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Business news from Australia and around the world: companies, deals, earnings, regulation and the people running them.
1814 articles · page 8 of 38
Virginia Murdoch, who co-founded ebook startup Booki.sh before AI coding tools existed, told founders at Google Ascend in Sydney last week that the AI era has made building software almost free and that customer trust, not technical speed, now decides which startups win.
Tesla has confirmed it will not produce a right-hand-drive version of the Cybertruck for Australia and New Zealand, ending a wait that began with deposits in 2019. In an email to customers reported by news.com.au, the company said plans had been discontinued, with deposits to be refunded within 30 days. Customers who instead buy a Model 3 or Model Y will receive a complimentary 12-month Full Self-Driving subscription.
Comcast reported a loss of 144,000 residential broadband customers in the third quarter of 2026, a sharp increase from the 91,000 customers it lost in the same period last year. The company, which is reportedly planning significant job cuts in its cable division, attributed the deepening subscriber losses to aggressive competition from fixed wireless providers and fiber-optic networks.
Flagship Minerals has renegotiated its option to acquire the high-grade Rosario copper-silver project in Chile, halving the final purchase payment to US$1 million and extending the deadline to October 2028. The move allows the company to keep the project in its portfolio while focusing capital on its advanced Isidora gold project.
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SpaceX reported on Thursday that its stake in Elon Musk’s The Boring Company generated a $561 million investment gain during the third quarter, accounting for more than half of the space company’s “other income” and helping lift net income to just over $4 billion. During SpaceX’s earnings call, Musk said he thought it would be a “good idea” for SpaceX and Tesla to merge and confirmed that both companies have formed special committees to discuss a potential transaction.
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Shares of South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix fell up to 3% in Seoul on Friday after the company announced it would halt its review of a potential US initial public offering for its subsidiary, Solidigm. The decision comes as financial market volatility and regulatory concerns in South Korea clouded the listing's prospects, even as the company faces pressure to expand US manufacturing capacity to meet growing AI memory demand.
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Warhound, a defense startup based on a concept developed by Colossal Biosciences co-founder Ben Lamm and Anduril Industries founder Palmer Luckey, emerged from stealth on Thursday with $200 million in seed funding to clone and genetically engineer military working dogs, aiming to address supply chain vulnerabilities and improve canine performance for the U.S. military and law enforcement.
· 5 sourcesUS airlines are raising fares and cutting back on money-losing flights as jet fuel prices surge, with many executives signalling that the shift is permanent. Airfares rose 22 percent in September from a year earlier, the 10th consecutive monthly increase, and fuel bills are piling pressure on carriers across the industry. American Airlines reported its fuel bill jumped nearly 70 percent in the third quarter, adding $1.9 billion in costs, while Delta expects its fuel bill for the year to come in $6 billion above last year's.
Golden Dragon Mining has commenced a 6,000-to-9,000-metre aircore drilling campaign at its Cue Gold project in Western Australia’s Murchison region. The program targets a gold-in-soil anomaly that extends more than three kilometres, which recent auger work suggests may connect several prospects into a single mineralised system.
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has barred all Pentagon employees from wagering on prediction markets like Polymarket or Kalshi using classified or nonpublic information, citing operational security and conflict-of-interest risks. The ban comes months after a U.S. Army soldier was charged with exploiting advance knowledge of a mission to capture Venezuela’s president for financial gain.
Chinese medical equipment makers are increasingly winning hospital business around the world, challenging the long dominance of GE, Siemens and Philips and extending Beijing's technological push into another industry.
Green360 Technologies (ASX:GT3) is scaling production of its MKX alternative concrete supplement after securing a second major customer and supplying over 4,500 cubic metres into Victorian infrastructure projects, while also reducing quarterly cash burn by around 90 per cent.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has dismissed the possibility of systemic economic risks from the AI boom, the Financial Times reported, even as a global technology selloff driven by AI spending fears deepened into Thursday.
SpaceX has finalized a $40 billion private credit raise with the riskiest portion of debt priced at up to 8.75%, a person familiar with the matter said, a jump of more than 200 basis points from bonds issued four months ago as fears over the returns on AI investments spread through credit markets.
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The United Nations has issued a warning to Chevron after independent satellite monitoring detected repeated massive methane plumes emerging from its Gorgon liquefied natural gas plant on Barrow Island off Western Australia, with the most recent observation in late August recording an average emission rate equivalent to burning more than 110,000 kilograms of coal per hour.
· 2 sourcesFederal and California officials announced separate healthcare fraud enforcement actions on Thursday, with federal prosecutors charging 15 people in cases alleging more than $2 billion in losses and state Attorney General Rob Bonta announcing charges and arrests against 103 providers accused of defrauding Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program, of more than $4.5 million.
The Australian share market finished the trading day slightly higher, defying expectations of a fall after US tech stocks tumbled and oil prices surged. The ASX 200 closed up two points at 8,795, with Consumer Discretionary and Financials leading gains while Materials and Information Technology dragged. The result came despite a 7% drop in Meta shares overnight after investors balked at its plans to increase AI spending, and Brent crude topping $US113 a barrel on further Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and concerns about a fresh escalation between the US and Iran.
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The Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have proposed significant relaxations to the senior managers regime introduced after the 2008 financial crisis. The changes would mean only the most senior executives, such as chief executives and chief financial officers, must prove they are fit and proper each year, freeing about 140,000 other staff from enhanced checks. The regulators say the reforms will save businesses £2bn over a decade while maintaining high standards of individual accountability.
· 2 sourcesOlder Americans reported losing about $3 billion to fraud in 2025, a 25% increase from $2.4 billion in 2024, according to a Federal Trade Commission report to Congress released Monday. The figure has risen 400% from $600 million in 2020. The FTC estimates actual losses may be far higher, ranging from $13.3 billion to $119.5 billion, because many scams go unreported.
The UK energy regulator Ofgem has approved an agreement to preserve gas import capacity through interconnectors with mainland Europe, aiming to ensure flexibility during periods of high demand, particularly in winter. The move comes as the regulator consults on a cost-recovery mechanism for maintaining this capacity.
OpenAI is closing in on a funding round of up to US$30 billion at a US$1.25 trillion valuation, and has told investors it aims to secure signatures by the end of next week, according to people familiar with the talks. The round is led by investors from the United Arab Emirates alongside Coatue, the people said.
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Andreessen Horowitz announced Thursday it is rebranding its a16z Crypto investment unit to a16z Frontier, expanding its mandate beyond digital assets to invest in artificial intelligence, autonomous machines, and other emerging technologies. The $2.2 billion fund, launched with a crypto-only focus in May, will continue backing blockchain companies, but the name change marks a significant shift for the firm.
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Global markets were hammered again on Thursday as a sell-off in artificial intelligence stocks deepened, Brent crude surged past $113 a barrel to its highest in five months, and investors fled to US government bonds, driving the 10-year Treasury yield sharply lower. The S&P 500 fell 1.2 percent for its worst session since July, while the Nasdaq composite tumbled 2.6 percent, its biggest drop since June.
· 10 sourcesWorkers on family health insurance plans paid an average of $7,471 in premiums in 2026, a 9% increase from the previous year, according to a new KFF survey. The rise outpaces wage growth of 3.7%, and new projections from PwC and Aon suggest another 9% to 9.5% jump in 2027, threatening to deepen financial strain on households and businesses alike.
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Fusion startup Helion has secured a letter of intent from the U.S. Department of Commerce for up to $175 million in CHIPS Act funding to support advanced semiconductor research and manufacturing, the company announced. The three-year initiative, which Helion is matching with $50 million in private investment, will focus on high-voltage semiconductors for commercial fusion energy systems and domestic supply chain development.
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Amazon has rebranded its Kindle Unlimited subscription service as Kindle Plus, maintaining the $11.99 monthly price while expanding audiobook access to include AI-narrated 'virtual voice' titles.
· 2 sourcesThe Welsh Rugby Union has posted an £18m loss for the financial year to June 2026, more than double the previous year's deficit, and said the figures prove the game is "living beyond its means" as it advances a controversial plan to cut Wales from four professional regions to three.
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Kevin Weil, formerly OpenAI's science lead, has launched Warp Sciences, an AI startup that trains robots to automate wet-lab tasks for drug discovery. The company has raised $215 million at an $865 million valuation, with Lightspeed leading the round alongside IVP, Premji Invest, and Lux Capital.
· 2 sourcesA 71-year-old man was killed on Interstate 80 in Vallejo, California early Thursday after being struck by a Tesla operating in Full Self-Driving mode, according to the California Highway Patrol.
A new feature article explores why group holidays often stall in WhatsApp chats and offers practical strategies for converting enthusiasm into booked trips. From appointing a 'Producer' to setting clear budgets and cancellation terms, the piece draws on research into group decision-making and advice from a luxury travel designer to help groups avoid common pitfalls.
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A jury in New Mexico has ordered Meta to pay $25 billion for violating state consumer protection laws, the largest single fine ever imposed on the company. The penalty came after the state declined to join a multistate settlement worth $18 billion reached earlier this year.
Tesla has announced plans to expand its Cybercab robotaxi service beyond its initial hub in Austin, Texas, starting with Dallas next month and other cities by the end of the year. The company also said it will begin selling the autonomous vehicles to fleet operators before 2027, signaling a major push into the ride-hailing market.
Harrods will ask the High Court next month to remove the family of the late Mohamed Al-Fayed as executors of his estate, which faces sexual abuse claims from 270 alleged victims worth about £150 million, as the department store seeks funds to help pay settlements.
Elon Musk has invested roughly $1 billion in Skydance, the media company led by David Ellison, according to people familiar with the matter. The injection comes as Skydance works to cut costs and bolster its stock price, alongside equity investments from other backers including board member Laurene Powell Jobs.
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Microsoft is closing The Garage, the set of maker spaces where employees built experimental apps and hardware during the company's annual hackathons. In an internal FAQ seen by The Verge, Microsoft said it is winding down The Garage as a centralized function and will look for new ways to help employees build skills and collaborate.
Meta shares fell about 6% on Thursday and the cost of insuring the company's debt hit an all-time high after the social media giant reported negative free cash flow and raised the lower end of its full-year capital expenditure forecast, underscoring investor unease over its artificial intelligence spending plans. In its earnings release Wednesday, Meta also announced a new class of nonvoting stock to help finance growth and preserve its founder-led structure, and warned that CEO Mark Zuckerberg could leave California if a proposed state wealth tax passed.
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A US federal judge has ordered President Donald Trump to sit for a deposition in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC by December 11, threatening possible sanctions including dismissal of the case if he fails to comply. The ruling by US Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett came after the BBC's lawyers complained that Trump had delayed his appearance, cancelling an agreed October 16 date for what he called a "matter of national importance" but was in fact a campaign event in Georgia.
· 21 sourcesWeekly jobless claims in the United States slipped to 194,000 for the week ending October 17, hovering near the lowest levels recorded since the 1960s, even as hiring remains tepid and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2 percent. The Labor Department data, released Thursday, shows that employers continue to hold onto workers despite an uncertain economic backdrop, with the four-week moving average falling to 197,750.
· 2 sourcesMattel has appointed a partner from Canadian investment firm EdgePoint Investment Group to its board under a cooperation agreement, neutralizing a brewing proxy fight by securing an 18% stake in friendly hands just hours after reports that Southeastern Asset Management was preparing a boardroom challenge.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Thursday he sees no sign of a memory supply glut by 2029, pushing back against investor concerns that have driven a selloff in memory stocks over the past week.
· 3 sourcesThe UK Gun Hall in Telford, operated by German defence firm Rheinmetall, has begun production of large-calibre gun barrels for the first time in 20 years. Defence secretary Wes Streeting said the facility, built in eight months from an empty site, marked the rapid reindustrialisation of Britain's defence industry and created 100 skilled jobs.
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A surge in demand for protein-rich foods is failing to translate into profits for Gulf producers as war-related logistics disruptions drive up feed, shipping and maritime costs, with Riyadh-based Nadec reporting a 72.5% drop in net profit despite doubling protein sales.
Markets steadied during Friday's Asian session after a volatile overnight period, with bitcoin recovering to nearly $82,000 and gold bouncing off an early low, while oil remained near $100 a barrel despite a US move to boost fuel production. The Japanese yen, which had surged to its strongest level since September on haven buying driven in part by AI-related jitters, gave up its early gains.
· 2 sourcesThe Patricia Reser Center for the Arts in Beaverton says its first single-genre season, a year of hip-hop programming, was a financial success that attracted hundreds of new patrons, offering a possible model for arts venues across the Portland metro that are struggling with attendance.
American Airlines has forecast a larger full-year loss for 2026 than previously expected, blaming a sharp spike in jet fuel costs linked to the Iran war, and said it will slow capacity growth next year. The Fort Worth-based carrier now expects to lose between $1 and $1.60 per share on an adjusted basis for the full year, a significant downgrade from its July forecast of up to 65 cents per share profit to a 65-cent loss.
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American Express on Thursday announced a partnership with Airbnb that brings more than 1 million Airbnb listings to its travel portal, allowing eligible cardholders to earn Membership Rewards points on bookings. The move adds short-term rental options to Amex's hotel portfolio and gives Platinum cardholders new ways to use their annual lodging credit.
· 2 sourcesDavid's Bridal plans to spin off its artificial intelligence platform Pearl into a separate publicly traded company, targeting a valuation of roughly $350 million, the company announced. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027.
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Comcast reported third-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations, driven by strong media revenue and a second profitable quarter for its Peacock streaming service, even as its broadband and theme park businesses faced headwinds. The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.07 on revenue of $29.3 billion for the period ended Sept. 30.
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