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The Big Picture
NSW stamp duty revenue drops 20%. As the property market slows down, NSW government revenue from stamp duty fell to $739 million for July, down from $920 million last year. State governments are forecast to lose roughly $2 billion in stamp duty revenues this financial year due to the property downturn. Stamp duty typically makes up around a quarter of NSW government revenue. (AFR)
ATO finalises Big Tech tax. The taxation office released a final ruling on the taxation of cloud services from companies like Amazon and Google, and music and video streaming services from companies like Apple and Spotify. The ATO determined fees charged for these services will be taxable in Australia as royalty payments, a world-leading move. (AFR)
Yen jumps to seven-month high on bailout speculation. The Japanese currency is up 2% this week to ¥153.40 per US dollar, its highest level since February. The US and Japanese governments spent roughly US$100 billion bailing out the yen in July and August, and traders now suspect another bailout, plus expected rate hikes, will send the currency even higher. (FT)
Labor launches $78m scheme to tackle tradie shortage. Up to 6,000 tradies will get free, fast-tracked qualifications under the scheme as the federal government looks to reduce labour shortages, which have driven up housing construction costs in recent years. (Guardian)
Euro heatwave sends French wine production to 30-year low. Severe heat and drought have damaged vineyards in France, the world’s second-largest producer of wine. Wine output from Champagne is expected to be down 49% from 2025. France announced an emergency aid package for farmers worth over €1 billion. (ABC)
Companies in the news
Korean chipmakers lead Asian stock rally. SK Hynix and Samsung led the charge, rising 14% and 9%, respectively, in the first two days this week. The two companies make up almost half of Korea’s KOSPI index, so it’s no wonder the KOSPI is also up 7% in the same time period. Japan’s chip-heavy Nikkei 225 index came along for the ride, up 2% this week. (AP)
Firmus lands OpenAI deal ahead of IPO. The Australian data centre firm has reportedly landed a multi-year deal to sell compute to OpenAI from two of its Malaysian data centres. This is welcome news as Firmus races towards an IPO before the end of 2026, where it is expected to raise $15.5 billion on the ASX. (AFR)
Grindr to pay £26m for sharing personal health data. The world’s largest LGBTQ+ dating app was sued in the British High Court back in 2024 for allegedly sharing users’ data, including their HIV status, with third parties. Grindr is settling its High Court case and US class action lawsuit on the same issue for £13m each, totalling £26m. (BBC)
Motors to Missiles: Volkswagen pivots struggling factory. The German carmaker has signed a deal with an Israeli group to pivot production at its Osnabrück factory from cars to missile defence components. The 1,800-person factory was due to end production at the end of 2026 as Volkswagen remains pressured by Chinese carmakers. (FT)
Jaguar Land Rover plans 4,000 layoffs. Another victim of Chinese carmakers, British carmaker Jaguar Land Rover plans to lay off up to 4,000 employees over the next two years as a part of its £1.7 billion cost-cutting campaign. (BBC)
Legendary fund manager Bill Ackman is joining FinFest 2026. Are you?
Yes, you read that right. Founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Bill Ackman will sit down with Bryce and Ren for an exclusive pre-recorded conversation to be aired at FinFest 2026.
If you want to hear Bill unpack all things markets, investing and the opportunities he’s seeing in the world, this is your chance to see it.
Who knows, Ren may even Boost Bill’s Budget while they’re at it.
‘Til Q3 guidance do us part
Lululemon founder Chip Wilson has had a tough last few days. On Friday, Lululemon stock fell 18% as the fitness clothing brand announced weak second-quarter results, and lowered their forecasts for third-quarter revenue, marking their third consecutive guidance cut.
Now, Chip and his wife Summer, a founding member of Lululemon, are heading to divorce court with no prenuptial agreement. Chip owns nearly 9% of the company, worth almost US$1 billion, and investors are worried two major shareholders may now have conflicting interests. (CNBC | Yahoo Finance)
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Ask An Adviser: Geared Superannuation
With self-directed super and geared ETFs both rising in popularity, this advice from financial advisers Alex Luck and Scott Taylor from Everest Wealth is more relevant than ever.
Is geared superannuation worth considering for someone with a long time horizon?
Yeah, potentially. Because if you look at the long-term returns, say the CFS Geared Australian Share Fund, it’s done about 4% per annum better than the ASX 200, the standard index, which it should do. What a geared fund is doing is internally borrowing money. It doesn’t go against your borrowing capacity, but typically it will borrow about 140% of what you put in. So you are getting more exposure for that.
You pay a higher fee than just a standard S&P 500 or ASX 200 index, but you are more invested in the market. And if you believe that historically the share markets will go up, more often than not you will make more money.
So if your tolerance to riding out more volatility and bigger ups and downs is there, then typically it does make sense. But again, if someone’s 30 years away from retirement, you’re going to ride through multiple cycles of good and bad markets, so that exposure could give you a better return over the long term.
Want to work with advisers like Alex and Scott to find out if geared superannuation is for you? Fill out the form on our website and we’ll match you with one of our hand-picked advisers to help you get started.
