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Today's reading time is 7 minutes. - Miko Santos

MORNING HEADLINE

• The Star Casino Slapped with $15M Fine, License Remains Suspended Until 2025. Due to ongoing compliance and governance issues identified in a recent enquiry, Sydney's Star casino was fined $15 million and will be under strict regulatory oversight until 2025.

• Australian Unemployment Rate Holds Steady at 4.1% in September. The Australian job market is strong, with unemployment at 4.1%, employment up 64,000, and labour force participation at a record 67.2% in September.
  

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BIG PICTURE

• Australian Government Targets Unfair Online Business Practices in Consumer Protection Overhaul. New legislation by the Australian government is set to protect consumers against dodgy fees, subscription traps, and overcollection of data by digital businesses to level the playing field.

• Business Council Calls for Massive Rezoning to Tackle Australia's Housing Crisis. The Business Council of Australia wants widespread rezoning in major cities and towns to allow higher-density development near infrastructure to increase housing supply and meet national targets.
  

  
  

BUSINESS

Australia's Job Boom: Over 1 Million New Positions Created Under Labor

Historically, the Albanese Government has overseen the creation of more than one million new jobs since coming into office in 2022. This is a record that no previous government has ever achieved in the history of Australian politics and economic management.

The Details:

• 1,039,300 new jobs created since Labor came to office in 2022

• 64,100 jobs added in September, with 51,600 being full-time positions

• Record high labor force participation rate of 67.2%, with female participation at 63.2%

• An average full-time worker receiving an additional $159 a week since the election of the Albanese Government

The latest Labor Force figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that over one million new jobs have been created under the Albanese Government since 2022. This is unprecedented in any period in Australian history, let alone during the economic slowdown. Strong record job growth has reached all states and territories, with solid increases in full-time jobs, alongside a record high labor force participation rate, particularly for women.

Big Picture: A million new jobs in one parliamentary term is about as solid an indicator of strong economic progress as possible. It implies a greater degree of economic activity, higher taxes, and a wide spread of living standards for many Australians. That said, this growth materialises against a backdrop of global economic uncertainties and domestic challenges such as inflation and cost-of-living pressures. That therefore means the sustainability of this job growth in the long term and its relation to the overall health of the economy will be significant for the future economic landscape in Australia.

TOUR DE INTERNATIONAL

🇺🇸 Uninsured Losses from Hurricanes Helene and Milton Deepen Financial Toll on Victims. Hurricanes Helene and Milton are expected to join the ranks of $50 billion+ disasters like Katrina, Sandy, and Harvey, with experts citing climate change, increased development in high-risk areas, and rising rebuilding costs as factors amplifying damages, while most losses remain uninsured.

🇮🇱 Top Hamas Figure Yahya Sinwar Killed After Year-Long Pursuit, IDF Reports.The Israeli military has confirmed the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, believed to be the mastermind behind the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, during a military operation in Gaza, potentially marking a significant turning point in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

🇳🇿 Former NZ PM Jacinda Ardern Receives Damehood, Praised for Environmental Advocacy. Prince William has officially presented former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with her damehood at Windsor Castle, praising her environmental advocacy and describing the ceremony as a privilege to honor his friend with this deserved award.

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BANKING

CBA Slapped with $7.5M Fine for Massive Spam Email Campaign

This surprising turn of events revealed that Australia's largest bank, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, was found to be in a situation of a huge scandal: it had to pay really steep fines for bombarding millions of Australians with unsolicited marketing messages. The case points toward increasing tension between corporate marketing strategies and individual privacy rights in the digital age.

The Key points:

• The CBA was fined $7.5 million for sending more than 170 million marketing emails not compliant with laws.

• 34.8 million messages sent without permission or to those who had withdrawn theirs.

• This was the second major breach for the CBA after their fine of $3.55 million in May 2023.

• The ACMA is clamping down hard on regulations that prevent the sending of fake 'service' messages as part of marketing campaigns.

Additionally, CBA was imposed with a $7.5 million penalty for breaching Australia's anti-spam law. Between November 2022 and April this year, CBA sent more than 170 million marketing emails displaying non-compliant unsubscribe facilities, of which about 34.8 million went to people that had either not consented or had withdrawn their consent. This is the second major breach by CBA, following from a penalty of $3.55 million in May this year for similar conduct.

Big Picture: The case against the CBA symbolises a tussle between hard-sell corporate marketing and changing privacy laws. As digital communication becomes a business necessity, companies will have to map disparate legal territory to balance marketing goals with consumer rights. The likely outcome will be making other companies revise their marketing strategies and could also lead to more aggressive enforcement of antispam laws across industries that may change the environment in which digital marketing operates in Australia and around the world.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

➡️ AI Facial Recognition Revolutionizes Sea Turtle Tracking in Australian Waters. Green Heroes, an Australian non-profit, uses AI facial recognition technology like passports to track and study sea turtles non-invasively. Citizen scientists and divers can upload turtle photos to a database for analysis.

➡️ Unexpected Marine Life Discovered Below Pacific Ocean Floor, Challenging Previous Beliefs. The discovery of worms, snails, and giant tubeworms living beneath hydrothermal vents on the seafloor of a volcanically active Pacific ridge challenges the idea that only microbes can survive in this environment.

➡️ Tech Giants Turn to Next-Gen Nuclear Power as Data Center Energy Needs Surge. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is investing in small modular nuclear reactor technology, including a startup called X-energy and feasibility studies with utilities, to potentially meet the growing energy demands of its data centers, despite the technology being unproven and not yet approved by regulators.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

➡️ CBA Accepts ACMA Findings on Spam Act Violations, Pledges Improvements. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is improving its systems and processes to comply with the Spam Act after sending customers non-compliant messages due to incorrect classification.

➡️ Major Plant-Based Food Supplier to Woolworths and Coles Collapses. Fenn Foods, a major Australian supermarket supplier of plant-based products, went into liquidation, but Smart Foods quickly acquired its assets, preventing product shortages and saving jobs.

➡️ Australian Job Market Beats Expectations, ASX 200 Reaches New Heights. The S&P/ASX 200 closed at a record high of 8,355.9 points, up 0.86%, driven by strong performances in gold and uranium stocks, while iron ore stocks declined due to falling prices, and Australia's job market showed unexpected strength with 64,100 new jobs added in September.

TRAVEL

➡️ Philippine Airlines Boosts US and Australian Networks Amid Growing Competition. Philippine Airlines is planning to expand its US routes to include Chicago, Houston, and Las Vegas by 2025, while also increasing its Australian flights, as part of a strategy to strengthen its position in trans-Pacific travel and counter growing competition.

➡️ Velocity Frequent Flyer Shake-Up: Lower Base Rates, Higher Ceilings for Reward Seats. Virgin Australia is adding lifetime status, a Platinum Plus tier, dynamic pricing for reward seats, and partner airline redemption rates and status credit earnings to its Velocity Frequent Flyer programme.

➡️ Qantas Upgrades US Routes, Launches Palau Flights in Major Network Overhaul. Qantas is transferring the Sydney-Seoul route to Jetstar, upgrading US aircraft, increasing Dallas Fort Worth flights, and adding Palau and Singapore services from various Australian cities.

GAMES

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FROM THE TEAM

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