Here’s what you need to know today

• The fall of Star Entertainment continues. Shares were suspended from trading on the ASX on Monday morning after the casino giant missed a deadline to issue its earnings update for the first half of the financial year. With staff set to be paid on Wednesday, that will be the next test for the company that warned it may run out of money by the end of this week. (ABC News)
  
  

• The fall of the Magnificent 7 tech stocks continues to make headlines. Tesla fell 28% in February, its second-worst month ever as a listed stock, while Nvidia saw its market cap drop below $3 trillion. (Quartz)
  
  

• After a security summit in London, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said that the UK and its European allies would form a ‘coalition of the willing’ to guarantee peace in Ukraine. The UK also pledged another £1.6 billion for 5,000 air-defence missiles. (BBC News)
  
  

• US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed that the US would impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting on Tuesday (today). However, he indicated that President Trump was yet to determine the final size of the tariffs. In February, Trump delayed his planned 25% tariffs by one month after securing deals with the leaders of both countries. (CNN)
  
  

• President Trump also sent crypto prices higher after he posted on Truth Social that he had "directed the Presidential Working Group to move forward on a Crypto Strategic Reserve that includes XRP, SOL, and ADA." In a second post, he added, "obviously, BTC and ETH, as other valuable Cryptocurrencies, will be at the heart of the Reserve. I also love Bitcoin and Ethereum!" (BBC News)
  
  

• In response to those Truth Social posts, Bitcoin was up 6%, Ethereum up 10%, Ripple up 30%, Solana up 20% and Cardano up over 60%. (Crypto News)
  
  

• Industry Superannuation giant AustralianSuper has been fined $27 million after wrongly charging clients $69 million in fees between 2013 and 2022. Retail super funds are outraged at the low penalty, arguing that ASIC is applying a double-standard to for-profit and industry funds. (AFR)
  
  

• South Australia’s Whyalla steelworks has been revealed to be in $1.35 billion in debt and losing $1.5 million a day. Administrators were called in earlier this year by the South Australian government and will continue to run the plant as the State and Federal government roll out their $2.4 billion rescue package. (AFR)
  
  

• Firefly Aerospace has become just the second private space company to land a spacecraft on the Moon. The spacecraft, Blue Ghost, was launched in collaboration with NASA to explore the large crater, the Sea of Crises. In the coming days, Intuitive Machines - the first private space company to land on the Moon - plans to land its latest spacecraft on the lunar surface. (The Guardian)

What the…?

Microsoft has announced the end of Skype. The platform that for a decade was synonymous with video conferencing will be going offline for good on 5 May 2025.

Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion. Ironically, it was another company that started in 2011, Zoom, that would eventually take its place as the verb for video conferencing for a new generation of internet users. Existing Skype users can move their accounts over to Microsoft Teams before it goes offline on 5 May. (Quartz)

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Investing is a lifelong journey

Here’s what you can learn today.

Lessons from George Soros and Howard Marks

This is an excerpt from our conversation with Dr. Mary Manning, Chief Investment Officer of the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation. (Listen on Apple | Spotify)

Question: Mary, you've worked at some of the top funds in the world alongside legendary investors like George Soros and Howard Marks. What are some major lessons you’ve learned from them?

I feel very fortunate to have worked with such iconic investors, especially early in my career. At Soros, I learned the importance of having a broad worldview. My first meeting with George wasn’t in the office but at the Council of Foreign Relations in New York, where world leaders speak. I introduced myself and mentioned that I worked for him.

What struck me was that even at his age, he remained deeply engaged with global events and had a significant perspective. His intellectual contributions on reflexivity and open societies illustrated his ability to connect high-level theories with actionable investment strategies. Very few people can marry those two approaches; most are either big-picture thinkers or tactical traders. Having exposure to someone like him early on was invaluable.

At Oaktree, I learned two key lessons from Howard Marks. First, his intellect is remarkable. After my Ph.D., which focused on African economic development and the impact of epidemics on health, I returned to the firm. When Howard visited the Singapore office, I sat next to him and mentioned my thesis. Rather than dismiss it as irrelevant, he engaged deeply, asking about my conclusions and their implications for healthcare. His ability to understand complex topics quickly is an important trait.

The second lesson is Howard’s skill in guiding the firm’s journey. When I first joined, Oaktree was well-established, but during my time there, it doubled in size and expanded globally. They transitioned from a backdoor listing to a full IPO and ultimately sold the company. Many good investors struggle with running their firms effectively, but Howard exemplifies someone who excels in both investing and managing a business.

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