Dutton fires in feisty debate; Macquarie's big shift; Shein hits $1b sales

Dutton fires in feisty debate; Macquarie's big shift; Shein hits $1b sales

News in brief

Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton held the third debate of the election campaign last night with neither landing a knock-out blow. The debate was the most vigorous so far with a much improved performance by the Opposition Leader. The focus, again, was the cost-of-living crisis, particularly around health and energy costs.

 

Macquarie is selling out of its entire North American and European public asset management business, an operation that oversees $285 billion in assets. It’s a reversal of a strategy that’s been in place for 15 years, and Macquarie will offload its international equities, fixed income and multi-asset investments business to Japan’s Nomura for $2.8 billion.

 

Chinese ecommerce group Shein has recorded annual sales of more than $1 billion in Australia for the first time, as the rise in popularity of ultra-cheap clothing turns the Chinese fast-fashion giant into one of the country’s biggest retailers.

 

Chinese battery manufacturer, CATL, has unveiled upgraded battery cells for electric vehicles it claims can offer a 520km range from just five minutes of charging time.

 

The battle between Donald Trump and US financial markets has escalated after the US President called the boss of the Federal Reserve a “loser”. In a tweet after Jay Powell indicated interest rates in the US won’t fall at any time soon, in part because of the uncertainty around the White House tariffs, Trump claimed that there is almost no inflation and warned there could be a “SLOWING of the economy unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW”.

Fear-o-meter

Macquarie Group selling out of its North American and European public asset management business, a business that oversees $285 billion in assets, is a big deal.

 

Not big enough to make too much of a mark on Macquarie’s profit, but big enough to show how the world of investing is changing.

 

Active investing in public markets – equities, fixed income – has been the bedrock of Macquarie and other fund managers for decades. But the margins are small. Many big investors with huge amounts of funds under management adopt passive investment policies, that mirror an index. It’s cheaper and retail investors are increasingly opting for passive strategies.

Higher cost players like Macquarie aren’t getting the rewards and they are getting out.

 

Instead, they are interested in private markets – real estate, infrastructure, private credit – where they do have an advantage. The moral of the tale: it’s tougher to earn money from being an active investor in public markets. 

Who's talking today?

Three weeks on from Donald Trump's Liberation Day tariffs - and two weeks since many of them were paused - ANZ's Tom Kenny talks about Australia's trade relationships with the EU and Japan, and the importance of the US to the global economy: 

 

"It's the single largest importer in the world. So if you're trying to look for an alternative market in diversifying, it's slim pickings in trying to find another market. So the US is very important for global trade being the largest importer. So if demand there drops off, it's going to be quite a shock to the global economy."

It’s Wednesday the 23rd of April 2025 and Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton face off in a feisty third debate, Macquarie sells a big chunk of its investments business, and e-commerce site Shein hits $1 billion of sales in Australia. Plus, a faster EV battery is close to production and Donald Trump takes on the US Federal Reserve.

Greed-o-meter

Total clearance rate	64.7%	Lowest preliminary result so far this year (excl. Jan)
Number of auctions	652	3,066 week before Easter, 901 same time last year
Sydney clearance rate	67.9%	Up slightly from 65.5% last Easter
Melb clearance rate	61.1%	66 homes sold vs 183 last Easter
Bris clearance rate	55.0%	Only 22 homes sold at auction
Adelaide clearance rate	68.6%	Strongest among smaller capitals
Canberra clearance rate	55.6%	Below its recent average
Auctions this week	1,060	Small post-Easter rebound

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The Easter long weekend is always a slower weekend for auctions - but this weekend was down significantly on last year. Here's the auction story across our capital cities last week:

Listen to today's episode 🎧 

Source: Cotality, formerly known as CoreLogic

Can you help us out?

Sean Aylmer and Adam Lang from the Fear & Greed team are taking part in Royal Far West's Ride For Country Kids - a 380km ride through western NSW. The goal is to raise as much money as possible to improve life options for kids from rural communities.

 

Neither Sean or Adam are cyclists - so this is well outside their comfort zone (although they do seem to be taking to the lycra a little too keenly). 

 

If you can help raise a few dollars for the Fear & Greed team, it will be gratefully appreciated. You can donate here. And we'll be giving supporters a shout-out on the podcast too!