Want to join the Equity Mates team? We’re hiring for a couple of roles across Operations and Sales. Check out our open jobs on our website.

Here’s what you need to know today

• Global stock markets rebounded after President Trump softened his tone on China tariffs, posting on Truth Social: "Don't worry about China, it will all be fine!" The S&P 500 rose 1.1% and the Nasdaq gained 1.7%, while Bitcoin recovered to above $115,000 after falling below $105,000 on Friday. (The Guardian)
  

• Despite all the threats from Trump, China's exports surged 8.3% in September even as shipments to the US fell 27%, suggesting Beijing is successfully rerouting its economy around Trump's tariffs. Exports to the EU rose 14%, to ASEAN nations 16%, and to Africa 56%. Direct shipments to the US now make up barely 10% of China's total exports. (Quartz)
  

• OpenAI has agreed to purchase 10 gigawatts of custom computer chips from Broadcom, potentially costing $350-500 billion on top of the roughly $1 trillion in chip and data centre deals it has signed in recent months. This brings OpenAI's total computing capacity to over 26GW - equivalent to about 26 nuclear reactors. (FT)
  

• Taylor Swift's latest album The Life of a Showgirl sold 4 million equivalent units in its opening week in the US, breaking Adele's decade-old record. The album became Swift's 15th to reach No.1 on the Billboard 200 chart - only The Beatles have more with 19. (AFR) Swift also announced a new docuseries and concert film from The Eras Tour coming to Disney+ in December, featuring behind-the-scenes footage and the tour's final show. Her previous Eras Tour film grossed over $261 million at the box office. (Quartz)
  

• Short sellers betting against US stocks are having their worst year since 2020, with heavily shorted stocks surging 57% as retail investors keep buying. The rally has come as AI hype and hopes of lower rates pushed the S&P 500 to record highs. (FT)
  

• ANZ CEO Nuno Matos unveiled an ambitious five-year strategy to turn the laggard bank into one of Australia's best performers, but analysts are sceptical. The plan includes cancelling an $800 million buyback, cutting $800 million in costs, and targeting 13% return on equity by 2030. Brokers described the targets as "courageous" or "impossible". (AFR)
  

• JPMorgan Chase will invest up to $10 billion in companies it deems critical to US security, as part of a broader 10-year initiative to facilitate $1.5 trillion in critical industries. CEO Jamie Dimon said the US had become too reliant on "unreliable" sources of critical minerals and manufacturing. (FT)
  

• Tesla's Cybertruck sales plunged 63% in Q3 to just 5,385 units, even as the broader US EV market posted its strongest quarter on record with sales up 30%. Ford sold almost twice as many electric F-150 Lightning trucks in the same quarter. (Quartz)
  

• Big data firm Palantir, better known for defence and intelligence work, revealed it helps Coles improve employee happiness as part of a deal signed in early 2024. Palantir's head of global accounts said the company assists with "how we can help them be a better employer, fundamentally, and be a happier place to work." The Peter Thiel-backed company has a market cap of $638 billion. (Capital Brief)

• Germany will allow retirees who continue working to earn up to €2,000 a month tax-free, as Chancellor Friedrich Merz seeks to tackle labour shortages in Europe's largest economy. The measure comes as 4.8 million workers - 9% of the labour force - are set to retire by 2035. (FT)

What the…?

Casual Friday’s just got an upgrade. Some startups are now going completely shoeless.

Companies like Cursor, Speak, and Whop are letting employees ditch shoes for socks or slippers. The "no shoes office" trend has spread from Silicon Valley to the UK, with founders saying it helps reduce stress and spark creativity.

It is not full barefoot anarchy though, as bathroom shoes are still mandatory. Critics point out potential downsides, from hygiene concerns to generational divides over what counts as professional.

As one commenter put it, "Science says going shoeless boosts creativity, but no one’s creative enough to un-smell your feet." (Quartz)

Investing is a lifelong journey

Here’s what you can learn today

Don’t work for the company - own the company

This is taken from the Equity Mates Book ‘Get Started Investing’ (Amazon)

Benefit from the work of the world’s best

Think of some of the biggest innovations of your lifetime. Or some of the biggest innovations in history. Electricity, the telephone, the car, personal computers, online retail.

We hear about the incredible people who invent them: Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Henry Ford. They become billionaires through their brilliance. We, as everyday investors, have the opportunity to also benefit from their work.

Their innovations have been commercialised and brought to market through publicly traded companies that everyday investors have had the opportunity to invest in.

As investors, we could have benefited from these innovators’ work through investing in shares in their companies.

Think about a company you or someone in your family works for. What its purpose is. Why it employs you. At the end of the day, it is to increase profit - make more sales, find more work, cut costs - it is all to finish the day a little more profitable than it started.

It is the same for the companies you can invest in through the stock market. These companies are built to earn more profit for their shareholders (owners). The CEOs and executives of these businesses only earn their bonuses if they increase profit, so they go out and hire the smartest people, develop new products and technologies, find new business opportunities and expand into new markets - all to make more profit.

As a shareholder, you are then entitled to a share of this profit.

When you think of it like that, why would you just work for the company when you can own the company?

Get Started Investing is available from all good bookstores, including Amazon

A message from Sharesight

Take control of your investments with Sharesight.

Forget the spreadsheets. You can now track all of your investments - across different brokers and asset classes - all in the one place with Sharesight. Plus, with features to help with tax time and dividend reporting, there’s no reason to struggle with manual tracking any more.

Save 4 months when you upgrade to an annual paid plan.

Want more Equity Mates?