August 14, 2025 • 14 mins
Friday 15 August 2025
Westpac’s result gets everyone excited about the banks again.
And more, including:
- The ASX hits yet another all time high.
- Unemployment falls, potentially delaying rate cuts
- Telstra profit surges 31% after cost-cutting measures
- Guilty plea in insider trading case
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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.
Westpac's results gets everyone excited about the banks again, sending
the ASX yet another all time high. Unemployment falls to
four point two percent. Plus more results from the full
year company reporting season and what happens if you sneak
a look at your client's emails and trade on what
(00:26):
you find. It is Friday, the fifteenth of August twenty
twenty five. I'm Michael Thompson and good morning, Adam Lange.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Good morning, Michael, Adam.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
The main story this morning banks are back. Just a
day after Commonwealth Banks profit report triggered a bank's sell off,
Westpac has posted a cracker.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
It sure has.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Michael new CEO Anthony Miller says Westpac's quarterly net profit
lifted fourteen percent to one point nine billion, as business
lending rose five percent and customer deposits added ten billion dollars. Now,
remember this is the CEO who wants to bring back
hustle culture to banking. He's holding meetings on weekends, he
wants people back in the office and he says he
(01:06):
even works on Christmas Day now so far, having been
appointed CEO in December, twenty twenty four, he's delivering the numbers.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Yeah, his first numbers are really a gift for shareholders.
Investors flocked back to Westpac's shares, sending them up more
than six percent yesterday.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Yeah. Banks matter, Michael.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Not only are they the biggest part of the stock market,
but they're also the best indicator of how the Australian
economy is performing.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Overall.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Miller says households are benefiting from lower inflation and falling
interest rates, which means lower levels of customer stress. Under
these conditions, he expects a further recovery in economic activity
and more lending growth.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Massive result. And of course, this is an economy that's
already performing pretty well, as we saw yesterday with what
can only be described as a solid set of employment numbers.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Yes, the Australian Bureau Statistics said yesterday that twenty fourth
outan and five hundred new jobs were created in July,
sending the unemployment rate down from four point three percent
in June to four point two percent last month. That
was in line with expectations and just goes to demonstrate
the remarkable resilience of the Australian economy. It's good news
(02:17):
for wages, but potentially not so good for mortgage holders
because strong employment growth could mean another rate cut is
now less likely. Economists say these job numbers mean we
probably shouldn't bank on another rate cut next month, and
it's now more likely that the next cut will be
in November or December. Remember, the Reserve Bank of Australia
is not actually scheduled to meet in October this year.
(02:39):
It will all hinge on the next Australian Bureau Statistics
monthly Consumer Price Index indicator. Excitingly, Michael, those figures are
due out on the twenty seventh of August.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
I'm going to say, I don't think it's taken me
a lot longer to get used to the RBA meeting
eight times a year on these different dates. I just
I really did appreciate the first Tuesday of every January consistency.
It was nice, wasn't it.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
It was easy to plan creatures of habit, aren't we, Michael?
Speaker 1 (03:08):
We certainly are adam Taking a look at local markets yesterday,
the SMPA IS X two hundred climbed zero point five
percent to close at eight eight hundred and seventy four points.
That's another record high, and also came as the market
hit an intra day high of eight eight hundred and
(03:29):
ninety nine point one points, so close to that eighty
nine hundred mark. And Adam, that is now four days
in a row of a new intra day high.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
It is remarkable, Michael. Isn't it not that I'm thinking
of the weekend edition or anything.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
As if you aren't. You are sizing up the stories
that you are going to be using tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
I know so, Michael.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
Seven of the eleven sectors were positive yesterday, and as mentioned,
Westpac was the big driver of games. The Australian dollar
rose a little after the strong job starter, now up
to sixty five point five US sense. That's because people
think interest rate cuts are now less likely and that
makes the Australian dollar more valuable compared to other currencies.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Adam, We've got some more news about productivity ahead of
Treasury gem Charmers and his summit next week. It must
be very exciting for you to have reform being in
the news every single day as a passionate advocate of
all kinds of reform. This time though it is a
proposed change from the Australian securities and Investments Commission ASCIC,
(04:32):
and the change is potentially looking at the way super
funds invest in housing.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Yeah, Michael.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Normally the rule is that when a super fund buys
a property investment, it has to disclose the stamp duty
paid as a fee to members, and that means investments
in things like buy to rent housing look worse than
if they invested in a listed real estate company or
bought property overseas. So changing that rule could unlock more
than eight billion dollars in new development paid for by
(05:01):
super funds, and that would fast track the development of
thirty five thousand new homes. The Treasurer said this is
a good example of what might come from his economic
reform round table.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
There's details of other likely changes in an ABC report
of elked Treasury document listing recommended outcomes.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
This document proposes pausing changes to the National Construction Code,
speeding up housing approvals, and using AI to cut environmental
red tape. Opposition leader Susan Lay says the leak proves
the productivity talks are a stitch up, but the Prime
Minister denies the outcomes have already been predetermined.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
I love that claim. It's such an Australian thing for
the opposition leader to get out there and say this
is a stitch up. Fantastic. Okay, we've got a lot
still to cover. Some great stories coming up, Adam. We'll
be back in a moment with the rest of the
day's business news. Mercer super is being sued by the
(06:02):
Securities Regulator for its approach to refunding insurance premiums to
dead members. Yes, Mercer is one of the biggest super
funds in the country, with nearly one million customers, and
ACIK claims that the seventy billion dollar fund has a
pattern of long standing and systemic failure to comply with
the law. ACIK says Mercer took too long investigating its
(06:23):
issues and shows a lack of care for customers. It's
not the only superfund that ACIK is taking on. The
regulator is also taking on Cebus and Australian Super Now
we're getting deeper into company reporting seasons, so let's do
a quick roundup, shall we of some of the latest results,
because there were some big ones coming out yesterday. Telstra,
(06:44):
for example, to leave it an annual net profit of
two point three billion dollars. That is up thirty one
percent on last year. The telco also announced a one
billion dollar extension to its share buyback. The details here
are interesting. Bar earnings, we're up three point five percent
as it again lifted the price of phone plans, this
(07:05):
time between three dollars and five dollars a month. That
cost of living crisis keeps.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Hitting, Yeah, Michael, up thirty one percent on last year's earnings.
That is a pretty exceptional result. Operating expenses were the
big story, down six percent, partly on the back of
letting some threey two hundred jobs go. Telstra shares fell
two point six percent on the result, but they are
up by about a quarter since the beginning of the year.
Telstra now says some twenty five million phones, watches and
(07:33):
other gadgets are hooked up to its network in Australia.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
One of the other comments that I thought was really
interesting from Chief executive Vicky Brady Adam. She said that
all of Telstra's staff are expected to use artificial intelligence
every single day in order to become more efficient. That's
that's certainly kind of modeling that behavior that the company
expects in order to keep it moving forward as a
(07:59):
tech company as much as a Telco.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Right, So, Michael, are you following this guideline. I know
we don't work at Telsha, but would you do that?
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Probably not as much as I should. I need to
get more efficient.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
I definitely do. I'm using it all the time, multiple
times daily.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Yes, you know what it does help me with, in
particular when I'm putting together the Fear and Greed newsletter.
And when you go to the bottom, scroll right down
to the bottom of the newsletter, you see the tables,
the table there because that is something that requires HTML code.
Remember HTML code having to do that? God, yes, you
(08:36):
know what can do HTML code in an instant chat
GPT and so it is fantastic. I feed everything I
need into it and it spits out the table.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Thank Chat GPT for it.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
We certainly do. Now, keeping on moving ASX Limited, that's
the company that owns and operates the Australian stock market,
posted a six percent lift in profit to just over
five hundred million dollars.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Yeah it said.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
The higher profit was even by more trading on the
market due to the past years volatility. The more we trade,
the more they make and AASEX shares lifted one point
two percent yesterday.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
At Sun Corp posted better than expected earnings as insurance
margins and investment returns improved. The insurer also pleased shareholders
with a share buyback plan. Shares in the company rows
three point six percent. Origin Energy Adam shares swored six
percent as it posted higher profits of one point four
to eight billion dollars.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
This is a day of hits we're reporting on Michael.
Origin said better earnings from its liquefied natural gas business,
which sells our gas overseas, offset lower earnings from its
local retail and business customers. It's a reminder of the
power shareholders have to tell would be acquirers to back off.
Remember two years ago Origin investors rejected a sub ten
(09:50):
dollars shared takeover offer from Brookfield despite the board recommending approval.
Now the stock is in the high twelve dollars range
and rising.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
And one last one in our hit parade here Today,
Adam online retailer Temple and Webster posted a twenty one
percent lift in revenue to six hundred and one million
dollars and higher than expected earnings of eighteen point eight million.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
The furniture and homewares retailer said strong promotions at the
end of the financial year help boost its numbers. Temple
and Webster now says it accounts for two point seven
percent of the entire Australian furniture and homewares market, and
its shares leapt more than eight percent.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
And finally, Adam, how about some insider trading. It's something
that we don't really hear that much about outside of
the movies, right.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
Gordon, Gecko and Wall Street comes to mind. A Sydney
man faces fifteen years in prison after pleading guilty to
insider trading in two point seven million dollars worth of
shares in Platinum Asset Management. Rodney Forrest admitted accessing a
client's computer without permission and reading a confidential email about
a takeover proposal for the ASX listed fund manager. He
(10:55):
then bought Platinum shares before the news was public.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Okay, turning to international news now, Adam. European leaders say
they have agreed a strategy with US President Donald Trump
ahead of his meeting with Vladimir Putin today in Alaska.
But having an agreed strategy is one thing. Whether or
not it goes that way is another thing altogether.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
Right, Yeah, we watch this with fascination Michael Trump and
Putin are meeting to discuss ending the war in Ukraine,
and the meeting has left Europe worried about the risk
of Trump doing a deal to give up parts of
Ukraine to the Russians, But under the latest strategy, Trump
has agreed not to negotiate territory and instead leave those
talks up to Ukraine and Russia directly. Trump is warning
(11:36):
of very severe consequences if Putin refuses to end the war,
but also admits that so far the Russian leader is
not listening.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
And now back in the US, Trump's takeover of the
streets of Washington, DC is certainly taking hold, Protesters chanting
go home fascists as the National Guard and hundreds of
federal law enforcement agents enter the city.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
It's the first time a president has used emergency powers
to take control of the city's police. Trump said he's
doing it to reduce violent crime, but his critics say
official data shows crime was already falling.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
And Adam we mentioned earlier in the week the bushfires
that have been sweeping across parts of Europe. They are
continuing to threaten major cities throughout the region. This heat
wave is not going anywhere.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
No, unfortunately not. People near the Greek city of Patris
near Athens were ordered to evacuate, and high winds are
driving fires towards homes near Madrid. In Spain, heat alerts
are in place and fires are burning in Portugal, Spain,
Italy and in the Balkans.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
And finally, a bit more on JD. Vance's UK holiday.
Jeremy Clarkson, the former top gear presenter turned British farming advocate,
is now complaining about the US Vice President's visit to
England's upmarket Cotswolds district.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Michael Clarkson posted an image of the Vice president's no
flo zone to Instagram, saying it was interrupting the filming
of his popular TV show Clarkson Farm and his sidekick
Caleb Cooper said harvested crops are getting wet in the
rain waiting for the Vice President's giant nineteen vehicle motorcade
to pass. He says Vance might be better off driving
(13:17):
around the countryside on his own in a small car,
because at least then nobody would know who he was.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Might have a point there up next, Adam is Fear
and Greed Q and A. Today we are taking a
closer look at this suggestion, the proposal from the ACTU
that we should move towards a four day working week,
looking at the pros, looking at the cons and the
likelihood of whether it will ever actually happen here in Australia.
It's coming up next to the Fear and Greed playlist
(13:44):
on your podcast platform, or at Fearandgreed dot com dot au,
which is where you can sign up for the newsletter
that I mentioned earlier with those fantastically formatted tables at
the bottom. I'll put a link in today's show notes
as well.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Thank you, Adam, Well, look not just for the tables,
sign up now.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Thank you Michael.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
It is Friday, the fifteenth of August twenty twenty five.
Make sure you're following the podcast and please join us
online on LinkedIn, Instagram, x TikTok and Facebook. I'm Michael
Thompson and the Atosphere and Greed. Have a great day.
Welcome to Fear and Greed business news you can use today.
Westpac's results gets everyone excited about the banks again, sending
the ASX yet another all time high. Unemployment falls to
four point two percent. Plus more results from the full
year company reporting season and what happens if you sneak
a look at your client's emails and trade on what
(00:26):
you find. It is Friday, the fifteenth of August twenty
twenty five. I'm Michael Thompson and good morning, Adam Lange.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Good morning, Michael, Adam.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
The main story this morning banks are back. Just a
day after Commonwealth Banks profit report triggered a bank's sell off,
Westpac has posted a cracker.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
It sure has.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Michael new CEO Anthony Miller says Westpac's quarterly net profit
lifted fourteen percent to one point nine billion, as business
lending rose five percent and customer deposits added ten billion dollars. Now,
remember this is the CEO who wants to bring back
hustle culture to banking. He's holding meetings on weekends, he
wants people back in the office and he says he
(01:06):
even works on Christmas Day now so far, having been
appointed CEO in December, twenty twenty four, he's delivering the numbers.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Yeah, his first numbers are really a gift for shareholders.
Investors flocked back to Westpac's shares, sending them up more
than six percent yesterday.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Yeah. Banks matter, Michael.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Not only are they the biggest part of the stock market,
but they're also the best indicator of how the Australian
economy is performing.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Overall.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Miller says households are benefiting from lower inflation and falling
interest rates, which means lower levels of customer stress. Under
these conditions, he expects a further recovery in economic activity
and more lending growth.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Massive result. And of course, this is an economy that's
already performing pretty well, as we saw yesterday with what
can only be described as a solid set of employment numbers.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Yes, the Australian Bureau Statistics said yesterday that twenty fourth
outan and five hundred new jobs were created in July,
sending the unemployment rate down from four point three percent
in June to four point two percent last month. That
was in line with expectations and just goes to demonstrate
the remarkable resilience of the Australian economy. It's good news
(02:17):
for wages, but potentially not so good for mortgage holders
because strong employment growth could mean another rate cut is
now less likely. Economists say these job numbers mean we
probably shouldn't bank on another rate cut next month, and
it's now more likely that the next cut will be
in November or December. Remember, the Reserve Bank of Australia
is not actually scheduled to meet in October this year.
(02:39):
It will all hinge on the next Australian Bureau Statistics
monthly Consumer Price Index indicator. Excitingly, Michael, those figures are
due out on the twenty seventh of August.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
I'm going to say, I don't think it's taken me
a lot longer to get used to the RBA meeting
eight times a year on these different dates. I just
I really did appreciate the first Tuesday of every January consistency.
It was nice, wasn't it.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
It was easy to plan creatures of habit, aren't we, Michael?
Speaker 1 (03:08):
We certainly are adam Taking a look at local markets yesterday,
the SMPA IS X two hundred climbed zero point five
percent to close at eight eight hundred and seventy four points.
That's another record high, and also came as the market
hit an intra day high of eight eight hundred and
(03:29):
ninety nine point one points, so close to that eighty
nine hundred mark. And Adam, that is now four days
in a row of a new intra day high.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
It is remarkable, Michael. Isn't it not that I'm thinking
of the weekend edition or anything.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
As if you aren't. You are sizing up the stories
that you are going to be using tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
I know so, Michael.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
Seven of the eleven sectors were positive yesterday, and as mentioned,
Westpac was the big driver of games. The Australian dollar
rose a little after the strong job starter, now up
to sixty five point five US sense. That's because people
think interest rate cuts are now less likely and that
makes the Australian dollar more valuable compared to other currencies.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Adam, We've got some more news about productivity ahead of
Treasury gem Charmers and his summit next week. It must
be very exciting for you to have reform being in
the news every single day as a passionate advocate of
all kinds of reform. This time though it is a
proposed change from the Australian securities and Investments Commission ASCIC,
(04:32):
and the change is potentially looking at the way super
funds invest in housing.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Yeah, Michael.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Normally the rule is that when a super fund buys
a property investment, it has to disclose the stamp duty
paid as a fee to members, and that means investments
in things like buy to rent housing look worse than
if they invested in a listed real estate company or
bought property overseas. So changing that rule could unlock more
than eight billion dollars in new development paid for by
(05:01):
super funds, and that would fast track the development of
thirty five thousand new homes. The Treasurer said this is
a good example of what might come from his economic
reform round table.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
There's details of other likely changes in an ABC report
of elked Treasury document listing recommended outcomes.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
This document proposes pausing changes to the National Construction Code,
speeding up housing approvals, and using AI to cut environmental
red tape. Opposition leader Susan Lay says the leak proves
the productivity talks are a stitch up, but the Prime
Minister denies the outcomes have already been predetermined.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
I love that claim. It's such an Australian thing for
the opposition leader to get out there and say this
is a stitch up. Fantastic. Okay, we've got a lot
still to cover. Some great stories coming up, Adam. We'll
be back in a moment with the rest of the
day's business news. Mercer super is being sued by the
(06:02):
Securities Regulator for its approach to refunding insurance premiums to
dead members. Yes, Mercer is one of the biggest super
funds in the country, with nearly one million customers, and
ACIK claims that the seventy billion dollar fund has a
pattern of long standing and systemic failure to comply with
the law. ACIK says Mercer took too long investigating its
(06:23):
issues and shows a lack of care for customers. It's
not the only superfund that ACIK is taking on. The
regulator is also taking on Cebus and Australian Super Now
we're getting deeper into company reporting seasons, so let's do
a quick roundup, shall we of some of the latest results,
because there were some big ones coming out yesterday. Telstra,
(06:44):
for example, to leave it an annual net profit of
two point three billion dollars. That is up thirty one
percent on last year. The telco also announced a one
billion dollar extension to its share buyback. The details here
are interesting. Bar earnings, we're up three point five percent
as it again lifted the price of phone plans, this
(07:05):
time between three dollars and five dollars a month. That
cost of living crisis keeps.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Hitting, Yeah, Michael, up thirty one percent on last year's earnings.
That is a pretty exceptional result. Operating expenses were the
big story, down six percent, partly on the back of
letting some threey two hundred jobs go. Telstra shares fell
two point six percent on the result, but they are
up by about a quarter since the beginning of the year.
Telstra now says some twenty five million phones, watches and
(07:33):
other gadgets are hooked up to its network in Australia.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
One of the other comments that I thought was really
interesting from Chief executive Vicky Brady Adam. She said that
all of Telstra's staff are expected to use artificial intelligence
every single day in order to become more efficient. That's
that's certainly kind of modeling that behavior that the company
expects in order to keep it moving forward as a
(07:59):
tech company as much as a Telco.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Right, So, Michael, are you following this guideline. I know
we don't work at Telsha, but would you do that?
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Probably not as much as I should. I need to
get more efficient.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
I definitely do. I'm using it all the time, multiple
times daily.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Yes, you know what it does help me with, in
particular when I'm putting together the Fear and Greed newsletter.
And when you go to the bottom, scroll right down
to the bottom of the newsletter, you see the tables,
the table there because that is something that requires HTML code.
Remember HTML code having to do that? God, yes, you
(08:36):
know what can do HTML code in an instant chat
GPT and so it is fantastic. I feed everything I
need into it and it spits out the table.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Thank Chat GPT for it.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
We certainly do. Now, keeping on moving ASX Limited, that's
the company that owns and operates the Australian stock market,
posted a six percent lift in profit to just over
five hundred million dollars.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Yeah it said.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
The higher profit was even by more trading on the
market due to the past years volatility. The more we trade,
the more they make and AASEX shares lifted one point
two percent yesterday.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
At Sun Corp posted better than expected earnings as insurance
margins and investment returns improved. The insurer also pleased shareholders
with a share buyback plan. Shares in the company rows
three point six percent. Origin Energy Adam shares swored six
percent as it posted higher profits of one point four
to eight billion dollars.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
This is a day of hits we're reporting on Michael.
Origin said better earnings from its liquefied natural gas business,
which sells our gas overseas, offset lower earnings from its
local retail and business customers. It's a reminder of the
power shareholders have to tell would be acquirers to back off.
Remember two years ago Origin investors rejected a sub ten
(09:50):
dollars shared takeover offer from Brookfield despite the board recommending approval.
Now the stock is in the high twelve dollars range
and rising.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
And one last one in our hit parade here Today,
Adam online retailer Temple and Webster posted a twenty one
percent lift in revenue to six hundred and one million
dollars and higher than expected earnings of eighteen point eight million.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
The furniture and homewares retailer said strong promotions at the
end of the financial year help boost its numbers. Temple
and Webster now says it accounts for two point seven
percent of the entire Australian furniture and homewares market, and
its shares leapt more than eight percent.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
And finally, Adam, how about some insider trading. It's something
that we don't really hear that much about outside of
the movies, right.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
Gordon, Gecko and Wall Street comes to mind. A Sydney
man faces fifteen years in prison after pleading guilty to
insider trading in two point seven million dollars worth of
shares in Platinum Asset Management. Rodney Forrest admitted accessing a
client's computer without permission and reading a confidential email about
a takeover proposal for the ASX listed fund manager. He
(10:55):
then bought Platinum shares before the news was public.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Okay, turning to international news now, Adam. European leaders say
they have agreed a strategy with US President Donald Trump
ahead of his meeting with Vladimir Putin today in Alaska.
But having an agreed strategy is one thing. Whether or
not it goes that way is another thing altogether.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
Right, Yeah, we watch this with fascination Michael Trump and
Putin are meeting to discuss ending the war in Ukraine,
and the meeting has left Europe worried about the risk
of Trump doing a deal to give up parts of
Ukraine to the Russians, But under the latest strategy, Trump
has agreed not to negotiate territory and instead leave those
talks up to Ukraine and Russia directly. Trump is warning
(11:36):
of very severe consequences if Putin refuses to end the war,
but also admits that so far the Russian leader is
not listening.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
And now back in the US, Trump's takeover of the
streets of Washington, DC is certainly taking hold, Protesters chanting
go home fascists as the National Guard and hundreds of
federal law enforcement agents enter the city.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
It's the first time a president has used emergency powers
to take control of the city's police. Trump said he's
doing it to reduce violent crime, but his critics say
official data shows crime was already falling.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
And Adam we mentioned earlier in the week the bushfires
that have been sweeping across parts of Europe. They are
continuing to threaten major cities throughout the region. This heat
wave is not going anywhere.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
No, unfortunately not. People near the Greek city of Patris
near Athens were ordered to evacuate, and high winds are
driving fires towards homes near Madrid. In Spain, heat alerts
are in place and fires are burning in Portugal, Spain,
Italy and in the Balkans.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
And finally, a bit more on JD. Vance's UK holiday.
Jeremy Clarkson, the former top gear presenter turned British farming advocate,
is now complaining about the US Vice President's visit to
England's upmarket Cotswolds district.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Michael Clarkson posted an image of the Vice president's no
flo zone to Instagram, saying it was interrupting the filming
of his popular TV show Clarkson Farm and his sidekick
Caleb Cooper said harvested crops are getting wet in the
rain waiting for the Vice President's giant nineteen vehicle motorcade
to pass. He says Vance might be better off driving
(13:17):
around the countryside on his own in a small car,
because at least then nobody would know who he was.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Might have a point there up next, Adam is Fear
and Greed Q and A. Today we are taking a
closer look at this suggestion, the proposal from the ACTU
that we should move towards a four day working week,
looking at the pros, looking at the cons and the
likelihood of whether it will ever actually happen here in Australia.
It's coming up next to the Fear and Greed playlist
(13:44):
on your podcast platform, or at Fearandgreed dot com dot au,
which is where you can sign up for the newsletter
that I mentioned earlier with those fantastically formatted tables at
the bottom. I'll put a link in today's show notes
as well.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Thank you, Adam, Well, look not just for the tables,
sign up now.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Thank you Michael.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
It is Friday, the fifteenth of August twenty twenty five.
Make sure you're following the podcast and please join us
online on LinkedIn, Instagram, x TikTok and Facebook. I'm Michael
Thompson and the Atosphere and Greed. Have a great day.
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