Murdoch buys out siblings; ANZ cuts jobs; Vanuatu deal stumbles
Published: September 09, 2025
Murdoch buys out siblings; ANZ cuts jobs; Vanuatu deal stumbles
News in brief
ANZ will cut 3,500 jobs by September next year and slash its use of consultants in a major restructure that new chief executive Nuno Matos hopes will turn around the country’s fourth largest bank. Matos said the 8pc cut to the bank’s workforce was a 'very tough decision' but he needs to simplify ANZ.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in Vanuatu, but there has been a delay in the leaders of the two countries signing the Nakamal agreement. The deal, whereby Australia is expected to invest about $500 million into Vanuatu over the next decade, has hit a snag over the Pacific nation’s relationship with Beijing.
Greg Combet, the chairman of the Future Fund - the federal government’s $252 billion investment fund - says it is futile to resist AI, because of the economic benefits it will deliver. The former Labor government minister and Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary made the comments as he announced a 12.2pc annual return for the Future Fund.
The fast-tracked expansion of the federal government's Home Guarantee Scheme, effective from October 1, is set to significantly increase the range of suburbs available to first home buyers, according to Cotality, potentially super charging prices.
US politicians have released a copy of a "birthday book" given to the late convicted paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein in 2003, which includes a note allegedly signed by US President Donald Trump.
Fear-o-meter
The challenge for the big four banks is finding new ways to make money and boost the bottom line. That’s because many of the old ways – home and business lending, deposit taking – are more competitive than ever.
A short-term way of helping the bottom line is to cut costs and that’s what ANZ’s new boss, Nuno Matos, is doing. He also wants to simplify the business (which echoes what Anthony Miller, the CEO of Westpac, is trying to do).
Adding to the pressure to grow earnings is that fact that banks in Australia are expensive. Historically they trade around 12 to 16 times forecast earnings. The cheapest bank today – ANZ – trades around 16 times earnings, and Commonwealth Bank isn’t far off 30 times earrings.
So, they are expensive and struggling to find ways to grow profits. That is not a good recipe for success. It could be a rough road for the share price of the Aussie major banks.
Fear & Greed Q+A today
On Rupert Murdoch's multi-billion deal to secure the future of his media empire:
"[The argument was] that it would be in the financial interest of all of the family for Lachlan to lead the company, because only he would have the, in Rupert's view, correct ideology to lead the company in the direction it would need to be profitable. Whereas the thinking was if it was the direction of James Murdoch or one of the two other siblings voting with him, then potentially [they] would take it to the the centre or even further somewhere towards the left and that might just not be as commercially successful. That was his unsuccessful argument in the Nevada court and of course the family had to then go away and hash things out."
It's Wednesday the 10th of September 2025. Today, Lachlan Murdoch is buying the family business, effectively purchasing control of News Corp and Fox Corporation off his siblings, ensuring he stays in charge of the media group when his father, 94-year-old Rupert, dies. Rupert Murdoch agreed to sell billions in shares and give them to three of his children in exchange for Lachlan Murdoch retaining control.
Greed-o-meter
| Market | Houses | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 49.5% | 91.5% |
| Melbourne | 42.5% | 93.7% |
| Brisbane | 44.9% | 97.5% |
| Adelaide | 46.6% | 100.0% |
| Perth | 38.7% | 92.7% |
| Hobart | 52.1% | 86.7% |
| Darwin | 38.7% | 100.0% |
| ACT | 40.2% | 97.7% |
| National | 51.6% | 93.7% |
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The federal government's fast-tracked and expanded Home Guarantee Scheme will almost double the number of qualifying markets for first home buyers. The price limit varies per city - for instance, Sydney's cap goes from $900,000 to $1.5 million, Brisbane will be $1 million, and Melbourne's limit climbs to $950,000. This is the percentage of properties in each market that will fall under the caps:
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Source: Cotality
Business By Numbers
The top 3 numbers to know for the week, brought to you by Xero
$US3.3 billion: the value of the deal done for the future of the Murdoch empire.
3,500: the number of jobs set to be cut in the overhaul of ANZ.
12.2pc: the return earned by the federal government's $252 billion Future Fund last financial year.
At last Sean Aylmer has found something that produces as much hot air as he does. Here he is, posing in front of geothermal activity in Iceland. He's now co-hosting Fear & Greed remotely from France for six weeks - so this may not be the last time we see Sean out on location.