📈 Delivery drivers win world-leading minimum wage | ANZ outpaces Big Four peers

The Big Picture

• Delivery drivers receive $31 minimum wage in landmark decision. The Fair Work Commission will implement new standards for on-demand delivery workers that will see them receive $31.30 per hour and injury insurance while working. The Transport Workers’ Union jointly applied for the protections in 2024 alongside DoorDash and UberEats, and calls the new standards “world-leading”. (Guardian)
  
  

• Unprecedented Chinese AI cyberattack hits Taiwan. An autonomous hacking tool was used to breach government websites in Taiwan, compromising 85 user accounts and stealing over 2,500 personnel records. The attack highlights AI’s increasing role in cybercrime and follows AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta launching unintentional cyberattacks during testing. (FT)
  
  

• LA Lakers sold in record-breaking US$12.5bn deal. Former Disney CEO Bob Iger and financier Josh Kushner will purchase the Los Angeles Lakers for US$12.5 billion, the most ever paid for a sports team. The basketball franchise sold just last year for US$10 billion, marking a one-year US$2.5 billion profit for current owner Mark Walter, who also co-owns Chelsea Football Club and the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team. (FT)
  
  

• Private equity enters the NRL in Storm deal. Swedish private equity giant EQT will acquire the majority of the Melbourne Storm in a deal that values the team at over $200 million. EQT has ramped up sports investments in recent years, and the Storm acquisition would be the first private equity deal for the league, which has several other privately-owned teams. (AFR)
  
  

• Norway’s sovereign wealth fund posts record $262bn profit. The world’s largest sovereign wealth fund manages roughly $3.3 trillion and invests revenues from Norway’s oil and gas industry. It holds stakes in over 7,000 companies globally, including a $17 billion stake in SpaceX it announced this week. (CNBC)
  

Companies in the news

• ANZ outpaces Big Four peers amid housing downturn. The bank reported a 12% decrease in mortgage application values, a softer blow than the 20% and 15% decreases faced by Westpac and Commonwealth Bank, respectively. The stock jumped over 4% on the earnings, while CommBank is down nearly 4% since announcing earnings Wednesday. (AFR)
  
  

• Rio Tinto smelter receives $2.5bn bailout. The Tomago aluminium smelter in NSW employs around 1,000 people and is the state’s largest electricity consumer, using roughly 12% of its electricity. The bailout will be split between the state and federal governments and will support the plant’s power costs over 10 years, which are due to spike once its current low-cost contract expires at the end of 2028. (AFR)
  
  

• ASX earnings: Transurban shines among losses. Treasury Wine Estates was hit hard by weak US luxury spending and a $1.3 billion asset write-down, leading to a $1.1 billion annual loss. Packaging firm Orora and insurance giant IAG similarly posted 6% and 25% profit decreases, respectively. Toll roads appear to have had no such issues: Transurban posted a $432 million profit, up 144% year on year. (Capital Brief)
  
  

• AI stocks surge on strong earnings and soft US inflation. US inflation came in at 3.4%, decreasing the odds of a rate hike. At the same time, three major AI names announced earnings: CoreWeave revenue grew 114%, Super Micro beat earnings expectations by 139%, and Nebius revenue surged 454%. The Nasdaq added nearly 1% before settling to a 0.5% gain, while CoreWeave, Super Micro, and Nebius ended the day up 19%, 19%, and 34%. (CBA)
  
  

• Goldman Sachs bets big on ETF boom with US$2.3bn acquisition. The Wall Street bank will acquire ETF platform Neos Investments, which has about US$30 billion in assets under management and will boost Goldman’s ETF assets by 60%. ETFs have exploded in popularity, with over 1,000 new US ETFs launched in 2025. The US ETF market now sits at almost US$16 trillion under management. (FT)

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Trump Media goes nuclear (fusion)

Trump’s media firm is moving further away from media. After a crash in Bitcoin prices handed them a US$238 million quarterly loss, Trump Media & Technology Group is leaning into the obvious next move: Nuclear fusion.

In December last year, TMTG announced a US$6 billion acquisition of TAE Technologies, a nuclear fusion energy developer. With crypto crashing, TMTG has dropped its crypto deals and is shifting its focus to the fusion business, which has yet to produce any revenue but plans to bring a plant online in 2031. (FT)

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The worst move is no move

Financial adviser Dylan Pargiter-Green from Bold Wealth answered a question from community member Chuluu on money mistakes.

What is the biggest money mistake you see people making when they first come to you for advice?

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• Equity Mates Investing: The Portfolio Challenge is back, and our four contestants are checking in on how their $100,000 portfolios are performing. (Spotify | Apple | YouTube)

• Buy or Sell: Earnings season is upon us, and we’ve got five Australian companies that have had strong financial performances. (Spotify | Apple | YouTube)