August 13, 2025 • 16 mins
Thursday 14 August 2025
Investors sell off the Commonwealth Bank, after Australia’s biggest company reports a record $10.25 billion profit.
And more, including:
- The Prime Minister rejects calls for a 4 day working week.
- Massive profits in the housing market, while rental growth picks up again.
- A $53b bid for Google’s Chrome browser.
- Why an English village has turned on the US Vice President.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome to Fear and Greed business news you can use today.
Investors sell off the Commonwealth Bank after Australia's biggest company
reports a record ten point twenty five billion dollar profit.
The Prime Minister rejects calls for a four day working
week and massive profits in the housing markets, while rental
growth picks up again. Plus a fifty three billion dollar
(00:26):
bid for Google's Chrome browser. And why an English village
has turned on the US Vice President. It is Thursday,
the fourteenth of August twenty twenty five. I'm Michael Thompson
and good morning Natalie McDonald.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Good morning, Michael, Natalie.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
A lot to get through today. The main story this morning.
Commonwealth Bank yesterday posted a record full year cash profit
of ten point twenty five billion dollars, up four percent,
driven by growth in home loans and business lending. The
result was pretty much on expectations, but the shares were
sold off hard. Australia's biggest company closed more than five
(01:00):
percent lower. First The results give us the main.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Figures, so homelans grew six percent to six hundred billion dollars,
while business loans jumped eleven percent. CEO Matt Commons said
the economy remains resilient with strong fundamentals like a healthy
labor market and steady immigration. Operating costs rose six percent,
partly due to inflation and increased investment in technology, including
(01:25):
a new partnership with open AI to help combat financial crime.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Yeah, that part with the with open AI and incorporating
it in and of course Commonwealth Bank already owns a
stake in another operator, Anthropic, and so this is really
kind of doubling down on that move into AI. So
there's some really interesting stuff in that, but it is
impossible to kind of move past the reaction in the
market yesterday. For so long Commonwealth Bank has been really
(01:53):
a market darling that the market cap has just kept
on climbing. Yesterday, though investors did not like what they
were seeing.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
We saw heavy selling in CBA, the stock plunging almost
five and a half percent to one hundred and sixty
nine dollars and twelve cents. That is a long way
off its peak back in late June when it hit
one hundred and ninety one dollars. Why well, despite that
record cash profit, the results were described as just okay
by one analyst and point to sentiment that's been brewing
(02:24):
for a while around CBA being overvalued, the shares of
trading close to thirty times forward earnings. There were also
concerns around the outlook to including tougher competition for deposits
and weaker rate heel performance.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
And look, the challenge for the broader market is it's
hard to have a good day on the A six
when Australi's biggest company is sold off.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
That hard, right, exactly that, and so that pain in
CBA definitely cascading through the financials. CBA really being seen
as as a microcosm of what the big banks are
facing more broadly, so dragging the local boss to experience
its sharpest one day fall in nearly two weeks. Materials
they were a bright spot, lifted by rising commodity prices,
(03:06):
but overall the S and PSX two hundred closing down
points six percent or fifty three points at eighty eight
hundred and twenty seven.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Yeah, it is interesting that we've talked a lot lately
about the big switch, this move from the banks into
the miners, and yesterday we did see those banks coming
back and the miners, the big three in particular BHP
Rio tinto Fortescue, all climbing yesterday. We need to talk
about productivity, and I want to talk more broadly around
the Productivity round table and some of the there's a
(03:35):
lot of talk about it yesterday, but Matt Common, chief
Executive of Commonwealth Bank, actually had a bit to say
about this as well. It was sounding a warning about
proposed AI copyright changes that could let tech companies mine
artists and media creators work without payment.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
And this is really interesting in terms of what we
were just saying around CBA's partnerships and deals in the
AI space. But you're right. What we've got is the
government is considering reforms ahead of next week's Productivity round table,
the Commission proposing exemptions for AI text and data mining.
Common stress that AI is a very important and strategic capability,
(04:15):
but must be used responsibly and with adequate compensation given
to creative workers for their contribution, saying that protecting intellectual
property is crucial and risks should be taken seriously.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
The momentum, the expectations ahead of next week's round table
on being nervous, I am too, and we've been. It
feels like we've been talking about it forever, right, and
it just and there have been so many submissions coming
forward from every single part of Australian society, which is
what you want at something like this where it is
(04:48):
all about reform, that you want a really wide range
of proposals. It's fair to say, though expectations are running
pretty high, especially when the government has such a large
majority in such a large man to potentially do something.
Those expectations are cooled a little bit because Prime Minister
Anthony Alberanezi and Treasurer Jim Chalmers have reportedly held private
(05:10):
talks to agree on the need to rain in these
public expectations, these ones that we are building up right now.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Well, according to the finn the pair spoke face to
face last week about the need to be on the
same page regarding the roundtable. These conversations just dismissed us
as usual frisions. Really the PM already hosing down expectations
that the government will implement any new tax changes before
the next election, and that really being seen as a
(05:38):
symbolic of a steady line.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Yeah, and we've we've started out a couple of months
ago with all the talk about the potential for GST
changes and the like, and it feels like the expectations
now like getting smaller and smaller, because we keep hearing
now that the government wasn't given a mandate for such
significant tax reform at the election. One such proposal, though,
(06:01):
that we heard about in the last twenty four hours,
comes from the Australian Council of Trade Unions the act
They are pushing for a shorter working week, including wait
for it, the four day week without any loss of pay.
It didn't get the best reception yesterday.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
No, so the ACTU is arguing that it's good for
workers and employers alike, improving productivity and work life balance,
saying that workers deserve to share in productivity gains. But
big business groups are pushing back pretty hard. The Australian
Industry Group calls it a populist anti productivity thought bubble,
(06:42):
the Australian Chamber of Commerce saying shorter hours should be
negotiated company by company, not imposed as a blanket rule.
And coming back to that last story around tempering public expectations,
the Albanesi government also saying it has no intention of
making industrial relations change during this term beyond those promised
(07:02):
during the election campaign.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Feels like we're not going to get much out of
next week, doesn't it.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
I'm still looking forward to seeing what Reserve Bank Governor
Michelle Biloks got to say after refusing to give anything
away on Tuesday.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Oh, very good points. All right, big starts of the show.
We've covered a lot of ground already. We still have
a long way to go. We'll be back in a
moment with the rest of the day's business news. Natalie.
Wages in Australia kept growing at a steady pace in
the June quarter, going up by three point four percent
(07:37):
over the year.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Good news for public sector workers like nurses and police,
who saw bigger pay rises than those in the private sector. Overall,
wage growth is slowing down compared with last year, with
fewer people getting big pay bumps. Now we know that
the Reserve Bank is watching closely because that py word again,
productivity is pretty weak, as illustrated by Governor Michell bl
(08:00):
Lo at Tuesday's press conference, and that makes it harder
for wages to keep rising without causing inflation. Next on
the watchhist, of course, is unemployment data due out today.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
A couple of big housing stories property stories today. The
Reserve Bank's decision to cut into strates this week was
really kind of promoted as a win for mortgage holders.
Of course, new data now from Domain is offering a
broader insight into Australia's housing market and in particular some
of the extraordinary profits that are being made in the
(08:32):
residential market.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Domain Group's latest report showing an impressive ninety seven percent
of house resales and eighty eight percent of unit resales
nationwide made a profit in the first half of twenty
twenty five. That's the highest in nearly twenty years for
houses and three years for units. Brisbane and Perth in
fact led house sales profits with over ninety nine percent
(08:56):
selling for a gain. Perth saw the biggest jump in
house profits, up twenty two percent, while Sydney still offers
the highest medium profit at seven hundred thousand, five hundred dollars.
Some cities like Darwin and Melbourne saw declines, but losses
remain pretty rare and pretty modest.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
That is a staggering seven hundred thousand dollars and that's
the median profit in Sydney. That is quite remarkable. On
the flip side, this is not great news. Now this
next one for those who are renting rental. Growth across
Australia's capital cities has picked up for the first time
in over two years, sparking fresh concerns around inflation housing inflation.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
The latest Toutality stats show rents rows three percent in
the year to July, up from two point seven percent
in June, with Sydney and Brisbane leading the charge, driven
by tight rental markets, especially in units and low vacancy rates.
With rents making up a big chunk of the Consumer
price index, this growth could push inflation higher and that's
(09:57):
certainly a concern.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
We need to mention a couple of the results. The
other results. Commonwealth Bank does tend to kind of suck
a lot of the oxygen out, doesn't it, whenever we're
talking about this. But there were some other interesting stories
coming out of a reporting season yesterday. Treasury Wine Estates
is leaning on its luxury Penfolds brand to boost profits
this year. Cheaper wine sales, though continued to struggle.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
The company reported a fifteen and a half percent rise
in earnings to about four hundred and seventy million dollars,
helped by those strong Penfold sales and its US premium
wine acquisitions. But its commercial wine division and that's selling
brands like Lindman's nineteen Crimes saw earnings drop nearly twenty
eight percent, reflecting a global shift away from cheaper wines.
(10:42):
In China, for instance, drinkers are opting for healthier choices.
The company also announcing a share buy back of up
to two hundred million dollars and shares in treasury wine
estates for the day climbing one point two percent.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
At Utilities were the weakest sector yesterday, dragged lower by AG,
which was the worst performer on the ASX two hundred.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
The energy giant reported a twenty one percent drop in
full core profit, signaling tougher times ahead. AJL posting a
ninety eight million dollar loss after some hefty charges, despite
a six percent rise in revenue to fourteen point four
billion dollars. Shares down thirteen percent.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Turning to international news now, and I don't know what
to make of this story. US President Donald Trump has
taken aim at Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon, telling him
to focus on being a DJ instead of running a bank.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
There is no sicker burn in my opinion.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Especially coming from the President. The fact is that David
Solomon did have a bit of a side hustle as
a DJ. Didn't he he did?
Speaker 2 (11:47):
This is true, so I guess kind of asking for
it maybe. But in terms of the story, Goldman issued
a warning that Trump's tariffs could hurt the US economy,
with costs likely to be passed on to consume. Trump
not having it hit back on true Social insisting tariffs
are bringing trillions into the treasury without fueling inflation, which,
(12:08):
by the way, slowed to two point seven percent, easing
slightly more than economists expected according to official data. But
back to Goldman, Trump accused DJ hobbyist Solomon of making
bad predictions on tariffs and markets, and staid he should
get a new economist.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
But also, just.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
While we're on this, Trump also going on a bit
of an online spree, also threatening to sue Federal Reserve
Chair Jerome Power over quote the horrible and grossly incompetent
job he has done in managing the construction of FED buildings,
and criticized him for being too late to cut interest rates.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Do you know what David Solomon's DJ name was? Oh?
Was it like DJ soul? Yeah? I mean it's not
not particularly inspired, is it?
Speaker 2 (12:53):
But what kind of music did he playing? Who was
at Lollapalooza, wasn't he He.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Was like so he was actually playing, so like he
was playing there alongside kind of Green Day and the likes,
and there you've got the CEO of one of the
biggest banks in the world. I don't even know what
the term is for. What's that like, you know, on
the deck on the decks.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
It should be noted we are both doing Yeah, we're
both trying.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
To mixing at the moment without knowing what we're actually
talking about.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
But then that was why he had to pull back,
was because he was facing criticism that he was off
doing his little hobby and the bank's performance was on
a bit of a downturn.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
So so maybe there's some it's still a bit what
did you describe it as the sickest burn.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Yeah, that's my that's my professional opinion.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
I enjoy that now. I mentioned this at the top
of the show. A somewhat bold play from AI startup Perplexity.
They lobbed a fifty two point eight billion US dollar
bid to buy Google's Chrome browser. That's the browser that
is used by billions of people around the world, and
this bid was unsolicited.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
The move comes as a US court considers forcing Google
to sell Chrome after ruling it illegally monopolized the search market.
Google's fighting the ruling, pushing for smaller changes like loosening
default search agreements with Apple, Mozilla, and Android. This isn't
the first time Perplexity has made eyes at a major
Internet player. Earlier this year, it bid to merge with
(14:18):
TikTok's US operations amid a potential ban, leaving this bid,
which some analysts have pointed out, massively undervalues Chrome being
viewed with some skepticism.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Okay, I need to get to this one. We're running
out of time, but it's worth a mention. Around one
hundred locals and visitors gathered in England Cotswolds for what
they called a dance against Vance, which is a not
so subtle message to US Vice President J. D. Vance,
who was holidaying nearby.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
And also it doesn't sound anywhere near as call with
my accent, oh, because you would say dance dance against
Vance anyway, Sunshine music, even a caterpillar cake, which is
iconic by cake standards in the UK. It looked like
a village fate, but the placards told another story. Organized
(15:08):
by the Stop Trump Coalition. Protesters criticized Vance's policies, his
treatment of UK President vladimirs Lensky, and his environmental stance.
Security around the village where he's staying has been tight,
with Rhodes Closed Secret Service agents stationed around the eighteenth
century manor where he is holidaying. Locals comparing the scenes
(15:29):
to the Will Smith film Men in Black and calling
it a bit over the top.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Can I let you in on a little secret. I
don't know whether I should be telling anybody this, but
guess who is in the Cotswolds right now?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Who's in the Cotswolds right now?
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Apart from JD. Vance? Now Fear and Grade colleague Sean Aylmer,
who is there? Who posted a whole stack of photos
on Instagram in the last twenty four hours. He has
this knack for following international news stories. When Jeff Bezos,
Amazon founder was getting married in ve guess where Sean
popped up?
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Coincidence? I think not.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
I'm with you there all right. Up next is Fear
and Greed Q and A asking today what lies ahead
for Commonwealth Bank? And the guest today is Commonwealth Bank
CEO Matt Common speaking to our friends from Osby's, which
is Australia's leading provider of live and on demand video
of the latest news in Australian business markets, economy and startups.
Sign up for free at Osby's dot com dot au.
(16:24):
It's coming up next to the Fear and Greed playlist.
Thank you very much, Natalie, Thank you Michael. It is Thursday,
the fourteenth of August twenty twenty five. Make sure you're
following the podcast and please join us online on LinkedIn, Instagram,
x TikTok and Facebook and head along to Fearangreed dot
com dodau and sign up for our free daily newsletter.
I'm Michael Thompson and that was Fear and Greed. Have
a great day.
Welcome to Fear and Greed business news you can use today.
Investors sell off the Commonwealth Bank after Australia's biggest company
reports a record ten point twenty five billion dollar profit.
The Prime Minister rejects calls for a four day working
week and massive profits in the housing markets, while rental
growth picks up again. Plus a fifty three billion dollar
(00:26):
bid for Google's Chrome browser. And why an English village
has turned on the US Vice President. It is Thursday,
the fourteenth of August twenty twenty five. I'm Michael Thompson
and good morning Natalie McDonald.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Good morning, Michael, Natalie.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
A lot to get through today. The main story this morning.
Commonwealth Bank yesterday posted a record full year cash profit
of ten point twenty five billion dollars, up four percent,
driven by growth in home loans and business lending. The
result was pretty much on expectations, but the shares were
sold off hard. Australia's biggest company closed more than five
(01:00):
percent lower. First The results give us the main.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Figures, so homelans grew six percent to six hundred billion dollars,
while business loans jumped eleven percent. CEO Matt Commons said
the economy remains resilient with strong fundamentals like a healthy
labor market and steady immigration. Operating costs rose six percent,
partly due to inflation and increased investment in technology, including
(01:25):
a new partnership with open AI to help combat financial crime.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Yeah, that part with the with open AI and incorporating
it in and of course Commonwealth Bank already owns a
stake in another operator, Anthropic, and so this is really
kind of doubling down on that move into AI. So
there's some really interesting stuff in that, but it is
impossible to kind of move past the reaction in the
market yesterday. For so long Commonwealth Bank has been really
(01:53):
a market darling that the market cap has just kept
on climbing. Yesterday, though investors did not like what they
were seeing.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
We saw heavy selling in CBA, the stock plunging almost
five and a half percent to one hundred and sixty
nine dollars and twelve cents. That is a long way
off its peak back in late June when it hit
one hundred and ninety one dollars. Why well, despite that
record cash profit, the results were described as just okay
by one analyst and point to sentiment that's been brewing
(02:24):
for a while around CBA being overvalued, the shares of
trading close to thirty times forward earnings. There were also
concerns around the outlook to including tougher competition for deposits
and weaker rate heel performance.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
And look, the challenge for the broader market is it's
hard to have a good day on the A six
when Australi's biggest company is sold off.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
That hard, right, exactly that, and so that pain in
CBA definitely cascading through the financials. CBA really being seen
as as a microcosm of what the big banks are
facing more broadly, so dragging the local boss to experience
its sharpest one day fall in nearly two weeks. Materials
they were a bright spot, lifted by rising commodity prices,
(03:06):
but overall the S and PSX two hundred closing down
points six percent or fifty three points at eighty eight
hundred and twenty seven.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Yeah, it is interesting that we've talked a lot lately
about the big switch, this move from the banks into
the miners, and yesterday we did see those banks coming
back and the miners, the big three in particular BHP
Rio tinto Fortescue, all climbing yesterday. We need to talk
about productivity, and I want to talk more broadly around
the Productivity round table and some of the there's a
(03:35):
lot of talk about it yesterday, but Matt Common, chief
Executive of Commonwealth Bank, actually had a bit to say
about this as well. It was sounding a warning about
proposed AI copyright changes that could let tech companies mine
artists and media creators work without payment.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
And this is really interesting in terms of what we
were just saying around CBA's partnerships and deals in the
AI space. But you're right. What we've got is the
government is considering reforms ahead of next week's Productivity round table,
the Commission proposing exemptions for AI text and data mining.
Common stress that AI is a very important and strategic capability,
(04:15):
but must be used responsibly and with adequate compensation given
to creative workers for their contribution, saying that protecting intellectual
property is crucial and risks should be taken seriously.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
The momentum, the expectations ahead of next week's round table
on being nervous, I am too, and we've been. It
feels like we've been talking about it forever, right, and
it just and there have been so many submissions coming
forward from every single part of Australian society, which is
what you want at something like this where it is
(04:48):
all about reform, that you want a really wide range
of proposals. It's fair to say, though expectations are running
pretty high, especially when the government has such a large
majority in such a large man to potentially do something.
Those expectations are cooled a little bit because Prime Minister
Anthony Alberanezi and Treasurer Jim Chalmers have reportedly held private
(05:10):
talks to agree on the need to rain in these
public expectations, these ones that we are building up right now.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Well, according to the finn the pair spoke face to
face last week about the need to be on the
same page regarding the roundtable. These conversations just dismissed us
as usual frisions. Really the PM already hosing down expectations
that the government will implement any new tax changes before
the next election, and that really being seen as a
(05:38):
symbolic of a steady line.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Yeah, and we've we've started out a couple of months
ago with all the talk about the potential for GST
changes and the like, and it feels like the expectations
now like getting smaller and smaller, because we keep hearing
now that the government wasn't given a mandate for such
significant tax reform at the election. One such proposal, though,
(06:01):
that we heard about in the last twenty four hours,
comes from the Australian Council of Trade Unions the act
They are pushing for a shorter working week, including wait
for it, the four day week without any loss of pay.
It didn't get the best reception yesterday.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
No, so the ACTU is arguing that it's good for
workers and employers alike, improving productivity and work life balance,
saying that workers deserve to share in productivity gains. But
big business groups are pushing back pretty hard. The Australian
Industry Group calls it a populist anti productivity thought bubble,
(06:42):
the Australian Chamber of Commerce saying shorter hours should be
negotiated company by company, not imposed as a blanket rule.
And coming back to that last story around tempering public expectations,
the Albanesi government also saying it has no intention of
making industrial relations change during this term beyond those promised
(07:02):
during the election campaign.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Feels like we're not going to get much out of
next week, doesn't it.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
I'm still looking forward to seeing what Reserve Bank Governor
Michelle Biloks got to say after refusing to give anything
away on Tuesday.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Oh, very good points. All right, big starts of the show.
We've covered a lot of ground already. We still have
a long way to go. We'll be back in a
moment with the rest of the day's business news. Natalie.
Wages in Australia kept growing at a steady pace in
the June quarter, going up by three point four percent
(07:37):
over the year.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Good news for public sector workers like nurses and police,
who saw bigger pay rises than those in the private sector. Overall,
wage growth is slowing down compared with last year, with
fewer people getting big pay bumps. Now we know that
the Reserve Bank is watching closely because that py word again,
productivity is pretty weak, as illustrated by Governor Michell bl
(08:00):
Lo at Tuesday's press conference, and that makes it harder
for wages to keep rising without causing inflation. Next on
the watchhist, of course, is unemployment data due out today.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
A couple of big housing stories property stories today. The
Reserve Bank's decision to cut into strates this week was
really kind of promoted as a win for mortgage holders.
Of course, new data now from Domain is offering a
broader insight into Australia's housing market and in particular some
of the extraordinary profits that are being made in the
(08:32):
residential market.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Domain Group's latest report showing an impressive ninety seven percent
of house resales and eighty eight percent of unit resales
nationwide made a profit in the first half of twenty
twenty five. That's the highest in nearly twenty years for
houses and three years for units. Brisbane and Perth in
fact led house sales profits with over ninety nine percent
(08:56):
selling for a gain. Perth saw the biggest jump in
house profits, up twenty two percent, while Sydney still offers
the highest medium profit at seven hundred thousand, five hundred dollars.
Some cities like Darwin and Melbourne saw declines, but losses
remain pretty rare and pretty modest.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
That is a staggering seven hundred thousand dollars and that's
the median profit in Sydney. That is quite remarkable. On
the flip side, this is not great news. Now this
next one for those who are renting rental. Growth across
Australia's capital cities has picked up for the first time
in over two years, sparking fresh concerns around inflation housing inflation.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
The latest Toutality stats show rents rows three percent in
the year to July, up from two point seven percent
in June, with Sydney and Brisbane leading the charge, driven
by tight rental markets, especially in units and low vacancy rates.
With rents making up a big chunk of the Consumer
price index, this growth could push inflation higher and that's
(09:57):
certainly a concern.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
We need to mention a couple of the results. The
other results. Commonwealth Bank does tend to kind of suck
a lot of the oxygen out, doesn't it, whenever we're
talking about this. But there were some other interesting stories
coming out of a reporting season yesterday. Treasury Wine Estates
is leaning on its luxury Penfolds brand to boost profits
this year. Cheaper wine sales, though continued to struggle.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
The company reported a fifteen and a half percent rise
in earnings to about four hundred and seventy million dollars,
helped by those strong Penfold sales and its US premium
wine acquisitions. But its commercial wine division and that's selling
brands like Lindman's nineteen Crimes saw earnings drop nearly twenty
eight percent, reflecting a global shift away from cheaper wines.
(10:42):
In China, for instance, drinkers are opting for healthier choices.
The company also announcing a share buy back of up
to two hundred million dollars and shares in treasury wine
estates for the day climbing one point two percent.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
At Utilities were the weakest sector yesterday, dragged lower by AG,
which was the worst performer on the ASX two hundred.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
The energy giant reported a twenty one percent drop in
full core profit, signaling tougher times ahead. AJL posting a
ninety eight million dollar loss after some hefty charges, despite
a six percent rise in revenue to fourteen point four
billion dollars. Shares down thirteen percent.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Turning to international news now, and I don't know what
to make of this story. US President Donald Trump has
taken aim at Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon, telling him
to focus on being a DJ instead of running a bank.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
There is no sicker burn in my opinion.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Especially coming from the President. The fact is that David
Solomon did have a bit of a side hustle as
a DJ. Didn't he he did?
Speaker 2 (11:47):
This is true, so I guess kind of asking for
it maybe. But in terms of the story, Goldman issued
a warning that Trump's tariffs could hurt the US economy,
with costs likely to be passed on to consume. Trump
not having it hit back on true Social insisting tariffs
are bringing trillions into the treasury without fueling inflation, which,
(12:08):
by the way, slowed to two point seven percent, easing
slightly more than economists expected according to official data. But
back to Goldman, Trump accused DJ hobbyist Solomon of making
bad predictions on tariffs and markets, and staid he should
get a new economist.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
But also, just.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
While we're on this, Trump also going on a bit
of an online spree, also threatening to sue Federal Reserve
Chair Jerome Power over quote the horrible and grossly incompetent
job he has done in managing the construction of FED buildings,
and criticized him for being too late to cut interest rates.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Do you know what David Solomon's DJ name was? Oh?
Was it like DJ soul? Yeah? I mean it's not
not particularly inspired, is it?
Speaker 2 (12:53):
But what kind of music did he playing? Who was
at Lollapalooza, wasn't he He.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Was like so he was actually playing, so like he
was playing there alongside kind of Green Day and the likes,
and there you've got the CEO of one of the
biggest banks in the world. I don't even know what
the term is for. What's that like, you know, on
the deck on the decks.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
It should be noted we are both doing Yeah, we're
both trying.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
To mixing at the moment without knowing what we're actually
talking about.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
But then that was why he had to pull back,
was because he was facing criticism that he was off
doing his little hobby and the bank's performance was on
a bit of a downturn.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
So so maybe there's some it's still a bit what
did you describe it as the sickest burn.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Yeah, that's my that's my professional opinion.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
I enjoy that now. I mentioned this at the top
of the show. A somewhat bold play from AI startup Perplexity.
They lobbed a fifty two point eight billion US dollar
bid to buy Google's Chrome browser. That's the browser that
is used by billions of people around the world, and
this bid was unsolicited.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
The move comes as a US court considers forcing Google
to sell Chrome after ruling it illegally monopolized the search market.
Google's fighting the ruling, pushing for smaller changes like loosening
default search agreements with Apple, Mozilla, and Android. This isn't
the first time Perplexity has made eyes at a major
Internet player. Earlier this year, it bid to merge with
(14:18):
TikTok's US operations amid a potential ban, leaving this bid,
which some analysts have pointed out, massively undervalues Chrome being
viewed with some skepticism.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Okay, I need to get to this one. We're running
out of time, but it's worth a mention. Around one
hundred locals and visitors gathered in England Cotswolds for what
they called a dance against Vance, which is a not
so subtle message to US Vice President J. D. Vance,
who was holidaying nearby.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
And also it doesn't sound anywhere near as call with
my accent, oh, because you would say dance dance against
Vance anyway, Sunshine music, even a caterpillar cake, which is
iconic by cake standards in the UK. It looked like
a village fate, but the placards told another story. Organized
(15:08):
by the Stop Trump Coalition. Protesters criticized Vance's policies, his
treatment of UK President vladimirs Lensky, and his environmental stance.
Security around the village where he's staying has been tight,
with Rhodes Closed Secret Service agents stationed around the eighteenth
century manor where he is holidaying. Locals comparing the scenes
(15:29):
to the Will Smith film Men in Black and calling
it a bit over the top.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Can I let you in on a little secret. I
don't know whether I should be telling anybody this, but
guess who is in the Cotswolds right now?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Who's in the Cotswolds right now?
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Apart from JD. Vance? Now Fear and Grade colleague Sean Aylmer,
who is there? Who posted a whole stack of photos
on Instagram in the last twenty four hours. He has
this knack for following international news stories. When Jeff Bezos,
Amazon founder was getting married in ve guess where Sean
popped up?
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Coincidence? I think not.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
I'm with you there all right. Up next is Fear
and Greed Q and A asking today what lies ahead
for Commonwealth Bank? And the guest today is Commonwealth Bank
CEO Matt Common speaking to our friends from Osby's, which
is Australia's leading provider of live and on demand video
of the latest news in Australian business markets, economy and startups.
Sign up for free at Osby's dot com dot au.
(16:24):
It's coming up next to the Fear and Greed playlist.
Thank you very much, Natalie, Thank you Michael. It is Thursday,
the fourteenth of August twenty twenty five. Make sure you're
following the podcast and please join us online on LinkedIn, Instagram,
x TikTok and Facebook and head along to Fearangreed dot
com dodau and sign up for our free daily newsletter.
I'm Michael Thompson and that was Fear and Greed. Have
a great day.
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