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Here’s what you need to know today

• French police are searching for four thieves who carried out a daylight robbery at the Louvre in Paris, stealing eight pieces of “priceless” jewelry, including a necklace once gifted by Napoleon to his wife. (Guardian)
  
  

• Government data showed China’s economy grew 4.8% year-on-year in the third quarter, slightly above expectations but marking its slowest pace in a year, as a property crisis and U.S. trade tensions continued to weigh on demand. (CNBC)
  
  

• J.P. Morgan CEO, Jamie Dimon, has continued to sound the alarm on potential hidden risk’s in the U.S. financial system, describing recent credit issues as “cockroaches,” saying when you see one, there are likely more. (SMH)
  
  

• Profits at CommSec have risen by more than a third to $155.7m as the country’s largest online stockbroker benefits from a frenzy of trading triggered by surging and volatile global markets over the last year. (AFR)
  
  

• Apple’s new iPhone 17 has driven the company’s strongest smartphone growth since the pandemic, with analysts forecasting iPhone revenue to rise 4% this fiscal year to $209bn and nearly 5% in 2026. (FT)
  
  

• Recent data shows ChatGPT’s global share of generative AI traffic fell to 74% in October from 87% a year earlier, while Google’s Gemini doubled from 6.4% to 13%. Smaller rivals such as Perplexity and Anthropic’s Claude also increased their shares. (X.com)
  
  

• Buy now pay later provider Zip reported a strong lift in first-quarter transaction volume, up 38.7% compared to last year to $3.9bn, and upgraded its full-year growth forecast for its U.S. business. Share were up over 4% on Monday. (Capital Brief)
  
  

• Uranium miner Deep Yellow didn’t have such a good day, shares slumped 18% after the company announced the departure of managing director and CEO John Borshoff. (Capital Brief)
  
  

• Pharmaceutical Drug groups AstraZeneca, Daiichi Sankyo and Gilead reported promising trial results for treatments targeting “triple negative” breast cancer, one of the most difficult forms to treat. (FT)

What the…?

The number of people killed by bears in Japan this year has reached a record high. Seven people have been killed and around 100 injured since April, the highest toll since data was first recorded in 2006. 

Experts say a poor beech nut harvest is pushing hungry bears into towns and villages in search of food. The problem is especially severe in Hokkaido and the country’s northeast, where depopulation means fewer people are around to scare bears off. (BBC)

Investing is a lifelong journey

Here’s what you can learn today

Don’t overthink it

This is taken from the Equity Mates Book ‘Don’t Stress Just Invest’ (Amazon)

The less we do, the better we invest

There have been numerous studies that show that by trying to do more, we end up with less.

• Blackrock studied investor returns between 1996 and 2015 and found that, while the broad stock market returned an average of 8.2% per year, the average investor returned 2.1% per year. Should have just held the index!

• Two University of California researchers studied 66,465 households with investing accounts between 1991 and 1996. In that time the market returned 17.9% a year, the average household earned 16.4% per year and those that traded the most frequently earned 11.4% per year. Should have just held the index!

• Researchers in Taiwan were able to get a complete trading history of all investors in Taiwan and found that overtrading imposed an ‘annual performance penalty of 3.8 percentage points’. Again: should have just held the index!

Beyond the studies, this makes intuitive sense. Every action you take in the financial world has costs. Between fees, brokerage costs and spreads, you have to pay to play. The more you do, the better your return has to be to overcome the additional fees you’re paying. Now, we should be clear, there are plenty of investors who do outperform the market. But what we’ve learnt is that investing soon reaches a point of diminishing returns.

Don’t Stress Just Invest is available from all good bookstores, including Amazon

A message from Australian Property Scout

How Peter Purchased 12 Properties in 12 Months
Join Sammy Gordon, Equity Mates’ go-to property expert, as he sits down with Australian Property Scout client Peter who shares his insane journey from selling two homes to building a $7M portfolio with over $2 million in net equity in just 12 months.

They unpack the strategy, mindset, and mentorship that made it possible - plus the tough calls and big lessons along the way.

If you’re serious about scaling your portfolio or just starting out, this episode is pure gold for ambitious investors ready to level up.

Tune in now - available on all your favourite platforms.

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