What the Flux

Bunnings is facing major warehousing costs after sales for its outdoor category and gardening have been struggling due to poor weather.   Balenciaga, the luxury fashion house, has copped major heat from customers and celebs for its controversial ad campaign that showed children alongside very inappropriate objects.   Amazon will draw on its retail expertise to help other retailers boost sales… if...

Aussie retailer Strandbags is flicking its 95-year-old brand identity, and they’re doing it ‘for the next generation’.   Australian companies that are spending on cyber insurance could rise by 70% to more than $800 million in the next two years as companies seeking protection against hackers.   Aussie tech start-up FrankieOne has scored $23 million in funding from major crypto investors for their...

Mars Wrigley, the makers of Snickers, Mars, and Maltesers is transitioning to paper-based packaging in 2023.    Beauty retailer BWX has delayed releasing their financial accounts and is seeking additional debt funding to keep itself afloat.   China’s daily Covid infections reached an all-time high and another economy-sapping lockdown could be on the cards again.   ---   Build the financial wellbei...

Australia has signed a chunky new trade deal with India - in the hope that Australia can reduce its dependency on China for trade.   The Australian Retailers Association reckons consumers have spent around $6.2 billion over the Black Friday / Cyber Monday shopping bonanza!   As the World Cup rolls into its second week, host Qatar continues to create more controversy…but sponsors are still sticking...

Harvey Norman has revealed its sales have actually jumped nearly 7% in the first four months of this financial year and so, it plans to go big in Malaysia now.   Amazon plans to invest $1.5 billion a year into movies that will go directly to cinemas, rather than its own streaming service.   Zoom has announced its revenue has slowed to just 5% year over year so now, it’s focused on larger enterpris...

Qantas has increased its profit forecast as massive demand for flights continues to make Qantas great again.   Coles has launched its own one hour click and collect and says DoorDash and Uber will help it succeed in the space.   Disney has put the knife to its CEO and is welcoming back its previous CEO… in a back to the future move that saw its shares jump.   ---   Build the financial wellbeing of...

Iris Energy, a massive Australian-born bitcoin miner, has defaulted on $163m worth of debts on its crypto mining equipment.   Penguin Random House and its rival Simon and Schuster have scrapped their $2.2 billion USD merger after a judge ruled it would reduce competition.   Morgan Stanley, the global investment bank, has launched a $1 billion private equity fund for the climate space.   ---   Buil...

Five major streaming services are upping their spend on Aussie content to attract new subscribers as the government announces a new content quota for the industry.   NIB, the health insurer, has seen its profits rise off the back of angry Medibank customers making the big switch.   Gap, the giant retailer, has beaten profit estimates and has seen its share price rise by over 8%, but it’s not looki...

Webjet achieved a $4 million profit for the six months to September, which is quite the 180 from its $60 million loss at the same time last year.   Australia’s biggest producer of wagyu beef says it will ‘keep pushing’ its prices up… regardless of where cost of living goes.   Aussie mining behemoth BHP has reached deal to buy another giant Aussie company, Oz Minerals, for $9.6B.   ---   Build the...

David Jones’ South African owners have celebrated a 55% increase in sales this financial year so far.   Estee Lauder has acquired the Tom Ford brand for a whopping $2.8 billion after taking a particular interest in the company.   Airbnb is turning its attention to improving the experience for hosts as it looks to build up the supply of accommodation on the platform.   ---   Build the financial wel...

Deliveroo Australia has been placed in administration and the food delivery platform in the country will be turned off.   Oatly, the oat-milk maker, has warned that its revenue isn’t looking so tasty pretty because consumers are reigning in their spending.   Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has announced a $4.1 billion USD investment in a Taiwanese chipmaker and its shared jumped 8% on the news...

CBA has reported very solid financial results for the September quarter as bad debts drop (even as interest rates have gone up)!   Following FTX’s downfall, investors have started pulling funds from fellow crypto exchanges like Crypto.com.   Unilever, the global manufacturing giant, has raised the prices of their products much faster than rivals P&G and Nestle over the past year and there is o...

Adore Beauty has seen a 29% slide in its first quarter revenue as shoppers transitioned back from online shopping to the stores-of-old.   Amazon is looking to cut costs after it lost $3 billion USD this year... and the first team on the chopping block is Team Alexa.   Bumble has seen its growth slow down because zillennials have cut back on paid app-features and are getting thrifty with dates.   -...

Westfield shopping centres are finally flying again after two long and painful years.   Nintendo is expanding its product universe, and even its industry universe, in a highly creative new way.   Vanguard, the global investment giant, has launched its own superannuation product in Australia, rolling out a new fund that it claims is one of the market’s cheapest.   ---   Build the financial wellbein...

Origin Energy, one of Australia’s largest power and gas suppliers, has received an $18 billion takeover offer.   RM Williams has seen its sales jump by 17% for the 12 months to June, and it plans to become a ‘greener’ company in the future.   Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, is laying off 13% of its staff (or around 11,000 people) to withstand a downturn in the economy.   ---   Build...

News Corp, the media behemoth, has seen its income fall 75% in the last quarter after a major drop in its pay TV and publishing divisions.   Disney celebrated growth in its streaming subscribers in the last quarter… but lost over $1.5 billion USD to get there.   Binance, the largest crypto exchange in the world, has just announced a plan to take over FTX, the third largest crypto exchange, in one...

Westpac has announced a slight fall in its full-year cash profit but still managed to rake in $5.3 billion for the year.   Estee Lauder’s most recent quarterly sales figures have dropped by 11% after a cut back in cosmetic spending.   Travel app Hopper has raised $96 million to double down on social commerce after a big few months in the travel industry.   ---   Build the financial wellbeing of yo...

Coca-Cola Amatil is in a battle for coal royalties worth $80 million with mining mammoth Glencore.   Atlassian’s share price has plummeted over the past few days after some disappointing earnings and this was its largest one day share price fall ever.   Coopers Brewery, the largest Australian-owned brewery, reckons new products and geographic expansion is the key to get it back on track after its...

Ralph Lauren is launching a fashion collaboration with gaming platform Fortnite as retailers invest in digital partnerships to attract young shoppers.   AustralianSuper believes the government needs come up a ‘radically different’ model for super retirees.   Global shipping giant Maersk has reported blockbuster quarterly results, but if you look over the horizon, revenue could start to sink soon....

Two of Australia’s biggest betting agencies, Sportsbet and Bet365, may face multimillion-dollar fines following after an audit authorised by Australia’s financial crime watchdog.   Airbnb has broken one of its own financial records after a huge northern hemisphere summer… but now, investors are little more concerned about its prospects.   Johnson & Johnson is buying a heart device maker named...

Amazon Prime’s millions of members are getting access to a full music and podcast library.   The Australian Treasury department is looking at buy now pay later again with an eye to require credit checks for ALL customers.   Elon Musk has officially been Twitter’s owner for just under a week and he’s already making waves with sackings, hirings and reboots.   ---   Build the financial wellbeing of y...

The Big 4 banks are considering a collab with the federal government to launch a 400m social impact investment bank in Australia.   MrBeast, the hugely popular content creator, is trying to raise $150 million for his business, which would value the company at $1.5 billion USD.   Andreesen Horowitz, the famous Silicon Valley venture capital fund, has seen a 40% drop in its crypto fund… but it’s tel...

Westpac has committed to spending millions and millions on rugby league in order to attract banking customers and sell more loans.   Self-driving car tech company Mobileye had it long-awaited IPO last week, and day 1 saw its shares soar 38% in the year’s strongest US IPO.   Apple has hiked the prices of its music and TV+ services for the first time since they launched - and it comes at a very pecu...

Seven West Media has found a new partner in content-crime with a new partnership with US giant NBCUniversal - so welcome 7Bravo.   Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has announced some pretty crazy results with its revenue looking good.. and billions being poured into the metaverse... but no returns yet.   ANZ has announced a full year cash profit up 5% to over $6.5 billion thanks to the Reserve Ba...

Medibank has revealed that all 3.9m of its customers were hit by its recent cyber attack.   Kanye West, now known as Ye, has been broken up with by Adidas after a number of racist and controversial comments over the past few weeks.   Coles has reported accelerating inflation again at its supermarkets and now the prices for fresh food are rising to new heights.   ---   Build the financial wellbeing...