What the Flux

The federal budget has shown off a $42 billion improvement to the government’s bottom line over four years, but there won’t be any direct assistance around cost of living pressures.   *Correction: The deficit is expected to reduce to just $36.9 billion.*   The government is looking at imposing tough new rules on the vaping industry, as a new analysis shows that regulating vapes could deliver an $8...

Netball Australia is facing a sudden and major $25m sponsorship loss as Hancock Prospecting pulls out of a much needed sponsorship deal.   The owner of Aussie streaming service Stan has said Stan is not for sale... but we are very open to strategic partnerships.   7-Eleven is re-committing to the long term viability of petrol via a brand new deal with oil giant ExxonMobil.   ---   Build the financ...

Virgin Australia has some bold plans to expand its international travel offering, as the rise in demand for travel gives Virgin some much needed confidence.   Hermes, the luxury brand behemoth, is popping bottles with a 24% rise in total revenue, as high-end brands continue to win win win in this economy.   Klarna, the buy now pay later platform, is launching shoppable video as e-commerce (slaaash...

Chemist Warehouse has had a monstrous year, with a record net profit of $385 million.   Uber has announced the launch of a new advertising division that will sell ad space through its app, rides and more.   TikTok is making updates to its livestreaming platform by restricting viewership of livestreams to 18 and older.. While also adding an adult-only broadcast.   ---   Build the financial wellbein...

Guzman y Gomez, the Aussie-born Mexican chain, is now worth $1.5 billion after a secondary share sale.   Hasbro, the monster-size toymaker and entertainment company, has seen its earnings plummet for the last 3 months.   Netflix’s shares have skyrocketed after it announced delightful results - and finally an increase in net global subscribers.   ---   Build the financial wellbeing of your team wit...

Tyro, the Aussie payments business, has suddenly become the most popular kid at the playground - with both Westpac and a private equity investor looking to snap it up.   Kanye West - aka Ye - has announced he’s going to buy conservative social media site Parler because he’s been banned from Twitter and Instagram.   Amazon is introducing new weekly live-streamed concerts as part of Amazon Prime Vid...

Online retailer MyDeal is Australia's latest hacking victim, and 2.2 million of their customers may have had their data exposed.   Star Entertainment Group has had its Sydney casino licence suspended and could face up to $100m worth of fines.   The two major companies in the Murdoch media empire, News Corp and Fox, are planning to reunite after splitting up in 2013.   ---   Build the financial wel...

Netflix’s new ad-based plan is going to launch in Australia next month.   NAB is claiming to be the first major bank in the universe to allow small business owners to accept payments directly from their mobile phones.   Skydance Media, the Hollywood studio behind "Top Gun: Maverick," has raised $400 million USD in new funding at a valuation north of $4 billion USD.   ---   Build the financial well...

Telstra’s shareholders have voted to divide the monstrous business into three fully discrete subsidiaries... with one parent! And it could lead to a big payday for its shareholders.   Qantas has a real spring in its step after releasing a quarterly update to investors that shows it’s gonna be back in black sooner than expected.   General Motors is launching an energy storage business that takes it...

Uber Australia has announced a new partnership that will allow Uber drivers to buy an electric vehicle and they’re slinging some rewards to drivers as an incentive.   BMW is partnering with a gaming platform to bring single and multiplayer games to new vehicles from next year.   TikTok is looking to create a whole new logistics and warehousing network to help grow it’s e-commerce biz… so it ain’t...

Aussie fintech Airwallex has raised $100m US for acquisitions because it reckons now is a good time to snap up cheap software companies.   YouTube users will finally have a new way of identifying themselves after YouTube announced that custom name handles will be rolled out.   Baby Bunting’s investors are not going ga-ga for its latest results after a major drop in its profit margin.   ---   Build...

Cotton On has proven that good retail businesses can still grow in a very big way after its profits doubled for the last 12 months.   Tabcorp has taken a $33m punt by acquiring a 20% stake in a social media betting app called Dabble.   Dubber Corp, an Aussie voice technology company, has ‘restated’ its revenue figure from its preliminary results... and investors have sold their shares in a panic....

Peloton, the at-home exercise bike, has about six months to save itself from destruction, according to its CEO.   Spotify has acquired a machine learning company called Kinzen to try and find misinformation in podcasts and stamp it out.   Coles is still expecting a big splurge come Christmas time and isn’t expecting a major pull back on spending until 2023.   ---   Build the financial wellbeing of...

An online social gaming company named Virtual Gaming World is now the sixth largest private company in Australia after releasing its annual revenue.   Nestle has announced a $1 billion USD commitment to protect coffee from the climate crisis, and help its coffee suppliers adopt sustainable farming.   Apple will have to change its iPhone charger in the European Union after a new reform was passed t...

Asahi, the beer and soft drinks behemoth, has acquired StrangeLove, the Australian, premium, low-calorie, soft drink company.   YouTube is in discussions with streaming broadcasters about a new product that it wants to launch in Australia, which could be interpreted as a cheeky attempt to control our home TVs.   Big Tobacco is re-entering the vaping industry as the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, Al...

The Reserve Bank of Australia has gone six-in-a-row, raising the cash rate by 0.25% to 2.60% and it’s getting a little too close to comfort for many home owners.   A 3 year-old company that sells water has just raised $70m USD and is now valued at over $700 million USD… for plain, old water.   Mobileye, which is Intel’s tech company in the self-driving car space, has filed for an IPO - and this IP...

Ikea is shrinking stores in Australia and around the world in an attempt to keep up with the economic times - and keep their customers too.   Porsche made its much anticipated debut on stock market last week - and what a pleasant surprise that was for its big name owner (hint: it's VW).   H&M, the global fashion retailer, is sounding the alarm on its falling profits, and it all follows their b...

Treasury Wine Estates has announced the launch of a new Chinese-made Penfolds wine to replace its Chinese exporting business.   Biogen, a US based biotech company, has announced a successful Alzheimer’s trial and as a result its share price boomed 40% on the news.   Lego has continued to see its blocks shine bright like a diamond after a 17% uplift in revenue for the first six month of 2022.   ---...

AGL Energy will close its biggest carbon emitting power plant a decade earlier than originally planned following a big push from its largest shareholders.   Premier Investments, the company behind Smiggle and several other big name retailers, has announced record sales for the past 12 months, and now has issued a special dividend.   Hertz, the car rental company, has partnered with oil giant BP to...

Thrills, the Byron Bay based clothing brand, has been sold to retailer Universal Store for quite a whopping sum.   Christie’s, the old school auction house, is launching two new divisions - Department X and Christie’s 3.0 - to capitalise on the new age of collectibles.   Walmart is getting a slice of the metaverse pie with two new digital lands - targeted at kids and teens.   ---   Build the finan...

Sigma Healthcare, Australia’s biggest pharmaceutical wholesaler, is saying goodbye to Guardian Pharmacies after a pretty disappointing year.   Netflix is tweaking its payment terms for some of its TV specials - as part of its plan to trim costs and reduce its upfront risk.   The British pound has fallen off a cliff and is facing its biggest currency crisis in over 40 years.   ---   Build the finan...

Costa Group, Australia’s largest fresh produce grower, has seen its CEO step down after just 18 months - and investors did not like the sound of this.   SPAC season is officially over after one of the leaders in the space announced he was closing two massive SPACs after struggling to find any good deals.   Nio, one of the largest electric vehicle companies in the world, has just invested a signifi...

Optus was hacked late last week and has now warned nearly 11 million of its customers to be vigilant over the next couple of weeks.   Spotify has announced the launch of a brand new premium feature called Audiobooks with over 300,000 titles.. And take on Audible.   Get ready for no more Coles Express petrol stations because Coles is waving a big goodbye to its petrol business -and is selling the b...

The owner of retail brands Kathmandu and Rip Curl is celebrating the back end of the pandemic - with sales in August up 44% compared to last year.   Who Gives A Crap, the Aussie online toilet paper company, is expanding its product range once again.. and it is also doing big things overseas.   The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has greenwashers in its firing line.. and it’ll even r...

Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest is back at it again - this time, he’s looking to acquire a stake in Rugby Australia to get in on one of Australia's major sporting codes.   Uber’s internal systems have been hacked - by an 18 year old - and it forced Uber to take all its internal systems offline.   YouTube Shorts is gearing up to announce an ad revenue-sharing model with creators that could revolutionise th...