Here’s what you need to know today

• As was expected, the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points. This is the first rate cut in the US for 2025. (BBC)
  
  

• Details remain sparse on the reported US-China deal for the sale of TikTok. The Wall Street Journal reports the American buyer will be a consortium including Oracle, Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz, with ByteDance maintaining a 19.9% shareholding. Meanwhile, the US has pushed the deadline for a sale for a fourth time, moving it to mid-December. (WSJ)
  
  

• The gold price continues its historic run. Just weeks ago we were writing it had broken $3,500 an ounce for the first time ever. It is now up another 5% and getting close to $3,700. A big reason for this rise is the expectations of multiple rate cuts in the US in the coming months. (Bloomberg)
  
  

• Changes at ANZ continue, with new CEO Nuno Matos firing eight senior executives, including Chief Product Officer Tara Bourne, who worked on the ANZ Plus consumer app. This is seen as a sign that ANZ will end their ‘two tech platform’ strategy and ANZ Plus may be integrated into their classic platform. (Capital Brief)
  
  

• BHP shares were down 1% after it announced it would cut 750 jobs from its coal operations in Queensland. The Australian mining giant called out the low coal price and increase in Queensland government mining royalties as the reason for the cuts. (Capital Brief)
  
  

• Australian venture capital giant Blackbird has declared Australia’s startup ecosystem “back to growth” after reporting its portfolio has surpassed its 2022 all-time high. Late-2022 and 2023 were tough years for the startup ecosystem with rising interest rates and inflation causing investors to sour on unprofitable tech companies. (Capital Brief)
  
  

• Plans for a new AFL in Tasmania have been dealt a blow as the state planning commission rejected a $1 billion proposal for a new stadium. The commission argued “the economic and social benefits are small compared to the public cost of the stadium.” The AFL has said a Tasmanian team is contingent on a new stadium. (AFR)
  
  

• Israel has commenced its long-threatened ground offensive on Gaza City. Defence Minister Israel Katz said, “Gaza is burning… We will not relent and we will not go back - until the completion of the mission” as the IDF reported 350,000 people have fled the city. (Reuters) The offensive came on the same day the UN Commission of Inquiry accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. (UN)
  
  

• US President Trump told an ABC journalist they he was “hurting Australia” by asking a question about his family’s business dealings and said he would raise the issue with Prime Minister Albanese. It’s unclear what Albanese is expected to do about a journalist asking questions. (ABC News)

What the…?

The Sydney Morning Herald published a surprising stat last week: Gen Z is turning its back on remote work, with 9 in 10 wanting at least two days a week in the office.

We were surprised. Perhaps explaining the result, the survey also found that young Australians had ‘learning and growth opportunities’ as their number 1 priority when finding a job (even over ‘salary’, which came in second). It appears that young workers are deciding that those opportunities are best found in the office (at least for a couple of days a week). (SMH)

Investing is a lifelong journey

Here’s what you can learn today

Mark Lamonica: The #1 tip I’d teach every investor

We’ve asked a number of experts their #1 tip for investors. This week in the email, we’re sharing some of their answers. (Watch the full montage here)

Today, we’re sharing the answer from Mark Lamonica, Director of Personal Finance at Morningstar Australia

Mark: I had a lot of bad behaviour as an investor and even after the .com crash [the 2001 market crash] and my switch into focusing more on dividends, I traded too much.

I just turned over my portfolio too much. I had a little bit of money, I was in uni, I wasn’t working, there was no money coming in. So every time I came up with this idea, I had to sell something. And I think that that was just really, really poor behaviour.

I can sit here as a 45-year-old and think, wow, if I would’ve just bought some solid names - I still own a couple things from that era - but if I would’ve just bought some solid names and stayed in them, I would be in a much better position today. I can’t get that time back.

So I think it’s just focusing on behaviour and what are these mistakes that hold us back? People always say it’s a cliche but think about your future self. I wish I had that opportunity. I wish I could go back and even without knowing where share prices went, just go back and kind of relive a couple of those years and just not waste all this money on transactions and taxes and everything else.

Check out the full montage on the Equity Mates Clips YouTube:

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