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Here’s what you need to know today

• Gold has slammed on the brakes, dropping 6% - its biggest intraday drop since 2013 - and silver was down almost 8%. The selloff hammered ASX gold miners, with Evolution Mining down 10.3%. (AFR) 
  
  

• Three reasons for the drop: Shanghai raised margin requirements triggering a selloff, tight physical supply is spooking investors, and profit-taking after gold's 60% YTD run. Despite the pullback, analysts say fundamentals haven't changed - it's just "weaker hands getting shaken out." (Quartz)
  
  

• Netflix grew revenue 17% to $11.51 billion in Q3, but a surprise $619 million Brazilian tax charge torpedoed earnings and sent shares down 6% after hours. The good news is ad revenue had its "best quarter ever" with US commitments more than doubling, and Netflix's boxing match drew 41 million viewers. Streaming NFL games on Christmas Day is next. (Quartz)
  
  

• Australia's environment minister wants to strip companies of any profits made from breaking environmental laws, with penalties up to $825 million. The reforms would create a new EPA with power to issue stop-work orders and require projects show "net gain" for the environment. Murray Watt's held 80+ meetings and is "optimistic" the laws pass before Christmas. (The Guardian)
  
  

• OpenAI launched a browser called Atlas with no address bar to take on Chrome. It's built around ChatGPT and has a paid agent that searches for you. Founder of ChatGPT, Sam Altman, says ChatGPT now has 800 million weekly users. Analysts' hot take? Microsoft Edge already does this, so good luck. (BBC)
  
  

• Building a house in Australia is 36% slower than a decade ago, with apartments and townhouses even worse (up 54% and 28% respectively). Australia missed its first-year target of 240,000 homes by 61,000, and the industry needs 130,000 more workers to hit the 1.2 million homes goal by 2029. (ABC News)
  
  

• Pop Mart's Q3 revenue jumped 250% year-on-year after launching mini Labubu dolls. The jagged-toothed elf creatures have gone viral thanks to celebrity fans like Kim Kardashian and Blackpink's Lisa, plus partnerships with Coca-Cola and One Piece. Shares rose 5.5% in Hong Kong, giving the blind-box toy maker a $45.5 billion valuation. (BBC)
  
  

• Novo Nordisk's biggest shareholder just pulled off a boardroom coup - the chairman and six directors are out next month after clashing over how fast to fix things. In comes former CEO Lars Rebien Sorensen as chair, backing new boss Mike Doustdar's plan to axe 9,000 jobs. The drama? Novo's shares are down 40% this year while rival Eli Lilly steals customers in the weight-loss drug war. (Reuters)
  
  

• Goldman Sachs warned rosy US GDP estimates are too optimistic. Chief economist Jan Hatzius says the labor market tells a different story - Goldman's tracker has fallen to 2016 levels and unemployment expectations have "never been this bad outside recessionary periods" since 1978. Young workers are getting squeezed hardest as AI reshapes hiring. (Fortune)

What the…?

Illegal tobacco now makes up around 64% of all tobacco consumed in Australia, with the black market worth close to $10 billion. 

Excise taxes have pushed the price of a legal pack of cigarettes above $40, and government tobacco revenue has almost halved since 2020. Economist Arthur Laffer says Australia’s tax rates have gone past the “sweet spot,” fueling a booming illicit trade.

Meanwhile, AUSTRAC and the newly appointed Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarette Commissioner, Amber Shuhyta, are stepping up efforts to follow the money and dismantle the criminal networks behind it. (ABC)

Investing is a lifelong journey

Here’s what you can learn today

Why the CEO works for you

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

Millions of people motivated to make you money

It is strange to think about having people out in the world working hard to make you more money, but stick with us. The starting point here is that when we buy shares in a company we become an owner of that company. And then the way that companies are set up is to make their owners more money.

• Starting with the CEO, how much they get paid and whether they get a bonus is usually based on the share price (i.e. how much money they make us) or on growing the business (that we own).

• The CEO then sets the goals for their team members with employee bonuses and promotions based on how well the employees help the CEO reach the company goals.

• The board of directors, the group who oversee the company and can ultimately hire and fire the CEO, are elected by the owners, aka the shareholders, aka us.

The whole company is set up to make us more money.

Chances are, if you’re an employee at a big public company, you are similarly incentivised. You might have sales targets or project milestones that will see you get a bonus or a promotion. They’re designed to help the company grow and increase the share price, because that’s how your CEO will get their full pay.

CEOs have an incentive to grow the share price. And then all of the people who work for them are paid more, promoted and given bonuses when they help the CEO achieve that goal. Apple has 160,000 employees. Microsoft has more than 200,000. Walmart employs more than 2 million. When you become a share- holder you benefit from all of their hard work.

That is why the stock market has a bias for returns. That is why we’re confident it will keep climbing upwards. It is the collective effort of millions of people who want to make it happen.

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

A message from Australian Property Scout

Thursday: The Australian Property Scout Summit is almost sold out

Only a few tickets remain for the Australian Property Scout Summit on Saturday, November 15th at The Star in Brisbane - this is your final call! More than just a property event: this is a full-day immersion into the strategies, systems, and mindset behind some of Australia’s most successful investors. You’ll walk away with a refined, actionable game plan for 2026, powerful clarity on your next moves, and the confidence to take your portfolio to the next level.

Don’t miss out - secure your spot now and gear up for a massive 2026! 🔥

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