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- đ Victoria's Allan resigns amid corruption concerns | Nvidia drops on $250bn OpenAI guarantee
đ Victoria's Allan resigns amid corruption concerns | Nvidia drops on $250bn OpenAI guarantee
Here's what you need to know today
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The Big Picture
Victorian premier Allan resigns amid corruption concerns. Jacinta Allan has stepped down and will be replaced by her deputy, Ben Carroll. Allanâs handling of corruption in Victoriaâs Big Build was a major factor. Allan had refused to conduct a royal commission into corruption in the construction industry; Carroll immediately called for one following his swearing in. (Guardian)
Bullock warns RBA prepared for August rate hike. RBA governor Michele Bullock announced the board was prepared to further increase the cash rate if inflation remains elevated. Should inflation reach 3.9% or higher, the RBA could be forced to raise rates for the fourth time this year, which would see the cash rate hit 4.6%. Inflation data will be released today. (AFR)
Oil tumbles further as two-week bombing pause holds. Brent crude fell 9% Monday and further 3% Tuesday as the US paused strikes against Iran. Trump announced the US is in the midst of âgood talksâ with Iran, which has also halted strikes against the US. However, sceptics are hesitant to rejoice, with one claiming âWeâve been here multiple times since Marchâ. (CNBC)
UK PM Burnham affirms commitments to Ukraine. New UK PM Andy Burnham met Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in England and vowed to uphold previous commitments to work closely on defence and military manufacturing with Ukraine. Burnham was very clear in his support: âWe are with Ukraine 100%â. (ABC)
Ukraine pushes to build drone factories in Australia. Two Ukrainian drone firms are working to produce military drones in Australia for use in Ukraine, as well as for sale to the Australian military. Ukraine is seen as a leader in drone technology and warfare, and the Ukrainian military sends drone experts abroad to cross-train allied forces with their expertise. (AFR)
Companies in the news
Nvidia falls 5% on $250bn OpenAI guarantee; Apple retakes top spot. OpenAI is reportedly in discussions with Nvidia to secure a US$250 billion guarantee to help fund a massive 10-gigawatt AI data centre. The deal raised concerns about the infamous AI circular financing, and investors disliked the profitable Nvidia further tying itself to the lossmaking OpenAI; the stock fell 5% on the news, making Apple (up 1%) the worldâs largest company by market cap. (CNBC)
AMP profits surge on surprise China partnership. The Australian wealth management firm is forecasting first-half profits of up to 180 million, a 25% increase above market expectations. This comes on the back of an unexpected surge in profits from its partnership with Beijing-based insurance firm China Life, which are expected to contribute one-third of its strong first-half profits. (AFR)
Chip stocks drops following Chinese chip success. China has begun mass producing deep ultraviolet lithography machines, a chipmaking technology long dominated by Dutch firm ASML; their stock dropped nearly 10% on the news. Elsewhere, the Korean chip stock selloff continued, led by SK Hynix (down 13%) and Samsung (down 12%). (Reuters | CNBC)
Amazon challenges SpaceX with 5,000+ satellite constellation. Amazon is seeking approval to launch 5,105 satellites for a Starlink-adjacent satellite internet network, to begin deployment in 2028. SpaceXâs stock remained under pressure, down over 1% to hit another record low of US$109 despite a successful test of its Starship rocket. (MarketWatch | CNBC)
LVMH snaps revenue decline streak on strong on Dior recovery. Revenues grew 1% year-on-year to âŹ8.9 billion on double-digit sales growth of Dior in the US and Japan. This was LVMHâs first quarter of revenue growth after seven consecutive quarters of declining revenues. Interestingly, LVMHâs CFO pointed to the AI boom as a catalyst for the luxury industryâs recovery. (FT)
Crypto Cattle
Real-time cattle monitoring is rising technology, but Brazilian agtech firm Cowmed has taken it to the next level. Cowmed tokenized 10 dairy cows, creating a digital asset backed by the cow itself, and raised nearly $20,000 by listing them on Brazilâs B3 stock exchange. The cows are monitored in real time via smart collars, allowing investors to ensure their assets are in good health.
Livestock-backed loans arenât a novel concept, but tradeable equity-like instruments certainly are. They allow farmers to circumvent bank lending limits by accessing equity markets to raise more capital in what is effectively an IPO of the cow. (CoinDesk)
Super is anything but boring.
It certainly doesnât spark as many debates as crypto. But boring doesnât mean it isnât powerful â it's often the quiet achiever.
Thanks to potential tax advantages and decades of compound interest doing its thing, super could be one of the most powerful investments Aussies ever own.
From the first super contribution to fine tuning their strategy, MLC's tools (and obviously their experts) can help build a plan with confidence.
Products issued by NULIS Nominees (Australia) Limited (ABN 80 008 515 633, AFSL 236465) as trustee of MLC Super Fund (ABN 70 732 426 024). General information only. Visit mlc.com.au for PDS & TMD. Consider if itâs right for you.
The First Financial Advice Chat
Financial adviser Glen Hare from Fox & Hare joined us to talk through what it looks like to start receiving financial advice.
What information do you want to get out of the potential client to understand where they're at?
Glen: So there's that initial chat, it's a 45 minute very, very casual chat. Like most, you know, most people reach out to us, you know, maybe they're a little bit nervous. So, what we're looking to unpack in that conversation is understand the frustrations. So, is there anything specific that's on your mind?
And then conversation pivoted towards beyond frustrations to aspirations. So then we started, you know, chatting about property and what's, you know, what's going to happen with the existing property and family and things like that.
And then we'll ask some really high level numbers in terms of where they're at from a financial perspective. What investments do you have? Where's your super? Do you know where your super is?
And then we go through essentially it is a journey map, you know? Okay, well, this is after this session. And then and so people understand what that, you know, that initial and ongoing engagement. And we also go through the fee structure as well.
Want to get started with an adviser like Glen? Fill out the form on our website and weâll match you with one of our hand-picked advisers to help you get started.
