O'Leary has warned that Europe faces its biggest increase in air fares in history next year, as he revealed airlines are largely unhedged against jet fuel costs from April 2027 and renewed calls for EU carbon taxes to apply to long-haul rivals.
The Unite union has attacked NatWest over plans to cut home working rights for 30,000 employees, warning that thousands of lower-paid staff will face higher travel and childcare costs. From February the bank will require workers to spend at least two days a week in the office, a policy it insists remains competitive with the rest of the finance industry.
The Invest in Germany Summit in Berlin has produced investment commitments worth over €225 billion, Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said on Tuesday, with major pledges from Amazon, Nvidia and a host of global corporations signalling strong confidence in Europe's largest economy.
Salesforce has announced a $5.66 billion agreement to acquire customer engagement platform Braze. Under the all-cash deal, Braze Class A shareholders will receive $47.50 per share, sending the company's stock soaring over 50% on Tuesday. The transaction, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, is expected to close in Salesforce's fiscal year 2028.
The Scottish government has condemned as "wholly unacceptable" the BBC's decision to close its dedicated Scottish linear TV channel, with Culture Secretary Màiri McAllan saying she will raise her concerns with media regulator Ofcom. The BBC confirmed the channel will move to BBC iPlayer in spring next year as part of a wider cost-cutting drive, with its nightly News at Seven programme closing and around 10 further posts lost in Scotland.
Salesforce announced Tuesday it will acquire customer engagement platform Braze for about $5.66 billion, sending Braze shares soaring more than 50 percent and reflecting the company's push into AI-powered marketing tools.
SpaceX will report third-quarter earnings after the bell on Tuesday, its second report since its IPO in June, with analysts expecting revenue of $12.72 billion and earnings per share of 13 cents, according to LSEG consensus estimates.
Bob McGrew, OpenAI's former research chief, has revealed Arda, a stealth startup that has raised $230 million at a $1.5 billion valuation to build AI software aimed at returning manufacturing to the United States. The round was led by Altimeter Capital, Accel and Khosla Ventures, and the company says its models are already deployed with military technology company Anduril.
Court records obtained by NPR reveal that TikTok employees repeatedly warned the company about child safety risks on its platform, including minors bypassing age-restricted content and appearing in what is described as “transactional sexual content,” but executives allegedly failed to act on those concerns. The depositions, filed in federal court in March, are part of a multi-district litigation launched in 2022 that consolidates hundreds of lawsuits against TikTok, Meta, Snap and other social media companies over youth safety.
French government bonds faced renewed selling pressure on Monday, with the premium on 10-year debt over the German benchmark widening to its highest level since 2012, reflecting growing investor alarm over the country's escalating political turmoil and fiscal challenges.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has proposed requiring Apple to open its iPhone near-field communication (NFC) technology to rival payment providers on fairer commercial terms, potentially allowing users to make contactless payments through apps other than Apple Pay. The watchdog said Apple's current high fees and restrictive terms were preventing businesses from developing alternatives, and it expects access charges to fall substantially.
Reliable Robotics, a Mountain View-based startup developing autonomous flight technology for existing aircraft, has raised $115 million in an extension of its Series D round, pushing its valuation past $1 billion. The company, founded by former SpaceX and Tesla engineers, said it is making steady progress toward Federal Aviation Administration certification for a suite of systems that could eventually enable cargo planes to fly without pilots on board.
The BBC will close its linear broadcast services for BBC Three, BBC Scotland and BBC Radio 4 Extra in spring 2027 as part of efforts to save £500 million by 2028, the corporation has announced. Around 100 roles at BBC News will also be cut, with affected employees already informed, as the broadcaster faces mounting financial pressures.
Chinese technology giants ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have reportedly placed orders worth over $35 billion for more than 3 million Nvidia RTX Pro 5500 workstation GPUs, a chip compliant with U.S. export restrictions on AI-capable hardware. However, sources indicate Nvidia has told customers it can only meet 5% to 10% of that demand, as the order far exceeds planned production for this card.
Qualcomm will cut jobs worldwide in a 'performance-focused reduction' following its annual employee reviews, CEO Cristiano Amon told staff in a memo on Monday, with notifications set to begin in November. The memo did not specify how many jobs would be affected.
Global stock markets tumbled on Monday, with S&P 500 futures flat after a brutal session in Asia and Europe, as oil surged to $111 per barrel, France imposed curfews in major cities following nights of rioting, and Saudi Arabia cancelled its flagship Future Investment Initiative meeting after Houthi attacks on Riyadh airport. An AI cloud provider's IPO in South Korea lost 30% of its value on debut, while early Q3 earnings reports show one of the weakest starts to earnings season in history, according to analysts at Wells Fargo. The French 10-year bond yield hit 4.94%, a level not seen since 2002, and unrest spread to Milan.
Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment has announced plans to cut up to 1,400 jobs in the UK and Ireland, directly blaming the layoffs on tax rises imposed on the gambling industry. The announcement comes a week before Chancellor John Healey's first budget, reigniting debate over whether the job losses are a direct consequence of government policy or a strategic cost-cutting exercise by a company also integrating recent acquisitions.
Shares of South Korean AI data center provider Elice rebounded about 30% on Wednesday, a day after plunging 32% in a bruising stock market debut, the latest sign that investors are questioning whether the debt-fueled AI buildout will ever turn a profit. The wild swings come as global technology stocks wobble and this week's earnings from Netflix, SpaceX, Meta and Tesla are awaited for clarity on AI spending plans.
Apple has signed a US titanium supplier for its new foldable iPhone Duo and expanded domestic production of camera components, while the company wrestles with severe supply constraints ahead of the device's in-store launch Friday.
Walmart has announced a new joint membership combining its Walmart+ and Sam's Club Plus programs, priced at $120 per year, as the retail giant seeks to offer greater convenience and value to customers facing high gas and food prices.
Bitcoin fell about 1.1 per cent over the past 24 hours to around $81,400, even as spot US bitcoin exchange-traded funds posted their largest net inflows in a month. The $527 million in net inflows was driven almost entirely by BlackRock’s IBIT, which recorded $665 million, its best day in over a year. However, analysts at QCP Capital cautioned that broader weakness in equities, with Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 futures lower and AI stocks under pressure, could spill over into cryptocurrency markets and threaten the $80,000 support level if sustained.
JPMorgan Asset Management has issued its first-ever long-term Bitcoin forecast, projecting annual returns of 10% over the next 10 to 15 years, outperforming its predictions for U.S. stocks, bonds, and gold. The forecast, part of the bank's 2027 Long-Term Capital Market Assumptions report, comes with a major caveat: Bitcoin's extreme volatility and unstable correlations keep it out of the firm's main investment portfolio models for now.
Otter.AI, the AI meeting note-taking startup, has raised $320 million from General Catalyst's Customer Value Fund in a non-dilutive deal aimed at accelerating enterprise growth, international expansion and product innovation. The company, which crossed $100 million in annual recurring revenue last year, says 40 million people have now used its product, up from 25 million a year earlier.
A consortium of Thames Water creditors has appointed former Labour cabinet minister Lord John Hutton as independent chair designate of the utility, as part of a £10bn rescue bid that requires government approval. The group, known as London & Valley Water, announced the move on Tuesday as the debt-laden company serving 16 million customers in southern England continues to run out of cash.
U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded their strongest daily net inflow in nearly a month on Monday, attracting $526.6 million according to SoSoValue data, driven entirely by a $665.2 million injection into BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). The figures reversed the prior week's $228.5 million in withdrawals, though net flows for October remain slightly negative at an estimated $90.5 million.
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani is launching what could be the country's biggest-ever initial public offering, with telecoms giant Jio Platforms aiming to raise up to 302bn rupees (£2.4bn) and targeting a valuation of 10.3tn rupees (£81bn) when it lists on the stock exchange from Wednesday.
Revolut suffered a major service disruption on Tuesday morning (20 October), leaving some customers unable to access the banking app or make payments with their physical cards. The digital bank confirmed it was experiencing an outage affecting multiple features and said its engineering team was working to restore full service.