Today’s News

The Big Picture

• Trump Tower on Gold Coast could be Australia’s tallest building. Trump Organisation and Queensland-based Altus Property Group announced an agreement to build a 91-storey Trump-branded hotel. At 335 metres, it would be the tallest building in Australia. (AFR)
  
  

• New Trump tariffs cut Australia’s advantage. Following the US Supreme Court’s ruling against his tariff, Trump enacted a new universal 15% tariff. Previously Australia only faced 10% tariffs, but now we are covered by this blanket 15% tariff. (AFR)
  
  

• 1 in 7 SMSFs are not filing tax returns. The ATO is targeting the 93,000 Self-Managed Super Funds that have failed to file tax returns. They also highlighted illegal loans and withdrawals, which reached $650 million in 2023 (the most recent year with available data). (AFR)
  
  

• US tech desperate to retain access to European kids. Companies like Meta and Google spent over €150 million in 2025 lobbying EU lawmakers to prevent Australia-style social media bans and to weaken data privacy laws. There are now more tech lobbyists than European parliament members in Brussels. (NYT)
  
  

• Record month for European stocks. Global investors have poured a record $20 billion into European stocks in the past two weeks as investors diversify away from American tech over concerns of an AI bubble. (FT)
  
  

• Ukraine condemns ‘blackmail’ as war enters fourth year. Hungary and Slovakia are threatening to cutoff Ukraine’s electricity if Kyiv does not restart flows of Russian oil. Today - 24 February - marks the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion. (Guardian)

Companies in the news

• OpenAI cuts investment forecast by more than half. After touting $1.4 trillion of AI investment by 2030, OpenAI has cut that forecast to $600 billion. Bubble-wary investors doubted the previous forecast and were validated when Nvidia recently cut its commitment to OpenAI from $100 billion to $30 billion. (CNBC)
  
  

• Paramount deal deadline strikes as Trump threatens Netflix. Today is the Warner Bros-imposed deadline for Paramount to submit a best and final takeover offer. The Warner Bros-Netflix-Paramount battle is heavily politicised, with Trump’s FTC required to approve the merger, so it is notable that Trump this week demanded a former Biden official leave Netflix’s board and the DOJ suggested it would investigate if Netflix is a monopoly. (CNBC)
  
  

• Lendlease loses $318m in first half of ‘transitional year’. The ASX-listed developer displayed that endless investment into Australian property isn’t always profitable, with net income falling $366 million compared to last year. The stock dropped nearly 8% on Friday as a result. (AFR)
  
  

• Monopoly lawsuit dampens Live Nation’s record revenues. The live music giant reported over $25 billion of revenue in 2025, a 9% increase from 2024. Their use of dynamic pricing and permitting extortionate reselling drew the ire of artists like Olivia Dean, and the US Federal Trade Commission is suing Live Nation for allegedly using illegal tactics to maintain a monopoly. (BBC)
  
  

• Nuix, Reece stocks soar on earnings beats. Nuix’s stock shot up 19% as the software firm reported its Neo platform’s contract value was up 148%. Plumbing supplier Reece’s stock rose 13%, beating expectations despite profits dropping 20%, highlighting the expectations-driven nature of earnings season. (AFR)

  
  

• Chinese carmakers plan to continue explosive Australian growth. Chinese-made vehicles made up a record 20% of total car sales in Australia last year. BYD led the charge, with Australian sales up 156%. These car makers are now targeting business, government, and rental fleets, where they are severely underrepresented due to government and corporate concerns about surveillance. (AFR)

What the…?

Tribunal overrun by AI-assisted complaints. AI tools can lower barriers for everyday people, but this also opens the door for abuse. The Fair Work Commission is discovering this first-hand as it is overwhelmed by questionable workplace claims.

FWC President Justice Adam Hatcher claims AI tools are assuring disgruntled employees they would receive compensation from the FWC. He tested this, inputting a story that would have no chance of receiving compensation from the Commission — ChatGPT told him he would receive up to $40,000 in compensation. (AFR)

Today’s Insight

Engage with your super, sooner

We spoke with Gemma Mitchell, author and financial adviser, on a recent episode of Equity Mates Investing, and she had some advice about super (Spotify | Apple | YouTube)

Alec: Are there any common strategies you implement with clients?

Gemma: Yeah, it really depends and I know people hate it when financial advisors say that. So I'm a big advocate for super. I love super, and this is where Owen and I very much disagree. He's always like, don't put money into super if you're young. And I'm like, do it. So tax wise and just the fact that we can't get our hands on it, I love super. So I like super, very, very tax effective and having majority of our wealth in it, regardless if you want to retire at 40 and you can't access it till 60, if you live past 60, you just have layers of different assets. I think they could all work together.

Bryce: What are your non-negotiables when it comes to setting up for long-term success with super that will really move the needle?

Gemma: Engaging with it, actually checking in on it each year depending on if you want to do it June or super September, checking on it every year and actually making it part of your finances. So why I get everybody to do their net worth tracker is because then you put your super on there. If you see it all there, you can see the pie, you can see it moving. And generally that's probably going forwards even if your other stuff. But check in once a year with your super fund.

Want to get a handle on your super and start making the most of it with an adviser? Fill out the form on our website and we’ll match you with one of our hand-picked advisers for a wide range of financial advice.

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Today in Equity Mates