September 5, 2025 • 32 mins
A bumper week in the economy, with GDP data and household spending - but is it enough to beat the biggest stories from politics? Plus China's massive display of power, more uncertainty for the banks, and a $350,000 wagyu heifer.
Michael Thompson and Natalie MacDonald go head to head on the top business stories of the week, with Adam Lang picking a winner in a fierce debate.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
This is the weekend edition of Fear and Greed business
news you can use. I'm Michael Thompson and good morning
Natalie McDonald. Good morning now, Natalie. Our weekend show is
all about the two of us, each nominating what we
think is the biggest business story of the week, the
most remarkable business story, a mystery category that changes every week,
and then our favorite story. It is a competition. It
(00:27):
is a fiercely fierce competition. This is not going to
be a good day if I'm already struggling two lines
in and we are joined by a judge to pick
a winner in this fierce competition. And that judge is
our Fear and Greed colleague, Adam Lang. Are you feeling
fierce today?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Adam, No, but I'm feeling like in a very balanced
judge mood.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
It's really kind of lowering the expectations there. So Natalie,
this is your last weekend edition with us for a
little while, as Sean is back next week. And so far,
this is our third that we have done. You won one,
I did. I won the first, then we had a
tie last week, and then we agreed that this week
was going to be double or nothing, so.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
We agreed, no such thing. Did you talk about this
when I wasn't here?
Speaker 1 (01:12):
No, it was last week in the in the in
the in the podcast, it was there was.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
No double or nothing. I've actually realized you have to
win this.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
The pressure is on, Adam. What are you looking for?
I'm assuming economic importance, melodrama.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
Topicality, and timeliness.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Of course, economic impact is the biggest, one little bit
of subjective bias.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
I like that and Meloandie.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Is the subjective bias that you want me to win?
Speaker 2 (01:36):
No, no, no, no, I want the audience to win.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
They're the winners.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
In all.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
We're on your side.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
I'm not. I'm on my own side here. I thought
I made that abundantly clear. I'm here to win and
only for that. Forget the rest of you, Natalie. Biggest
story of the week, what was it?
Speaker 3 (01:58):
GDP and it grew point six percent in the Dune
quarter and one point eight percent over the year. This
has been fueled by households splashing out on travel, dining,
and some of those big ticket buys. Consumption jumped point
nine percent. That was helped by things like end of
financial year sales, Eastern Lansac day landing so close together,
(02:19):
and even the launch of the new Nintendo Switch, and
actually a moment for the Nintendo Switch, which has been
somewhat of the Golden goose, contributing to a five hundred
million dollar sales search for JB Hi Fi and also
something that the ABS had previously referenced in consumer spending.
The Nintendo Switch is entirely lost on me as a
non gamer, but I appreciate it for those of you
out there who maybe but ossies aren't spending with spare cash,
(02:42):
they're actually raiding savings. The household saving ratio fell from
five point two to four point two percent, and your
growth is now at the strongest in almost two years.
And that spending boom it's showing up in retail as well.
We had ABS figures revealing that July retail sales hit
thirty seven point seven billion dollars, up four point six
percent on last year. Cafes, restaurants, takeaways led the charge
(03:04):
up nearly seven percent, whilst household goods, fashion, food all
climbed as well. Now this is great for retailers, great
if you're a bit of a chopoholic too, but it
does parle pressure on the reserve bank hopes of a
September rate cup, they're gone andless are tipping November at
the earliest. Now for borrow is it's less switch on
saving and more a switch back to saving.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
It is really I mean that's it is a big story.
It's actually a good news story, isn't it, because the
economy is growing, and in particular, the good news is
in that in those the retail sales, the spending, the
household spending figures the fact that this is not just
the essentials. People aren't just spending on power bills and
(03:46):
groceries now feeling more.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Confident to be doing a little, a bit of buying,
a bit of a treat.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Discretionary spending is up, which is absolutely key. It is
also not the biggest story of the week. It is
a big story. It is a good news story, but
is not the biggest. The biggest is politics. It is
everything that's been happening at politics. And if I was
just to select one story or maybe two stories, I'll
squeeze in there. But Natalie squeezed a couple of stories
into one. So omnibus stories are okay this week apparently.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Adam is shaking his head furiously at me. The judge
has decided it must be one story. Well in that case,
a common theme of the government trying to resolve a crisis.
The first is immigration. Right last weekend we saw rallies
anti immigration rallies taking place in capital cities and regional
areas across the country. A lot of pressure on the
(04:40):
government to say pause intakes. Instead, they came out through
the week and confirmed the migration number four this week
for this year, one hundred and eighty five thousand permanent visas.
The priority here is skills because we still have a
skills shortage. We have a tight labor market. We need
workers coming from overseas with the skills to do the
(05:03):
jobs that we need. We need houses that we haven't
got a tradey shortage. There are so many gaps here
and we need people coming in to keep the economy
moving all right. There is a political element to this
as well, obviously a massive political element, because as the
migration number is still reasonably high and it does put
(05:27):
pressure on infrastructure, it does put pressure on the housing market,
and that's what a lot of these protests were about
last weekend. The Prime Minister Anthony Albernizi was careful not
to dismiss those concerns this week, and he was telling
Caucus not to demonize everyone involved in the rallies because
not everybody there was a neo Nazi, and the fact
that we even need to make that distinction is just extraordinary.
(05:50):
The fact that we have these extremist groups basically using
these rallies and these protests to make racist points, it's
just disgraceful, right, And I thought it was an interesting
approach that the Prime Minister took of talking to his colleagues, saying,
we actually need to be careful here. We need to
engage with the concerns that are being represented by people here,
(06:15):
and not just assume that everyone involved in this is
a far right looney essentially, because otherwise you'll just end
up pushing everyone to that extreme and then you end
up with an even bigger problem. Anyway, I kind of
just went way off on a tangent there just to
express some views A quick mention as well, if I may,
because this is in the common theme of the government
resolving a crisis. The four hundred and seventy five million
(06:37):
dollar settlement of the robodebt case, Australia's largest ever class
action settlement, adding to the one point eight billion dollars
the victims won in twenty twenty robo debt obviously the
automated debt recovery system that hounded welfare recipients for money
that they didn't actually ow. Finally, hopefully this entirely awful
(06:58):
saga can now be put to bed with this resolution
this week. So two crises hopefully resolved by the government
this week. Adam, you're laughing because you are noting that
I have attempted to join two stories together that are
not linked in any way.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
A verbal shoehorn of two stories into one category.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
But still very very good stories.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
The GDP figure look one point eight percent for the
year point six of the quarter, as you said, Natalie,
CPI inflations at two point one So that's.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
Still real decline. Right.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
We are still not productive enough and we're not growing
nearly enough, and so I don't want to forget the
productivity crisis that this country is going through. It's a
very very important figure. The anti immigration rally, I'm going
to focus on that. Skills shortage, housing shortage. There should
be some more accountability in what the government is doing
(07:54):
to fix both of those things. Actually, we need more
immigration here yep. And we do need those skills, and
we need more housing so that they can live here happily.
So that's a resolvable crisis, but we still haven't had
the courage across all three layers of government to do it.
So for that reason, and this fermenting of ill will
(08:14):
like blaming someone or immigration for this. It's not immigration's fault, right,
So I think, Michael, you just have to win this
one for Story of the week.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
That's a great decision, Adam.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
You weren't expecting that way, well, I.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Don't think I was. In fact, I even said to
you before we sell, I said, if you're going to
do the economy is the biggest story of the week,
Adam's going to pick that one.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
But genuinely, I know we've spoken about this a lot.
I'm with you. I think that the story around immigration
and migration in general is really really interesting. I think
people are allowed to feel dissatisfied with their personal finance situation,
with housing accessibility. They are allowed to feel like they're
doing things tough because a lot of people are. But
(09:00):
what they can't do is them blame immigration because do
you know the number of people that have come to
me and said that I am stealing.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
Many generations are going I'm.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Stealing or I'm stealing people's jobs. Yeah, not one. Not one.
And so this is layered with a larger conversation about
who we do and don't consider to be migrants within
Australia and who we do and don't consider to be
allowed access to having a fair go when often a
lot of the countries that we are targeting sort of
(09:31):
entrants from they are coming here with skills, but the
system is so complex for them to go into teaching
or technology or a lot of other things that they're
not being given those career parts and that access to
economic opportunity. And that is my soapbox.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
I think that's a good point. Do you think that
we're capable of having that conversation without it being hijacked
by racist neo Nazis.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Of course I think so too, and I just stand
right in it.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
But then it comes back to the point that Anthony
Alberanezi has been making about how we cannot continue to
push those individuals. If you continue to disenfranchise them, if
you as governments continue to fail to stand up for
what they need, then yeah, you are going to be
pushing people on a path that is further more to
the right than they ever would have anticipated.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Okay, we are. We got very deep there, very serious.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
That got really heavy.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
But let's not one nill, Let's not lose sight of
the bigger picture here is that I just won that
and it was a strong, powerful, resounding victory. Most remarkable
story of the week. Shall I go first on this one?
You may thank you China, China, China. This week has
(10:44):
all been about China.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
Right, That's been the only story.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Four I say China four times.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
Sorry, an awful lot more.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
This week, China held its largest ever military parade, ostensibly
to mark the eightieth anniversary of the defeat of Japan
in World War Two, but really this was all a
show of power, right it is. It was China asserting
its power, its position, its place in the world. The
precision marching soldiers, the hypersonic missiles on display, the military
(11:19):
robot dogs. Did you see those? Those things are terrifying,
The robotic kind of the little kind of canines that
walk along, they are just they are anyway. I would
say it's all pretty confronting. But what was remarkable about
this story in addition to all of that was the
attendees at this at this parade. Of course, Chinese President
(11:41):
Jijiping kind of overseeing it all. Russian President Vladimir Putin
was there, North Korean Dictator Kim Jong un was there.
The US President Donald Trump was not there. He wrote
on truth Social please give my warmest regards to Vladimir
Putin and Kim Jong Un as you conspire against the
United States of America. It's a very direct point, right,
(12:04):
but even more remarkable posing alongside those world leaders as
former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, an invited guest who has
been hammered for his decision to not just accept the
invitation because Bob Carr also accepted the invitation to travel
to China and be part of the overall kind of thing.
But Bob Carr didn't go to the parade. Bob car
(12:24):
didn't walk along that carpet alongside Vladimir Putin and the
North Korean dictator. Prime Minister Anthony Alberanizi forced to distance
himself from the former premier who's long had these strong
ties to China. It did prompt some great headlines, though
Daniel and the pariahs Den I thought was good. The
(12:46):
Herald Son went with Dictator Dan and the despots. This
is just good, right. So it's just it has been
a debacle that Dan Andrews created for himself, and a
aside from the military show, which I think it was
actually pretty frightening seeing all of that on display, there's
just this political angle that the Albanese government has had
(13:09):
to tiptoe their way through and having a labor figure
in the middle of it all not a great look, Natalie.
Remarkable for you this week?
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Well, who would work for the banks? Really? I mean,
apart apart from the obvious answer of thousands, tens of
thousands of Australians.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
And many of people probably listening to this podcast as well,
they're going it ends up right now, going I work
for a bank me.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
But not a day has gone past this week where
we haven't talked about Yes, yes, China, we've talked about China,
but the banks, and really not for the good reasons.
Just one week after staff has learned they'd been laid
off via emails asking for their laptops back, reports emerged
that A and Z was considering somewhere between two thousand
and five thousand job cuts as part of a radical
(13:57):
restructure and in case that wasn't enough, and said staff
learned that their pay could be cut if they failed
to return to the office at least half the time.
It is perhaps no surprise then that staff morale is
somewhat slipping. An internal survey of thirty seven thousand employees
showed metrics like engagement, inclusion, well being falling since March
(14:18):
this year. To just put that in context, new CEO
and knows matters, he took over the job in May. Meanwhile,
I'm still working out what NAB boss Andrew Irvine has
against Kodak and Blockbuster. That was not candle after that
was actually adam After warning that Australia's productivity has stalled
(14:41):
and complacency is putting future generations at risk. He spoke
to four hundred business leaders and said that AI it's
the game changer and that ignoring it isn't an option,
saying that people using AI will take the jobs of
those who don't. Which, while he was talking about Australia
as a whole, you can't help think that there was
some nab ears pricking up at that, and that for
businesses failing to adopt new technology is like Kodak or Blockbuster,
(15:06):
a relevance in waiting. But when we're talking about productivity,
I do want to loop back to that A and
Z survey because when you're asking employees on feelings like
engagement and inclusion and well being, ultimately the question that
you're asking is how productive can you be in your
current workplace? And what an Z staffers are telling senior
leaders is right now in this current environment.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
Not very It's good editorial there from Natalie McDonald.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
It's not editorial. It's thirty seven thousand employees. It's just numbers.
Michael good one.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Enough Not enough though, was it, Adam?
Speaker 4 (15:43):
Let's see for remarkability.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
That's a lot of people when they're their biggest value
companies dominate the Australian Stock Exchange. Value banking is important
to all of us. Typically we're not you know, you
need to use debt and savings. It's pretty important. A
Quarry Bank this week rising as a home loan lender provider.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
Yes, thank you, Adam.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
It's just a spectacular competitive topography. So I think it
is remarkable. But this week that parade in China was
even more remarkable. And I do think Dan Andrews made
a mistake serving self interest over Australia's interest, and it
(16:30):
was just to me. I was gobsmacked about watching the
scale of this thing and just the fawning to it
to China. We know they're a massive economy and trading partner,
but oh god, there was a little bit of concern
around as well. So I think this week that was
just the more remarkable. I mean's a historic thing, eighty
years anniversary and where they've come in that time.
Speaker 4 (16:51):
Incredible?
Speaker 1 (16:52):
Do you reckon? Dan Andrews had a realization, a moment
of realization when he's on that red carpet. He looks
up and goes, oh god, Putin's here, Kim John Woudan'
maybe I shouldn't have come.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
But it was also predictable. I think his self interest.
He's kind of served that above everything for a long time.
So no, I don't in his case.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
All right, what's the total score over all? At the moment?
Speaker 3 (17:14):
You know what it is?
Speaker 4 (17:16):
To nil?
Speaker 2 (17:17):
And boy am I feeling a chill to my left?
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Natalie is situated to Adams left. Just for the record, Okay.
Speaker 4 (17:25):
All right, fine, back Natalie.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Anything can happen in the second half a quick break
and we'll come back with our mystery category of the week.
All right, Natalie, we are now moving into the mystery
category of the week, and we're going to do this
faster because we were a touch for both in the
(17:46):
first half of the show. We being all of us combined,
there's no one person at fault. We are looking here
for our mystery category being our favorite sector specific story,
which is not the catchy title, and I could have
probably I should have put that one through chat JPT
come up with something it's nazier than this sector specific story.
(18:11):
What have used? What what sector are you targeting here, Natalie,
and be specific?
Speaker 3 (18:16):
Well, it might be that I'm flying to good old
England this week. It's endless rolling hills. I just hit
the studio, hit to the music, but it's got me.
Thank you about farming and agriculture. Of course it has,
of course, because Australia's farm sector is breaking records.
Speaker 4 (18:38):
People.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Agriculture, fisheries and forestry production is tipped to hit a
whopping one hundred and one billion dollars this financial year.
Livestock alone makes up more forty one billion dollars, while
wheat yields, although down due to drought, are still on
track for a monster sixty two million ton at harvest.
And there is sweeter news for fruit growers. We love
(19:01):
a pun. After years of negotiation, Australian apples can now
head to Canada without costly fumigation or freezing. But who
knew apples was such a competitive market? I did not.
Australia produces just three hundred tons a year, while China,
yes we're talking about bloody China again, pumps out more
than forty three million tons. And speaking of apples, there's
(19:25):
a rotten core in the veggie aisle. The I Toldia
was going to gather momentum as we went along. Today,
the ah LEC has taken four major supplies to court,
accusing them of running a cartel to fix prices at
Aldi stores across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland between
twenty eighteen and twenty twenty four. The case centers on
agile pricing agreements for everyday staples like broccoli, lettuce, cucumbers
(19:48):
and zucchini, the staples of your pantry. Aldi itself isn't
accused of wrongdoing, just to make that clear, And the
case comes amid broader scrutiny of supermarket pricing practices. Coles
and Woolworths are also facing legal action. And how do
you like them apples?
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Oh dear Lord, do I just surrender?
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Now?
Speaker 1 (20:09):
That was a very convincing emphatic Yes, I'm going to
just focus on just you picked such a broad category
there in terms of our agriculture and farming, and.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
Then you went into this still one of my stories.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
We will get to that shortly. I want to talk
specifically about the automotive sector, Adam, and this is nowhere
near as exotic. There's no cartels here, but we are
talking about China once again. There is a theme in
today's show. Right. For the first time ever, four Chinese
(20:46):
car brands have cracked Australia's top ten. Admittedly they are
ranked number six, eight, nine and ten. But to have
four in the top ten when a decade ago, five
years ago there were none and now there are four
bid best place, followed by GWMMG and Cherry Like this
is incredible. Chinese made vehicles made up almost twenty percent
(21:09):
of all sales last month. That is a sixty seven
percent jump on the same time last year, sixty seven percent.
Just let that sink in for a moment. That is
a very large number, hugely significant. We've heard recent said
(21:30):
here I am I'm trying to beat this up right,
this is I don't need to don't sell it out. Yeah,
this is the thing. And that's why I'm like, why
are you saying this, Michael as I'm going because these
numbers are extraordinary, they are big, and the story, the
narrative behind this is actually really quite powerful. I don't
need to.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
Know what name isn't there what hold them exactly?
Speaker 1 (21:52):
I was going to make this point that what we've
actually seen here is a major major shift in vehicles
because obviously we have no vehicle manufacturing industry in Australia anymore.
That is all well and truly gone, but no longer.
I mean, Toyota is still number one, so we are
still very much dependent on Japan. But we are seeing
(22:13):
once again the rise of China when it comes to
when it comes to cars, and we saw it actually
recently with Egers Automotive ADAM, which is obviously the ASX
listed car dealer, and they have been a really clear
demonstration of the rise of the Chinese automotive industry because
(22:34):
they had up until recently the exclusive representation rights for BYD,
which is the big EV brand that we were telling
a stack of cars into Australia. Eggers are selling about
eighty percent of all new BYD vehicles in the country.
There was twenty three and a half thousand BYD vehicles
(22:55):
sold in just six months, and and Eagers sold eighty
percent of those. It is that was double, That was
doubled in just six months. That is extraordinary, right, We've
had those stats about the fact that it's going to
be forty percent of new car imports by twenty thirty
five are going to be coming from China. I reckon
at this rate, we're going to hit that earlier than that.
(23:16):
At the speed and the price point that they are offering,
it feels as though we're going to be able to
get there a lot lot faster. Eagers was talking about
the fact that at least twenty three brands Chinese brands
are already for sale in Australia that or they've got
confirmed launch plans. Another five are likely to arrive soon.
The speed at which we are seeing China dominate the
Australian automotive market is just incredible and I do not
(23:38):
need to exaggerate that the facts are extraordinary enough on
their own. No puns needed, no elaborate waffle, just the facts.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
One question if I made Michael, how many cars were sold?
Speaker 4 (23:52):
You know?
Speaker 1 (23:52):
This?
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Was it?
Speaker 4 (23:53):
One hundred and three thousand.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Yes, that's a big number, Yes it is.
Speaker 4 (23:59):
This is a huge industry.
Speaker 3 (24:01):
Do you know what's a really big number? One hundred
and one billion dollars?
Speaker 4 (24:05):
Thank you, Natalie wins.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
It was quite a comfortable victory for a couple of reasons.
Australia being the food bowl of the world, I think
is a wonderful notion, and us pushing great growing and
produce internationally, not just locally.
Speaker 4 (24:22):
Awesome.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
The fact that I've got extended family who are farmers
has nothing to do with my decision.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
You also have family who drive cars too, just pointing
that out.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
So Natalie, you win. It's a great story, Michel.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Just a huge industry in our country, none of it,
of course, manufactured locally, all imported, spectacular numbers. But on
this one, agriculture.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
Has to win. Okay, all right, let's do this the
final category. This is it. It all depends on this, Natalie.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
You can get fast.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Oh okay, all right, thank you. I will Adam's family
of farmers. Therefore he loves farm stories. So how about
this one, Adam Okay, a humble heifer has sold at
auction for three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, the third
(25:18):
most expensive sale ever. There was another one that sold
in twenty twenty two for four hundred thousand dollars, and
angus bull sold in twenty twenty three for three hundred
and sixty thousand dollars. But three hundred and fifty thousand
dollars for one cow in this economy, it's extraordinary. That
is just remarkable. The thirteen month old was purchased by
(25:39):
a cattle IVF company called gene Flow, which plans to
collect embryos and produce something like thirty carves annually, which
is a great story just for the science of it
as well, right amazing. To give it some international contexts
to context for all of Donald Trump's talk of the
(26:00):
US exporting beef to Australia, Australia's top customer for our
beef exports has of course been the United States, which
has brought just over two hundred and forty six thousand
tons in the first seven months of twenty twenty five.
That is up twenty seven percent on the same time
last year. That is a huge number, right, because they've
(26:21):
got this, They've got a shortage. They've got a shortage
of beef in the US. The US has for years
been relying on buying live cattle out of Mexico. That
trade has largely now been closed by US authorities because
of concerns about this spread of a flesh eating pest
(26:43):
called New World screw worm?
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Can we fact check this?
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Have you just meet that up?
Speaker 1 (26:53):
Wikipedia has never been wrong. The New World screw worm
is actually what this thing is called. Beef supply from
has all but stopped flowing to the US after the
President enforced a fifty percent tariff. These are these are
high stakes. Oh, very good for the cattle industry. And
as I don't want to mince words here, all that
(27:18):
one that was excellent. But with the US beefing with
the rest of the world, we are in the prime.
Speaker 4 (27:31):
Are they all going cattle class? Yes?
Speaker 1 (27:33):
So you know what, there was something there and it
just it flitted away and I couldn't quite grab it anyway.
Cattle Big Story, Favorite Story of the Week three hundred
and fifty thousand, dollars for just one single calf. Remarkable.
Speaker 4 (27:46):
Natalie, Oh, I hefer not a car?
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Yes, sorry, I'm sorry.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
Words matter? Do you know what else matters? Dress codes?
So again, recognizing, recognizing that fear and greed is a
is an audio medium. Would you just let us know
what it is that you're wearing today, because you're looking
pretty pretty sharp.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Actually, I think it's business satire.
Speaker 3 (28:09):
It is Adam's wearing a splendid suit. It is navy,
white shirt, red tie. We're loving it. Michael my cord,
are you wearing today?
Speaker 1 (28:20):
I am wearing a shirt, pants and a jacket.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
You've actually mixed it up. There's a denim jacket going
on today. After our discussion about your wardrobe attire yesterday.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Yes, I was criticized for wearing roughly the same thing
each day, which is I have a standard outfit, a
standard uniform which is pants, a T shirt and a
shacket of some variety.
Speaker 3 (28:41):
But so I really like that you use the term
uniform there, because uniforms are important and in fact, seventy
five percent of professionals, according to UK studies, say that
professional functional uniforms actually boost efficiency, they lift morale, they
build confidence.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
What's also because you don't have to think about what
you're going to wear, and.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
They can even make staff feel more valued. Wow, which
I believe was the point that I was actually making, Michael.
So it's no wonder then that Quantus is banking on
a style upgrade. Yes, Michael, it's your favorite story. The
airline is rolling out its first new uniforms in more
than a decade, designed by Ossie fashion star Rebecca Valance,
(29:24):
best known for dressing royals, celebrities, and even Quantus owned
business class pajamas, as well as designing the dress that
I'm actually coincidentally wearing to a wedding in Spain later
this month. But that is not the point. Back to Quantus.
She will kit out seventeen and a half thousand staff
across the airline with a focus on timeless design, comfort
(29:44):
and functionality because pilots can spend twenty hours in the
same outfit, which Michael makes your six days a week
look actually, you know, pretty average in comparison.
Speaker 4 (29:55):
What do you do on the.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
Seventh nude then.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Naked tuesdays?
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Again?
Speaker 3 (30:03):
Fair agreed, it's an audio it's an audio medium, but
I think no one needs the visuals for that the
new look debuts in twenty twenty seven. This is perfectly
timed for Quantasa's ultra long haul project Sunrise flights and
ladies and gentlemen, that is it. I think I just won.
Speaker 4 (30:21):
Unfortunately it didn't.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Now normally Michael would be doing a Quantis story, so
I'm a little bit baffled. But the three hundred and
fifty thousand dollars heifer, and really not just that, because
that is a spectacular sub but the trade, the Australian
cattle trade base trode to the US twenty seven percent
up my god, So even I'd have to do the
(30:48):
numbers seventy and a half thousand, So seventy thousand, five
hundred staff. That's a stagling number new uniforms.
Speaker 4 (30:54):
I kind of want one. I don't need it, I.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Want I'm actually thinking that if I like, put on
the dress and I'm playing to wear to this wedding
and rock up like I could, I could man the
drinks troty on the fly if they're so if they're
if they're feeling a bit short staffed, it's fine, I'll
just like don the dress and.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Hop in and stuff discount as well. Staff travel.
Speaker 4 (31:18):
The new work.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
The New World screwworm is a real thing. I did
not just make it up. I've just googled it and
it is a hideous little beast anyway, and its scientific
name is cochlear meya homnivorax.
Speaker 4 (31:32):
Good pronunciation.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
Thank you, Michael, New World screw supplementary. Okay, so three
stories to one points were Natalie ninety extremely highly scoring
Michael ninety two. So we have out one win, a piece,
and a dead hate. I think we need to get
(31:56):
a rematch when you come back from holiday.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
Okay, I'm in.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
Let's do it, all right. This is a good way
to finish. This is this is solid, This is a
good result overall.
Speaker 3 (32:05):
It would have been embarrassing if I would have come
in and just like waited. There is a generosity here, kindness.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
Thank you for robbing me of my of my victory there.
Speaker 4 (32:17):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
I'm trying to bask in this moment and you've taken
it away. Thank you very much.
Speaker 4 (32:21):
Natalie.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
Thank you, Michael, thank you, Adam, thank you, Michael, Thank
you Natalie.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
Make sure you're following the podcast, and please hit Fearangreed
dot com dode you to sign up for our free
daily newsletter. I'm Michael Thompson, and that was fear and greed.
Speaker 4 (32:32):
Have a great weekend.
This is the weekend edition of Fear and Greed business
news you can use. I'm Michael Thompson and good morning
Natalie McDonald. Good morning now, Natalie. Our weekend show is
all about the two of us, each nominating what we
think is the biggest business story of the week, the
most remarkable business story, a mystery category that changes every week,
and then our favorite story. It is a competition. It
(00:27):
is a fiercely fierce competition. This is not going to
be a good day if I'm already struggling two lines
in and we are joined by a judge to pick
a winner in this fierce competition. And that judge is
our Fear and Greed colleague, Adam Lang. Are you feeling
fierce today?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Adam, No, but I'm feeling like in a very balanced
judge mood.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
It's really kind of lowering the expectations there. So Natalie,
this is your last weekend edition with us for a
little while, as Sean is back next week. And so far,
this is our third that we have done. You won one,
I did. I won the first, then we had a
tie last week, and then we agreed that this week
was going to be double or nothing, so.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
We agreed, no such thing. Did you talk about this
when I wasn't here?
Speaker 1 (01:12):
No, it was last week in the in the in
the in the podcast, it was there was.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
No double or nothing. I've actually realized you have to
win this.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
The pressure is on, Adam. What are you looking for?
I'm assuming economic importance, melodrama.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
Topicality, and timeliness.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Of course, economic impact is the biggest, one little bit
of subjective bias.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
I like that and Meloandie.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Is the subjective bias that you want me to win?
Speaker 2 (01:36):
No, no, no, no, I want the audience to win.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
They're the winners.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
In all.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
We're on your side.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
I'm not. I'm on my own side here. I thought
I made that abundantly clear. I'm here to win and
only for that. Forget the rest of you, Natalie. Biggest
story of the week, what was it?
Speaker 3 (01:58):
GDP and it grew point six percent in the Dune
quarter and one point eight percent over the year. This
has been fueled by households splashing out on travel, dining,
and some of those big ticket buys. Consumption jumped point
nine percent. That was helped by things like end of
financial year sales, Eastern Lansac day landing so close together,
(02:19):
and even the launch of the new Nintendo Switch, and
actually a moment for the Nintendo Switch, which has been
somewhat of the Golden goose, contributing to a five hundred
million dollar sales search for JB Hi Fi and also
something that the ABS had previously referenced in consumer spending.
The Nintendo Switch is entirely lost on me as a
non gamer, but I appreciate it for those of you
out there who maybe but ossies aren't spending with spare cash,
(02:42):
they're actually raiding savings. The household saving ratio fell from
five point two to four point two percent, and your
growth is now at the strongest in almost two years.
And that spending boom it's showing up in retail as well.
We had ABS figures revealing that July retail sales hit
thirty seven point seven billion dollars, up four point six
percent on last year. Cafes, restaurants, takeaways led the charge
(03:04):
up nearly seven percent, whilst household goods, fashion, food all
climbed as well. Now this is great for retailers, great
if you're a bit of a chopoholic too, but it
does parle pressure on the reserve bank hopes of a
September rate cup, they're gone andless are tipping November at
the earliest. Now for borrow is it's less switch on
saving and more a switch back to saving.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
It is really I mean that's it is a big story.
It's actually a good news story, isn't it, because the
economy is growing, and in particular, the good news is
in that in those the retail sales, the spending, the
household spending figures the fact that this is not just
the essentials. People aren't just spending on power bills and
(03:46):
groceries now feeling more.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Confident to be doing a little, a bit of buying,
a bit of a treat.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Discretionary spending is up, which is absolutely key. It is
also not the biggest story of the week. It is
a big story. It is a good news story, but
is not the biggest. The biggest is politics. It is
everything that's been happening at politics. And if I was
just to select one story or maybe two stories, I'll
squeeze in there. But Natalie squeezed a couple of stories
into one. So omnibus stories are okay this week apparently.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Adam is shaking his head furiously at me. The judge
has decided it must be one story. Well in that case,
a common theme of the government trying to resolve a crisis.
The first is immigration. Right last weekend we saw rallies
anti immigration rallies taking place in capital cities and regional
areas across the country. A lot of pressure on the
(04:40):
government to say pause intakes. Instead, they came out through
the week and confirmed the migration number four this week
for this year, one hundred and eighty five thousand permanent visas.
The priority here is skills because we still have a
skills shortage. We have a tight labor market. We need
workers coming from overseas with the skills to do the
(05:03):
jobs that we need. We need houses that we haven't
got a tradey shortage. There are so many gaps here
and we need people coming in to keep the economy
moving all right. There is a political element to this
as well, obviously a massive political element, because as the
migration number is still reasonably high and it does put
(05:27):
pressure on infrastructure, it does put pressure on the housing market,
and that's what a lot of these protests were about
last weekend. The Prime Minister Anthony Albernizi was careful not
to dismiss those concerns this week, and he was telling
Caucus not to demonize everyone involved in the rallies because
not everybody there was a neo Nazi, and the fact
that we even need to make that distinction is just extraordinary.
(05:50):
The fact that we have these extremist groups basically using
these rallies and these protests to make racist points, it's
just disgraceful, right, And I thought it was an interesting
approach that the Prime Minister took of talking to his colleagues, saying,
we actually need to be careful here. We need to
engage with the concerns that are being represented by people here,
(06:15):
and not just assume that everyone involved in this is
a far right looney essentially, because otherwise you'll just end
up pushing everyone to that extreme and then you end
up with an even bigger problem. Anyway, I kind of
just went way off on a tangent there just to
express some views A quick mention as well, if I may,
because this is in the common theme of the government
resolving a crisis. The four hundred and seventy five million
(06:37):
dollar settlement of the robodebt case, Australia's largest ever class
action settlement, adding to the one point eight billion dollars
the victims won in twenty twenty robo debt obviously the
automated debt recovery system that hounded welfare recipients for money
that they didn't actually ow. Finally, hopefully this entirely awful
(06:58):
saga can now be put to bed with this resolution
this week. So two crises hopefully resolved by the government
this week. Adam, you're laughing because you are noting that
I have attempted to join two stories together that are
not linked in any way.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
A verbal shoehorn of two stories into one category.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
But still very very good stories.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
The GDP figure look one point eight percent for the
year point six of the quarter, as you said, Natalie,
CPI inflations at two point one So that's.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
Still real decline. Right.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
We are still not productive enough and we're not growing
nearly enough, and so I don't want to forget the
productivity crisis that this country is going through. It's a
very very important figure. The anti immigration rally, I'm going
to focus on that. Skills shortage, housing shortage. There should
be some more accountability in what the government is doing
(07:54):
to fix both of those things. Actually, we need more
immigration here yep. And we do need those skills, and
we need more housing so that they can live here happily.
So that's a resolvable crisis, but we still haven't had
the courage across all three layers of government to do it.
So for that reason, and this fermenting of ill will
(08:14):
like blaming someone or immigration for this. It's not immigration's fault, right,
So I think, Michael, you just have to win this
one for Story of the week.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
That's a great decision, Adam.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
You weren't expecting that way, well, I.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Don't think I was. In fact, I even said to
you before we sell, I said, if you're going to
do the economy is the biggest story of the week,
Adam's going to pick that one.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
But genuinely, I know we've spoken about this a lot.
I'm with you. I think that the story around immigration
and migration in general is really really interesting. I think
people are allowed to feel dissatisfied with their personal finance situation,
with housing accessibility. They are allowed to feel like they're
doing things tough because a lot of people are. But
(09:00):
what they can't do is them blame immigration because do
you know the number of people that have come to
me and said that I am stealing.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
Many generations are going I'm.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Stealing or I'm stealing people's jobs. Yeah, not one. Not one.
And so this is layered with a larger conversation about
who we do and don't consider to be migrants within
Australia and who we do and don't consider to be
allowed access to having a fair go when often a
lot of the countries that we are targeting sort of
(09:31):
entrants from they are coming here with skills, but the
system is so complex for them to go into teaching
or technology or a lot of other things that they're
not being given those career parts and that access to
economic opportunity. And that is my soapbox.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
I think that's a good point. Do you think that
we're capable of having that conversation without it being hijacked
by racist neo Nazis.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Of course I think so too, and I just stand
right in it.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
But then it comes back to the point that Anthony
Alberanezi has been making about how we cannot continue to
push those individuals. If you continue to disenfranchise them, if
you as governments continue to fail to stand up for
what they need, then yeah, you are going to be
pushing people on a path that is further more to
the right than they ever would have anticipated.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Okay, we are. We got very deep there, very serious.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
That got really heavy.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
But let's not one nill, Let's not lose sight of
the bigger picture here is that I just won that
and it was a strong, powerful, resounding victory. Most remarkable
story of the week. Shall I go first on this one?
You may thank you China, China, China. This week has
(10:44):
all been about China.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
Right, That's been the only story.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Four I say China four times.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
Sorry, an awful lot more.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
This week, China held its largest ever military parade, ostensibly
to mark the eightieth anniversary of the defeat of Japan
in World War Two, but really this was all a
show of power, right it is. It was China asserting
its power, its position, its place in the world. The
precision marching soldiers, the hypersonic missiles on display, the military
(11:19):
robot dogs. Did you see those? Those things are terrifying,
The robotic kind of the little kind of canines that
walk along, they are just they are anyway. I would
say it's all pretty confronting. But what was remarkable about
this story in addition to all of that was the
attendees at this at this parade. Of course, Chinese President
(11:41):
Jijiping kind of overseeing it all. Russian President Vladimir Putin
was there, North Korean Dictator Kim Jong un was there.
The US President Donald Trump was not there. He wrote
on truth Social please give my warmest regards to Vladimir
Putin and Kim Jong Un as you conspire against the
United States of America. It's a very direct point, right,
(12:04):
but even more remarkable posing alongside those world leaders as
former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, an invited guest who has
been hammered for his decision to not just accept the
invitation because Bob Carr also accepted the invitation to travel
to China and be part of the overall kind of thing.
But Bob Carr didn't go to the parade. Bob car
(12:24):
didn't walk along that carpet alongside Vladimir Putin and the
North Korean dictator. Prime Minister Anthony Alberanizi forced to distance
himself from the former premier who's long had these strong
ties to China. It did prompt some great headlines, though
Daniel and the pariahs Den I thought was good. The
(12:46):
Herald Son went with Dictator Dan and the despots. This
is just good, right. So it's just it has been
a debacle that Dan Andrews created for himself, and a
aside from the military show, which I think it was
actually pretty frightening seeing all of that on display, there's
just this political angle that the Albanese government has had
(13:09):
to tiptoe their way through and having a labor figure
in the middle of it all not a great look, Natalie.
Remarkable for you this week?
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Well, who would work for the banks? Really? I mean,
apart apart from the obvious answer of thousands, tens of
thousands of Australians.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
And many of people probably listening to this podcast as well,
they're going it ends up right now, going I work
for a bank me.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
But not a day has gone past this week where
we haven't talked about Yes, yes, China, we've talked about China,
but the banks, and really not for the good reasons.
Just one week after staff has learned they'd been laid
off via emails asking for their laptops back, reports emerged
that A and Z was considering somewhere between two thousand
and five thousand job cuts as part of a radical
(13:57):
restructure and in case that wasn't enough, and said staff
learned that their pay could be cut if they failed
to return to the office at least half the time.
It is perhaps no surprise then that staff morale is
somewhat slipping. An internal survey of thirty seven thousand employees
showed metrics like engagement, inclusion, well being falling since March
(14:18):
this year. To just put that in context, new CEO
and knows matters, he took over the job in May. Meanwhile,
I'm still working out what NAB boss Andrew Irvine has
against Kodak and Blockbuster. That was not candle after that
was actually adam After warning that Australia's productivity has stalled
(14:41):
and complacency is putting future generations at risk. He spoke
to four hundred business leaders and said that AI it's
the game changer and that ignoring it isn't an option,
saying that people using AI will take the jobs of
those who don't. Which, while he was talking about Australia
as a whole, you can't help think that there was
some nab ears pricking up at that, and that for
businesses failing to adopt new technology is like Kodak or Blockbuster,
(15:06):
a relevance in waiting. But when we're talking about productivity,
I do want to loop back to that A and
Z survey because when you're asking employees on feelings like
engagement and inclusion and well being, ultimately the question that
you're asking is how productive can you be in your
current workplace? And what an Z staffers are telling senior
leaders is right now in this current environment.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
Not very It's good editorial there from Natalie McDonald.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
It's not editorial. It's thirty seven thousand employees. It's just numbers.
Michael good one.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Enough Not enough though, was it, Adam?
Speaker 4 (15:43):
Let's see for remarkability.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
That's a lot of people when they're their biggest value
companies dominate the Australian Stock Exchange. Value banking is important
to all of us. Typically we're not you know, you
need to use debt and savings. It's pretty important. A
Quarry Bank this week rising as a home loan lender provider.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
Yes, thank you, Adam.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
It's just a spectacular competitive topography. So I think it
is remarkable. But this week that parade in China was
even more remarkable. And I do think Dan Andrews made
a mistake serving self interest over Australia's interest, and it
(16:30):
was just to me. I was gobsmacked about watching the
scale of this thing and just the fawning to it
to China. We know they're a massive economy and trading partner,
but oh god, there was a little bit of concern
around as well. So I think this week that was
just the more remarkable. I mean's a historic thing, eighty
years anniversary and where they've come in that time.
Speaker 4 (16:51):
Incredible?
Speaker 1 (16:52):
Do you reckon? Dan Andrews had a realization, a moment
of realization when he's on that red carpet. He looks
up and goes, oh god, Putin's here, Kim John Woudan'
maybe I shouldn't have come.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
But it was also predictable. I think his self interest.
He's kind of served that above everything for a long time.
So no, I don't in his case.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
All right, what's the total score over all? At the moment?
Speaker 3 (17:14):
You know what it is?
Speaker 4 (17:16):
To nil?
Speaker 2 (17:17):
And boy am I feeling a chill to my left?
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Natalie is situated to Adams left. Just for the record, Okay.
Speaker 4 (17:25):
All right, fine, back Natalie.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Anything can happen in the second half a quick break
and we'll come back with our mystery category of the week.
All right, Natalie, we are now moving into the mystery
category of the week, and we're going to do this
faster because we were a touch for both in the
(17:46):
first half of the show. We being all of us combined,
there's no one person at fault. We are looking here
for our mystery category being our favorite sector specific story,
which is not the catchy title, and I could have
probably I should have put that one through chat JPT
come up with something it's nazier than this sector specific story.
(18:11):
What have used? What what sector are you targeting here, Natalie,
and be specific?
Speaker 3 (18:16):
Well, it might be that I'm flying to good old
England this week. It's endless rolling hills. I just hit
the studio, hit to the music, but it's got me.
Thank you about farming and agriculture. Of course it has,
of course, because Australia's farm sector is breaking records.
Speaker 4 (18:38):
People.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Agriculture, fisheries and forestry production is tipped to hit a
whopping one hundred and one billion dollars this financial year.
Livestock alone makes up more forty one billion dollars, while
wheat yields, although down due to drought, are still on
track for a monster sixty two million ton at harvest.
And there is sweeter news for fruit growers. We love
(19:01):
a pun. After years of negotiation, Australian apples can now
head to Canada without costly fumigation or freezing. But who
knew apples was such a competitive market? I did not.
Australia produces just three hundred tons a year, while China,
yes we're talking about bloody China again, pumps out more
than forty three million tons. And speaking of apples, there's
(19:25):
a rotten core in the veggie aisle. The I Toldia
was going to gather momentum as we went along. Today,
the ah LEC has taken four major supplies to court,
accusing them of running a cartel to fix prices at
Aldi stores across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland between
twenty eighteen and twenty twenty four. The case centers on
agile pricing agreements for everyday staples like broccoli, lettuce, cucumbers
(19:48):
and zucchini, the staples of your pantry. Aldi itself isn't
accused of wrongdoing, just to make that clear, And the
case comes amid broader scrutiny of supermarket pricing practices. Coles
and Woolworths are also facing legal action. And how do
you like them apples?
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Oh dear Lord, do I just surrender?
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Now?
Speaker 1 (20:09):
That was a very convincing emphatic Yes, I'm going to
just focus on just you picked such a broad category
there in terms of our agriculture and farming, and.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
Then you went into this still one of my stories.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
We will get to that shortly. I want to talk
specifically about the automotive sector, Adam, and this is nowhere
near as exotic. There's no cartels here, but we are
talking about China once again. There is a theme in
today's show. Right. For the first time ever, four Chinese
(20:46):
car brands have cracked Australia's top ten. Admittedly they are
ranked number six, eight, nine and ten. But to have
four in the top ten when a decade ago, five
years ago there were none and now there are four
bid best place, followed by GWMMG and Cherry Like this
is incredible. Chinese made vehicles made up almost twenty percent
(21:09):
of all sales last month. That is a sixty seven
percent jump on the same time last year, sixty seven percent.
Just let that sink in for a moment. That is
a very large number, hugely significant. We've heard recent said
(21:30):
here I am I'm trying to beat this up right,
this is I don't need to don't sell it out. Yeah,
this is the thing. And that's why I'm like, why
are you saying this, Michael as I'm going because these
numbers are extraordinary, they are big, and the story, the
narrative behind this is actually really quite powerful. I don't
need to.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
Know what name isn't there what hold them exactly?
Speaker 1 (21:52):
I was going to make this point that what we've
actually seen here is a major major shift in vehicles
because obviously we have no vehicle manufacturing industry in Australia anymore.
That is all well and truly gone, but no longer.
I mean, Toyota is still number one, so we are
still very much dependent on Japan. But we are seeing
(22:13):
once again the rise of China when it comes to
when it comes to cars, and we saw it actually
recently with Egers Automotive ADAM, which is obviously the ASX
listed car dealer, and they have been a really clear
demonstration of the rise of the Chinese automotive industry because
(22:34):
they had up until recently the exclusive representation rights for BYD,
which is the big EV brand that we were telling
a stack of cars into Australia. Eggers are selling about
eighty percent of all new BYD vehicles in the country.
There was twenty three and a half thousand BYD vehicles
(22:55):
sold in just six months, and and Eagers sold eighty
percent of those. It is that was double, That was
doubled in just six months. That is extraordinary, right, We've
had those stats about the fact that it's going to
be forty percent of new car imports by twenty thirty
five are going to be coming from China. I reckon
at this rate, we're going to hit that earlier than that.
(23:16):
At the speed and the price point that they are offering,
it feels as though we're going to be able to
get there a lot lot faster. Eagers was talking about
the fact that at least twenty three brands Chinese brands
are already for sale in Australia that or they've got
confirmed launch plans. Another five are likely to arrive soon.
The speed at which we are seeing China dominate the
Australian automotive market is just incredible and I do not
(23:38):
need to exaggerate that the facts are extraordinary enough on
their own. No puns needed, no elaborate waffle, just the facts.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
One question if I made Michael, how many cars were sold?
Speaker 4 (23:52):
You know?
Speaker 1 (23:52):
This?
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Was it?
Speaker 4 (23:53):
One hundred and three thousand.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Yes, that's a big number, Yes it is.
Speaker 4 (23:59):
This is a huge industry.
Speaker 3 (24:01):
Do you know what's a really big number? One hundred
and one billion dollars?
Speaker 4 (24:05):
Thank you, Natalie wins.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
It was quite a comfortable victory for a couple of reasons.
Australia being the food bowl of the world, I think
is a wonderful notion, and us pushing great growing and
produce internationally, not just locally.
Speaker 4 (24:22):
Awesome.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
The fact that I've got extended family who are farmers
has nothing to do with my decision.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
You also have family who drive cars too, just pointing
that out.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
So Natalie, you win. It's a great story, Michel.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Just a huge industry in our country, none of it,
of course, manufactured locally, all imported, spectacular numbers. But on
this one, agriculture.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
Has to win. Okay, all right, let's do this the
final category. This is it. It all depends on this, Natalie.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
You can get fast.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Oh okay, all right, thank you. I will Adam's family
of farmers. Therefore he loves farm stories. So how about
this one, Adam Okay, a humble heifer has sold at
auction for three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, the third
(25:18):
most expensive sale ever. There was another one that sold
in twenty twenty two for four hundred thousand dollars, and
angus bull sold in twenty twenty three for three hundred
and sixty thousand dollars. But three hundred and fifty thousand
dollars for one cow in this economy, it's extraordinary. That
is just remarkable. The thirteen month old was purchased by
(25:39):
a cattle IVF company called gene Flow, which plans to
collect embryos and produce something like thirty carves annually, which
is a great story just for the science of it
as well, right amazing. To give it some international contexts
to context for all of Donald Trump's talk of the
(26:00):
US exporting beef to Australia, Australia's top customer for our
beef exports has of course been the United States, which
has brought just over two hundred and forty six thousand
tons in the first seven months of twenty twenty five.
That is up twenty seven percent on the same time
last year. That is a huge number, right, because they've
(26:21):
got this, They've got a shortage. They've got a shortage
of beef in the US. The US has for years
been relying on buying live cattle out of Mexico. That
trade has largely now been closed by US authorities because
of concerns about this spread of a flesh eating pest
(26:43):
called New World screw worm?
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Can we fact check this?
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Have you just meet that up?
Speaker 1 (26:53):
Wikipedia has never been wrong. The New World screw worm
is actually what this thing is called. Beef supply from
has all but stopped flowing to the US after the
President enforced a fifty percent tariff. These are these are
high stakes. Oh, very good for the cattle industry. And
as I don't want to mince words here, all that
(27:18):
one that was excellent. But with the US beefing with
the rest of the world, we are in the prime.
Speaker 4 (27:31):
Are they all going cattle class? Yes?
Speaker 1 (27:33):
So you know what, there was something there and it
just it flitted away and I couldn't quite grab it anyway.
Cattle Big Story, Favorite Story of the Week three hundred
and fifty thousand, dollars for just one single calf. Remarkable.
Speaker 4 (27:46):
Natalie, Oh, I hefer not a car?
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Yes, sorry, I'm sorry.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
Words matter? Do you know what else matters? Dress codes?
So again, recognizing, recognizing that fear and greed is a
is an audio medium. Would you just let us know
what it is that you're wearing today, because you're looking
pretty pretty sharp.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Actually, I think it's business satire.
Speaker 3 (28:09):
It is Adam's wearing a splendid suit. It is navy,
white shirt, red tie. We're loving it. Michael my cord,
are you wearing today?
Speaker 1 (28:20):
I am wearing a shirt, pants and a jacket.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
You've actually mixed it up. There's a denim jacket going
on today. After our discussion about your wardrobe attire yesterday.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Yes, I was criticized for wearing roughly the same thing
each day, which is I have a standard outfit, a
standard uniform which is pants, a T shirt and a
shacket of some variety.
Speaker 3 (28:41):
But so I really like that you use the term
uniform there, because uniforms are important and in fact, seventy
five percent of professionals, according to UK studies, say that
professional functional uniforms actually boost efficiency, they lift morale, they
build confidence.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
What's also because you don't have to think about what
you're going to wear, and.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
They can even make staff feel more valued. Wow, which
I believe was the point that I was actually making, Michael.
So it's no wonder then that Quantus is banking on
a style upgrade. Yes, Michael, it's your favorite story. The
airline is rolling out its first new uniforms in more
than a decade, designed by Ossie fashion star Rebecca Valance,
(29:24):
best known for dressing royals, celebrities, and even Quantus owned
business class pajamas, as well as designing the dress that
I'm actually coincidentally wearing to a wedding in Spain later
this month. But that is not the point. Back to Quantus.
She will kit out seventeen and a half thousand staff
across the airline with a focus on timeless design, comfort
(29:44):
and functionality because pilots can spend twenty hours in the
same outfit, which Michael makes your six days a week
look actually, you know, pretty average in comparison.
Speaker 4 (29:55):
What do you do on the.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
Seventh nude then.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Naked tuesdays?
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Again?
Speaker 3 (30:03):
Fair agreed, it's an audio it's an audio medium, but
I think no one needs the visuals for that the
new look debuts in twenty twenty seven. This is perfectly
timed for Quantasa's ultra long haul project Sunrise flights and
ladies and gentlemen, that is it. I think I just won.
Speaker 4 (30:21):
Unfortunately it didn't.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Now normally Michael would be doing a Quantis story, so
I'm a little bit baffled. But the three hundred and
fifty thousand dollars heifer, and really not just that, because
that is a spectacular sub but the trade, the Australian
cattle trade base trode to the US twenty seven percent
up my god, So even I'd have to do the
(30:48):
numbers seventy and a half thousand, So seventy thousand, five
hundred staff. That's a stagling number new uniforms.
Speaker 4 (30:54):
I kind of want one. I don't need it, I.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Want I'm actually thinking that if I like, put on
the dress and I'm playing to wear to this wedding
and rock up like I could, I could man the
drinks troty on the fly if they're so if they're
if they're feeling a bit short staffed, it's fine, I'll
just like don the dress and.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Hop in and stuff discount as well. Staff travel.
Speaker 4 (31:18):
The new work.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
The New World screwworm is a real thing. I did
not just make it up. I've just googled it and
it is a hideous little beast anyway, and its scientific
name is cochlear meya homnivorax.
Speaker 4 (31:32):
Good pronunciation.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
Thank you, Michael, New World screw supplementary. Okay, so three
stories to one points were Natalie ninety extremely highly scoring
Michael ninety two. So we have out one win, a piece,
and a dead hate. I think we need to get
(31:56):
a rematch when you come back from holiday.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
Okay, I'm in.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
Let's do it, all right. This is a good way
to finish. This is this is solid, This is a
good result overall.
Speaker 3 (32:05):
It would have been embarrassing if I would have come
in and just like waited. There is a generosity here, kindness.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
Thank you for robbing me of my of my victory there.
Speaker 4 (32:17):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
I'm trying to bask in this moment and you've taken
it away. Thank you very much.
Speaker 4 (32:21):
Natalie.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
Thank you, Michael, thank you, Adam, thank you, Michael, Thank
you Natalie.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
Make sure you're following the podcast, and please hit Fearangreed
dot com dode you to sign up for our free
daily newsletter. I'm Michael Thompson, and that was fear and greed.
Speaker 4 (32:32):
Have a great weekend.
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