News without the noise
Business news from Australia and around the world: companies, deals, earnings, regulation and the people running them.
1818 articles · page 28 of 38
Nannies employed by the ultra-rich can earn US$200,000 ($281,000) a year for 12-hour days on a seven-day roster, with agencies reporting a surge in demand for highly credentialed childcare staff willing to travel the world.
Amazon Australia is holding Prime Big Deal Day for the first time, a week-long sales event exclusive to Prime members that runs from Tuesday, September 29 through Monday, October 5, 2026. The event promises discounts across categories, with a curated roundup highlighting deals on brands including Olaplex and La Roche-Posay, while the headline also features KitchenAid, Bose and Kérastase.
Global investors are dumping US dollar debt in what ABC analyst Ian Verrender describes as an outright bond market revolt against Washington for the second time since Donald Trump returned to the White House, forcing American and global interest rates to their highest levels in decades and setting up an expected fourth Reserve Bank of Australia rate hike for 2026.
Chipmaker Nvidia has announced a record $150 billion increase to its stock buyback programme, taking the total authorised repurchases to $235 billion, according to The Hill. The Australian Financial Review, however, reported a larger total of more than $330 billion, creating conflicting accounts of the announcement.
Volkswagen has announced it will replace its recently retired ID.4 crossover with the ID.Tiguan, an all-electric version of its popular Tiguan nameplate, acknowledging that recognizable brands may ease consumer adoption of electric vehicles. The ID.Tiguan is expected to launch in Europe in early 2027 and arrive in the US at a later date.
Walmart has moved to reassure customers that its shift to digital shelf labels will not be used to implement personalized pricing, with CEO John Furner stating in a letter that the company will not change prices based on a shopper's income, shopping history, or the time of day.
MAVI, an AI-powered talent marketplace connecting U.S. companies with global financial and accounting professionals, officially emerged from stealth on Monday. Founded in 2023 by Molly Liu and Aman Puri, the platform seeks to address the shrinking U.S. accounting workforce and the growing need for accountants who can work alongside AI tools.
Atlassian co-founder and CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes has pushed back against the so-called SaaSpocalypse narrative, arguing that artificial intelligence is actually increasing usage of his company’s tools rather than rendering them obsolete. In a wide-ranging interview on The Verge’s Decoder podcast, Cannon-Brookes addressed concerns that AI could build workplace software from scratch, potentially destroying the $200-billion-plus software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry. The comments come amid a broader debate over AI’s impact on enterprise software stocks.
Aldi has announced plans to invest £900 million in the UK and open more than 40 new stores next year, citing increasing confidence in its growth strategy. The German-owned discounter posted record annual sales of £19 billion, though profits slipped slightly as it absorbed cost inflation to keep prices low.
Boston-based voice intelligence startup Modulate has raised $25 million in new funding for its platform, which uses an array of small models to offer enterprises transcription, emotional analysis, deepfake and AI music detection, and policy enforcement for voice agents in regulated industries.
Outmarket, an AI startup that automates paperwork for insurance agencies and brokers, has raised $34.5 million in a Series B round led by SignalFire, just four months after closing a $17 million Series A. The new round values the company at $355 million, according to a person familiar with the investment.
Arlington, Virginia-based maritime intelligence startup Quartermaster has closed a $140 million Series B funding round, just months after its $43 million Series A. The round was preempted by software-focused venture firm Insight Partners and includes new investor Overmatch Ventures, along with existing backers like First Round Capital, with the remaining $40 million coming as a debt facility from investment bank Stifel.
Ofcom has blocked Openreach's plan to offer discounted fiber connections to internet service providers, ruling the pricing could prevent rival network operators from fairly competing. The regulator's decision, made permanent after a provisional block in July, is the first time it has rejected an Openreach commercial offer.
NorthPoint Development has proposed building a data center on 1,300 acres in the Pocono foothills near Hazle Township, Pennsylvania, and is offering $10,000 checks to each of the area's roughly 4,500 households if the project is approved. Despite the median household income being around $60,000, the offer has not been warmly received by many residents, who cite concerns over noise pollution, water and energy costs, property values, and a distrust of both AI moguls and local government. Hazle Township's government previously rejected the project on zoning grounds and enacted a temporary moratorium on data center construction.
The head of family-owned jeweller Beaverbrooks has called on the UK government to halt rising business costs, warning that flat sales and a 9% fall in underlying operating profit show retailers are under pressure ahead of October's budget.
Developer Goodman Group has withdrawn plans for a controversial $1.2 billion datacentre in Lane Cove, Sydney, blaming 'emerging' regulations from state and federal governments for the decision to pull the plug on the project, known as 'Project Mars'.
Casino operator Crown is suing multinational insurer Riverstone International in the Supreme Court of Victoria, claiming the company refused to honour excess insurance policies that would help fund a $72.5 million class action settlement with shareholders.
US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have recorded their strongest week of inflows this year, taking in $2.39 billion, according to data from SoSoValue. The weekly total was the largest since the week ending October 10, 2025, when net inflows reached $2.71 billion.
South Africa’s Gold Fields has expressed interest in acquiring Northern Star Resources, Australia’s largest gold miner, in what could become a major cross-border deal, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Avanti West Coast, the rail operator linking London to Birmingham, the north-west and Glasgow, will be renationalised on 7 March when its contract expires, with Andy Burnham declaring "enough is enough" for passengers who have endured a service "that has failed them time and time again."
Red Metal has lodged 17 additional tenement applications near its Gulf and Three Ways projects in Queensland, expanding its prospective ground to 5,800 square kilometres as it pursues iron oxide-copper-gold deposits analogous to major discoveries in South Australia.
A commodity market relationship that has held since large-scale nickel mining began in the mid-19th century is showing signs of collapse, according to an opinion analysis published in The Sydney Morning Herald and Brisbane Times. The shift highlights how dependent the global energy transition is on copper, a metal that has so far resisted the supply growth that has weighed on nickel prices.
Bitcoin and US equity futures fell on Sunday after President Trump said he could not rule out additional strikes on Iran before the midterm elections, even as he suggested the war could end soon. The moves point to jittery risk appetite as investors gauge the outlook for the conflict.
Multi-commodity explorer Critical Resources has further expanded into the South American nation of Suriname, securing a 90 per cent stake in the Greenstars gold project and its Saramacca satellite deposit from a private Surinamese company, marking its second gold project acquisition in the country within a week.
Dateline Resources has won support from two US federal departments in its bid to overturn an injunction that halted operations at its Colosseum gold and rare earths project in California, sending its share price up 50 per cent in early trade.
US 10-year Treasury yields have spiked to near 20-year highs, jumping from 4.95% to 5.16% in a week, raising concerns that higher bond returns could draw investment away from equities and potentially derail the artificial intelligence-driven stock market rally, according to market analysis.
Northern Star Resources, Australia's biggest gold miner and owner of Kalgoorlie's Super Pit, has rejected a $38.7 billion takeover approach from South Africa's Gold Fields, calling the proposal "opportunistic" and "unsolicited".
Plans for a third runway at Heathrow have been delayed by up to four years after airport chiefs confirmed the original 2035 operations deadline is no longer achievable. The prime minister has declined to say whether he supports the "contested" project, which now faces a new timetable that would see the runway open around 2039.
The vast majority of the UK's essential foods, including cereals, potatoes, sugar and oil, are grown in areas of England rated as having a moderate to very high risk of drought, according to an analysis by nature-focused investment fund Rebalance Earth.
Investment bankers and lawyers in London have collectively earned more than £1bn in fees from a mergers and acquisitions boom this year, as overseas buyers snap up UK-listed companies at a record pace, according to data from the London Stock Exchange. The figure has ignited anger over high City remuneration while households contend with a prolonged cost of living crisis.
A Moscow firm has been identified using an ever-expanding network of shell companies to evade Western sanctions and procure drone parts for Russia's war in Ukraine, according to documents obtained by business data correspondents.
Days after an independent commission reportedly found Manchester City guilty of 114 of 115 Premier League financial breaches, Australian newspapers are reporting growing demands that the club be stripped of titles won between 2009 and 2018. No sanction has been announced, the commission's written decision is yet to be published, and the club, which denies wrongdoing, is expected to appeal.
TasWater has drawn sharp criticism from Tasmanian businesses after suggesting that customers affected by water bill increases of up to 500 per cent could reduce their meter connections to 20 millimetres to lower costs. The proposal emerged during a parliamentary inquiry on Thursday, as the utility defends average annual price rises of 5.7 per cent over four years, which took effect in July.
A federal jury in San Diego has ordered Apple to pay over $5.7 billion in damages for infringing two patents held by haptics company Taction Technology, marking one of the largest patent verdicts in history. Apple said it plans to appeal the decision.
A Sydney developer who raised millions from investors to build housing for people with disabilities has gone into liquidation, with administrators questioning the legitimacy of $5 million in cash withdrawals made before the company collapsed. Fairy Meadow House Pty Ltd, named for the Wollongong suburb where the project was to be built, entered liquidation in May, and its director Shaun Mowbray was declared bankrupt in July with just $150 in the bank.
Meta and YouTube have reversed earlier decisions to reject paid advertising for Alex Gibney's upcoming documentary about Elon Musk, after The Hollywood Reporter reported that multiple social media platforms had refused to run the ad. A Meta spokesperson said the rejection was "an error" and the ads were being restored, while YouTube said its system had "temporarily restricted" the trailer before clearing it following review.
Tesla has officially launched high-volume production of its long-awaited Semi electric truck at a factory in Sparks, Nevada, targeting the cost-conscious fleet management market. The invite-only event, streamed live, featured company executives thanking early adopters, while CEO Elon Musk appeared only in a pre-recorded video, as he attended a White House China State Dinner. Despite the production milestone, the heavy-duty electric truck faces a significant infrastructure challenge, particularly regarding charging networks for long-haul routes.
The UK government has stepped up drafting of legislation to outlaw the for-profit resale of concert and event tickets, as artists including Tinie Tempah and Mike Joyce of the Smiths pressure Prime Minister Keir Starmer to deliver on a pledge first made in Labour's 2024 election manifesto.
Pokémon card content creator Natalie Roush has drawn strong criticism from the collecting community after showing off two unreleased premium boxes from the Pokémon 30th Celebration set, with fellow creators alleging the cards were stolen from the manufacturer.
Three-quarters of the 20 best-selling plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in the UK are unable to use rapid chargers, according to new analysis, casting doubt on the technology's role as a bridge to full electrification amid concerns that many models are effectively "petrol cars pulling round a heavy battery."
A vast leak of tens of thousands of confidential files from the gambling regulator on the Caribbean island of Curaçao has laid bare the inner workings of offshore online casinos, with experts warning the disclosure could have seismic consequences for firms accused of illegally targeting consumers worldwide.
TikTok has agreed to pay Alabama at least $100 million and impose a two-hour daily time limit for underage users, in a settlement announced days before trial that could ultimately be worth $300 million depending on unspecified conditions, according to the Alabama attorney general's office.
Crusoe, the Denver-based AI data center developer, has abandoned a $1.25 billion agreement to purchase 29 stationary power turbines from fellow Denver company Boom Supersonic, according to Boom CEO Blake Scholl. The decision removes Crusoe from the launch partnership for Boom's Superpower turbine business, which repurposes technology from its planned supersonic passenger jet.
A Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals panel has ruled that Kalshi's sports-related event contracts are not swaps under federal law, determining that the Commodity Exchange Act does not apply and leaving oversight to state regulators.
Chinese automaker Geely has announced its latest electric vehicle charging achievement, claiming the ability to charge a battery to 70% in under five minutes, underscoring a widening gap between China's advanced EV ecosystem and the slower pace of development in the United States.
New analysis of US electric grid data finds electricity demand rose 2 percent over the past year, a slower pace than the 3 percent growth recorded at the same point a year earlier — despite rapid data center expansion and growing electrification of transport and heating.
Fervo Energy, an enhanced geothermal systems provider backed by Google, has achieved first power at its Cape Station plant in Beaver County, Utah, with a 33 MW GeoBlock now feeding the grid. The company expects commercial operation next week and aims to have 100 MW online by New Year's Day, eventually scaling to more than four gigawatts of capacity.
The US Department of Justice has filed to intervene in Elon Musk's appeal against a €120 million fine imposed on his social media platform X by the European Commission, escalating the transatlantic clash over Brussels' efforts to regulate American tech companies. The application, lodged on Thursday, will be heard at the EU's General Court in Luxembourg.