Business

Business news from Australia and around the world: companies, deals, earnings, regulation and the people running them.

1807 articles · page 4 of 38

Business

Amazon tells engineers to stop 'tokenmaxxing' and measure AI by long-term results

Amazon has told its software engineers to stop "tokenmaxxing," warning in updated guidelines posted Tuesday that heavy AI usage is not proof of good work and that engineers should be judged on long-term outcomes rather than metrics such as token consumption and code changes. The guidance, which circulated internally in September before publication, follows the shutdown of an internal AI leaderboard in May after employees were found gaming it.

·4 min·4 sources
Business

US airlines lift fares 22.4% as jet fuel costs surge, prioritising yield over occupancy

Major US airlines have raised fares sharply as jet fuel prices rose more than 90 per cent since the start of the Iran war, with carriers deliberately accepting emptier planes in exchange for higher revenue per passenger. Airfares climbed 22.4 per cent year over year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while the five largest US airlines generated nearly $8.8 billion more in passenger revenue in the third quarter of 2026, an 18 per cent increase, but passenger traffic grew less than 1 per cent.

·3 min
Business

UK launches low- and no-interest loans to help households fund heat pumps, solar panels

Households across the UK can now apply for interest-free or low-interest loans of up to £35,000 to fund low-carbon home upgrades such as heat pumps, solar panels and batteries, under a new government-backed scheme launched on Tuesday. The Warm Home Loans scheme could save households up to £550 a year on energy bills, rising by a further £300 with a time-of-use tariff, according to the government.

·2 min·3 sources
Business

WA regulators confirm investigation into methane emissions at Chevron's Gorgon plant

The West Australian government confirmed it is investigating repeated large methane emissions from Chevron's Gorgon LNG plant after a United Nations-linked satellite detected the plumes over the past year. The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) said it is working to establish the cause and is engaging with Chevron. The company has not commented on the state investigation.

·2 min·2 sources
Business

China’s CSI 300 in bear market as $2.4tn AI sell-off deepens, STAR 50 down 40%

China’s stock markets have lost about $2.4tn since May, with the CSI 300 index of the country’s biggest listed companies entering a bear market and the STAR 50 tech index plunging 40%, as investors lose faith that Beijing’s artificial intelligence boom will ever turn a profit. The slide comes as global risk assets face fresh pressure from high oil prices, rising Treasury yields and anxiety ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s October 28 decision.

·4 min·3 sources
Business

Federal Court hearing looms as police probe 'targeted' firebombing of Simon Pitard's Brighton mansion

Police are treating the firebombing of the Brighton mansion of property developer Simon Pitard as a “targeted arson attack”, while a Federal Court hearing over the collapse of his former construction company is scheduled for next month. 7NEWS reported there was no information linking the firebombing to that legal dispute. No one was injured in the attack on the Manor Street home on Tuesday.

·2 min·4 sources
Business

David Jones gets emergency funding as owner faces Christmas decision on store's future

David Jones' owner Anchorage Capital is racing to decide the department store's future by Christmas, as lender Hilco Capital confirmed emergency funding to carry the 188-year-old retailer through the holiday trading season. The Australian Financial Review reports the funding is about $10 million, while Anchorage says directors are in intense discussions that could involve store closures.

·3 min·3 sources
Business

WA EPA Warns of 'Irreversible Damage' from Woodside's Browse Gas Project

Western Australia's Environmental Protection Authority has warned that Woodside Energy's $30 billion Browse gas project off the Kimberley coast poses a threat of 'serious or irreversible damage', according to a newly revealed draft letter. The letter, written in December 2023 and obtained by the publication Boiling Cold, finds the company's proposed measures to protect the marine environment, including green turtles and pygmy blue whales, are inadequate and not proportionate to the risk of a catastrophic hydrocarbon spill.

·3 min·4 sources
Business

Plan for WA's biggest gas plant released for public comment as 75 per cent renewables target set

Plans for Western Australia's largest ever gas-fired power station have been released for public comment on the same day the state government announced a target to lift renewable generation on the main grid from 40 to 75 per cent. Energy giant APA's proposed 870-megawatt Keralup Energy Hub, south of Perth, would exceed the capacity of the state's current biggest gas station and burn about 10 per cent of WA's daily gas use.

·3 min·6 sources
Business

Tories dismiss Burnham's 'everyday fixes' as 'cheaper gherkins' as shop price inflation hits two-year high

The Conservatives have attacked Prime Minister Andy Burnham's pre-Budget 'everyday fixes' as little more than 'cheaper gherkins', as new data showed UK shop price inflation at its highest in more than two years. Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith said the package, which includes removing tariffs on over 100 products and easing carer's allowance rules, was 'an insult to families hammered by Labour's tax rises.'

·2 min·6 sources