ALP mulls super changes; Gaza peace deal; Aussie unis climb rankings
Published: October 09, 2025
ALP mulls super changes; Gaza peace deal; Aussie unis climb rankings
News in brief
Israel and Hamas have officially signed a ceasefire deal in Egypt, after US President Donald Trump announced the two sides had agreed to a deal that would release all Israeli hostages in the first step toward what he called “a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace.”
Mexican-themed fast food chain Guzman y Gomez reported a 19 per cent jump in sales during the September quarter and will return $100 million to shareholders through an on-market buyback.
Six Australian universities are ranked in the top 100 worldwide, with the University of Melbourne rated the best Australian institution at number 37, according to the highly regarded Times rankings.
US President Donald Trump’s polling numbers continue to slide, though not as quickly as they were ahead of the northern summer. The average of polls, according to the New York Times, shows Trump with a disapproval rating of 54pc and an approval rating of 43pc.
Pokemon cards are back with some mint cards having appreciated 3,000 per cent since 2004, much better than equities.
Fear-o-meter
The revelation in Senate Estimates hearings yesterday that the federal Treasury is reconsidering aspects of legislation introducing a higher tax for superannuation with balances over $3 million is good news.
I have no problem with individuals with high super balances forfeiting the lower tax rate on amounts exceeding $3 million. That’s good policy.
I’m not that upset about the indexation issues, whereby the cut-off point of $3 million wasn’t indexed. That can be a problem for a later day.
However, the tax will apply to unrealised gains on property, farms, businesses and other illiquid assets held in self-managed funds. That’s bad policy because it could trigger asset sales that harm retirement incomes. Reviewing that aspect of the legislation is welcome.
Similarly, reviewing the annual superannuation performance test is a good idea. While the industry regulator ranking funds was good in theory, an unintended consequence was that super funds became more conservative, and that wasn’t always beneficial for financial markets.
Fear & Greed Q+A today
On how far the market can run:
"In the near term, it's anybody's guess. Valuations, while they're what we look at most closely, the fundamentals, you know, in the very short term don't have a hell of a lot of predictive power. We're talking about sort of short term one year returns...
What we can say is that over the long run, prices, valuation levels, are a reasonable predictor of returns. And we would say that Australian equities, in particular, are looking extended now. And that might mean that the strong returns the last few years are unlikely to be repeated."
It is Friday, the 10th of October 2025. The federal government is considering changes to key superannuation policies. Treasury is reviewing the implications of legislation that is set to impose a new tax on superannuation balances above $3 million, and the Prime Minister’s Office has taken an interest in the discussion, which is supposed to be the purview of Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Also, Treasury is in discussions with the government about reviewing the annual superannuation performance test, which the industry claims has limited its ability to back innovative start-ups or nationally significant projects like housing.
Greed-o-meter
S&P/ASX 200
| Stock | Capitalisation ($b) | Change v last year (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Reece | 7.2 | -58 |
| Flight Centre | 2.5 | -47 |
| Treasury Wine Estates | 5.6 | -42 |
| Viva Energy Group | 2.9 | -40 |
| GQG Partners | 4.7 | -39 |
| James Hardie | 14.0 | -39 |
| Wisetech Global | 29.0 | -36 |
| Guzman y Gomez | 2.7 | -32 |
| CSL | 100.0 | -30 |
| Reliance Worldwide | 3.1 | -30 |
| Total / Average | 171.7 | -39.3 |
Note: Percentages are rounded to one decimal place; averages are approximate.
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Worst performing S&P/ASX 200 stocks over the past year
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Source: Market Index