News without the noise
Business news from Australia and around the world: companies, deals, earnings, regulation and the people running them.
1805 articles · page 2 of 38
Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power and US investment firm EIG will commit $4 billion to launch Plenum Power, a partnership to invest in US power projects, aiming to capitalize on demand from data centers and electrification.
Brad Reese, grandson of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups inventor, has accused the Hershey Company of cheapening ingredients on some products and dismissed its plan to switch back by 2027 as a 'stall'. The dispute has divided the Reese family, with cousin Becky Hilgers publicly supporting the company and urging him to stop.
Hundreds of offshore workers have been using weight-loss jabs to help meet new maximum weight rules for helicopter flights to offshore platforms covered by UK safety regulations, with the industry body reporting that on one platform 60% of staff had been taking the medications.
· 2 sourcesAirbnb has pledged $500 million over five years to its philanthropic arm Airbnb.org to expand free temporary housing for disaster survivors and medical travellers. The commitment, announced Wednesday, arrives at an uncertain time for corporate philanthropy.
· 2 sourcesJoshua Kushner's Thrive Holdings is acquiring ADT, the home security company, for $7.6 billion in an all-cash deal. The transaction, expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, will take ADT private.
Anthropic's blockbuster initial public offering filing earlier this week offered the world its first clear look inside the finances of a frontier AI lab. Now, as analysts, economists and locals digest the over-300-page document, the company faces new questions about slowing revenue growth, a unique governance structure that concentrates voting power among its co-founders, and whether it can sell Wall Street on what one analysis called a 'build God or die trying' business plan.
· 10 sources
UK’s National Grid has announced plans to invest up to $532 million (£400 million) to extend the operation of the Interconnexion France-Angleterre (IFA) power interconnector until at least 2050, preserving a vital electricity flexibility link between the two countries.
The number of private equity deals in sport has surged nearly 300 per cent since 2018, according to a new report from Goldman Sachs.
On Thursday, Wabi, the AI startup founded by Replika creator Eugenia Kuyda, said it has raised $55 million at a $1.25 billion valuation after announcing a pivot of sorts from prompt-based app-building to an AI messenger that now describes itself as a personal agent.
· 2 sourcesJersey's minimum wage will increase to £13.97 an hour from 1 April 2027, after Social Security Minister Elaine Millar accepted the Jersey Employment Forum's recommendation of a 2.8% rise.
The US economy grew at an annualised rate of 3.4% in the third quarter, beating forecasts, while the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation accelerated to 3.6% in September, according to Commerce Department data released Thursday, less than a week before the midterm elections.
· 8 sourcesThe UK government and energy regulator Ofgem have announced plans for a scheme to write off energy debts for households in genuine financial need, targeting £2.47 billion in arrears accumulated during the 2022-2024 energy crisis. The Debt Relief Scheme, anticipated to roll out in spring, could make up to 2.4 million consumers unlikely to repay their balances eligible for help, including pensioners, disability benefit recipients, and those on means-tested support.
The Finnish News Agency STT will wind down its news and photojournalism units from March next year, resulting in the loss of 89 jobs. The decision follows years of financial losses and a recent restructuring round triggered by its largest shareholder, Sanoma Media Finland, reducing its use of the agency's services.
Kalshi, the prediction market exchange, has completed a $1 billion funding round that values the company at $40 billion, up from $22 billion in May and $5 billion a year earlier, the company announced Thursday.
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The European Central Bank left its key interest rates unchanged on 29 October 2026, holding the deposit facility at 2.50% as it said the energy shock’s increased magnitude and duration are likely to drive up inflation and lower growth.
· 5 sources
Apollo’s twin deals offer contrasting signals about Wall Street’s AI money problem: its Mubadala deal is a bet that capital is chasing too few investment opportunities, while its $40 billion SpaceX chip lease suggests AI financing now costs more than it did a few weeks ago.
TPG has closed a $10 billion climate-focused fund, Rise Climate II, and already invested nearly a third of it, executive chairman Jim Coulter told Semafor. The fund invests in clean power, energy services and technology, low-carbon transportation and industrial decarbonisation in the US and Europe, as well as emerging markets in South Asia and elsewhere. TPG also reported a 33% boost in third-quarter net income.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is assigning dedicated customer compliance managers to more than 200 billionaires as part of a crackdown on the 'wealthy tax gap', meant to raise £500 million for the public purse.
· 2 sources
Restaurant Brands International reported mixed fiscal third-quarter results Thursday, with Burger King posting U.S. same-store sales growth of 8.4% while Popeyes' U.S. same-store sales fell 2.2%.
· 2 sources
Eli Lilly reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street expectations and raised its full-year sales outlook, driven by surging demand for its weight loss drug Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro, though sales of its new obesity pill Foundayo fell short of forecasts.
· 2 sourcesMerck beat third-quarter estimates and raised its profit outlook, driven by stronger-than-expected sales of its immunotherapy Keytruda, including the newer injectable form, Keytruda Qlex. The drugmaker reported revenue of $18.09 billion, up 5% from a year ago, and adjusted earnings of $2.49 per share, topping Wall Street forecasts.
· 2 sourcesA bipartisan grassroots movement in Arizona is mobilizing against proposed hyperscale data centers, arguing the facilities would require scarce water and power while locals fear they may contribute little to their communities, a sharp contrast to the welcome given to TSMC’s semiconductor fab.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde announced she will step down on 7 February 2027, nearly nine months before her term ends, and hours later the bank left its key deposit rate unchanged at 2.5% while signalling that a rate hike could come in December.
· 21 sources
The Bank of England has launched a consultation on central counterparties (CCPs) accepting tokenised forms of eligible collateral. The Bank said tokenisation could offer opportunities for quicker and more efficient mobilisation and management of collateral, including across jurisdictions, and could contribute to the UK's wholesale digital financial markets strategy and help firms respond more effectively to margin calls.
· 2 sourcesEnvironment Secretary Angela Eagle has summoned water industry bosses to Whitehall after a first-of-its-kind joint regulator report found that eight of England’s nine water companies are rated “poor” or “requiring improvement”, with environmental performance falling to its lowest score since the process began despite billions of pounds of investment.
· 5 sourcesJohn Healey has told Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey to loosen banking regulation "as quickly as possible" after the government raised taxes on the sector in the Budget, as a senior Lloyds executive questioned the chancellor's decision to link the increase to energy bill support.
· 5 sources
Volkswagen reported its worst quarterly loss in a decade on Thursday, posting an operating loss of €5.86 billion (roughly $6.53 billion) for the July-September period amid fierce competition from Chinese rivals, falling demand, and US tariffs. After tax, the loss was €5.8 billion ($6.5 billion), according to the Associated Press.
· 5 sources
Shell nearly doubled its adjusted third-quarter profit to $10.8bn, beating analyst expectations, as the Middle East conflict drove up oil and gas prices and it expected refinery margins to reach a record.
· 3 sourcesCobb Lane Bakery, known for its slow-fermented sourdough and pastries, now operates four locations with a fifth on the way, but its original Yarraville site is worth a visit for the cheese and chilli twist and raspberry matcha lamington.
· 3 sourcesFinancial markets now see a fifth interest rate hike by the Reserve Bank of Australia next week as likely, and a former senior RBA economist argues the impact of higher rates will be spread well beyond the one third of households with mortgages.
· 2 sourcesA group of Thames Water creditors will vote on Thursday on whether to increase a funding facility by £2.4bn to keep the debt-laden utility operating until autumn 2027, as campaigners warn the loan could add £40 per household in interest alone if passed on to bills. Andy Burnham is also weighing whether to allow a creditor takeover or nationalise the company.
· 3 sources
Sanrio, the company behind Hello Kitty, has apologised and ended its merchandise partnership with the Japanese spy thriller Vivant after the show drew backlash in China over its depiction of Chinese agents.
Utah has filed criminal charges against prediction market Kalshi and its two co-founders, Chief Executive Officer Tarek Mansour and Chief Operating Officer Luana Lopes Lara, in an escalation of the legal battle over whether states can regulate event contracts as gambling. The charges, filed Wednesday, include felonies that carry the possibility of jail time.
· 6 sources
Samsung Electronics reported record quarterly operating profit on Thursday and said it became the first global technology company to top 100 trillion won in quarterly operating profit. It also announced a partnership with French AI startup Mistral AI and plans to increase sales of HBM, while its memory business reported a significant ramp-up in HBM4 sales. The company's shares were trading 5% lower following the announcement.
· 3 sources
Upwind, a San Francisco startup that uses AI to secure cloud infrastructure, has raised a $400 million Series C at a $3.8 billion valuation, a round that nearly fell apart after publicly traded observability company Datadog attempted to buy the startup, according to a person familiar with Upwind. The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from existing backers including Greylock Partners and Craft Ventures.
· 2 sources
Australian data centre company Firmus has abandoned what was set to be the country's biggest public offering since Telstra, and newly released financial documents show it faces substantial payments for chips and construction amid pressure to raise money for future expansion.
· 5 sources
Microsoft has reported a profit of more than $36.6bn (£27.5bn) for the three months to the end of September, days after announcing plans to offer buyouts to around 60,000 workers as it pours billions of dollars into artificial intelligence.
Brazil's main stock index fell further on Wednesday amid fiscal fears after the surprise election defeat of Flávio Bolsonaro, who then fled to the United States, with the finance minister attributing the selloff to investors unwinding pre-runoff bets rather than a reaction to fundamentals.
Australia's offshore oil and gas regulator has written to Santos expressing 'concerns' about fuel use and gas flaring at its Barossa gas project, citing 'continued non-compliance' after inspections found issues were not addressed, according to a letter seen by the ABC.
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Weil, Gotshal & Manges, the storied Wall Street law firm, has recommended to partners that it wind down operations after merger talks with rival Willkie Farr & Gallagher fell through, following an exodus of partners.
· 2 sourcesThe Los Angeles City Council voted 13-0 Wednesday to ban new oil wells and phase out all existing ones within 20 years, the final vote needed to pass the citywide ban. The ordinance caps a campaign by residents and environmental advocates that began more than a decade ago.
Microsoft generated $10 billion in revenue from commercial arrangements with OpenAI, including revenue-sharing payments, in the quarter ended September 30, the company said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday. The figure represents nearly 11% of Microsoft's total quarterly revenue of $92.3 billion, underscoring the enormous financial ties that remain between the two companies even as they increasingly compete for the same customers.
· 2 sources
SK Hynix reported record third-quarter results, with revenue of 104.6 trillion won (almost $78 billion), up 328% from a year earlier, and operating profit of 83.3 trillion won ($65.5 billion), up 632%, as demand for memory chips used in AI systems overwhelms supply and the company says its production through 2029 is effectively sold out.
The Bank of Canada has raised its key interest rate for the first time in more than three years, lifting it by a quarter point to 2.5 percent and warning that further increases may be needed to stop soaring energy costs from driving broader inflation.
The U.S. Department of Justice is asking questions about Nvidia's $12.9 billion acquisition of Hugging Face, an open-source platform for hosting and testing AI models, and how the deal may affect competitors in the growing AI sector. CNBC confirmed the probe with a source familiar with the matter; Reuters first reported the inquiry on Wednesday.
· 2 sourcesThe Federal Trade Commission and 20 states sued Dollar General on Monday, accusing the discount chain of engaging in what the complaint calls "long-running deceptive pricing practices" that extracted millions of dollars from customers who were charged higher prices at the register than the amounts shown on shelves and tags.
The Trump administration has sued Utah to stop the state from enforcing its gambling ban against Kalshi, a prediction market platform, marking the 10th state targeted by the federal government in a push to protect such services. Utah had sued Kalshi last week, seeking to prohibit it from allowing bets on sports, elections, and other events.
· 2 sources
DoorDash announced Thursday it will acquire Instacart for $17 billion, or $65 per share, a 26% premium, in a deal that combines two of the biggest names in food delivery. The merger is expected to close by the end of 2027 or the first half of 2028, and the companies will operate independently until then.
· 13 sources