Tech, bitcoin sell-off; Amazon, Temu, Shein to dominate; Westpac bankers go bush

Tech, bitcoin sell-off; Amazon, Temu, Shein to dominate; Westpac bankers go bush

News in brief

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has dismissed suggestions Australia could co-host next year’s COP climate summit with Turkey. Reuters reported yesterday that Turkey had made the offer, but Albanese said it was not possible.

 

Australia’s biggest energy companies support the federal government’s net zero target by 2050 and warned that failing to support renewables will only send power bills higher.

 

Westpac bankers will be sent to country towns to work from council offices or local libraries one day each fortnight, and the bank won’t close any more rural branches until 2030.

 

Amazon, Temu and Shein will hold more than one third of Australia’s online retail market by next year, putting pressure on local digital marketplaces, according to investment bank Jarden, which forecasts that the three international retailers will generate more than $18 billion worth of sales locally in 2026 – a 36 per cent market share.

 

Donald Trump has urged Republicans to vote to release files related to late sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, in a sharp turn-around after having previously fought attempts to make the files public.

Fear-o-meter

Investors are worried about over-exuberance around AI stocks and Apple’s share price tells the story best.

 

A basket of tech and AI stocks on Wall Street has declined 8 per cent over the past two weeks, its biggest dip since the 30 per cent pullback in that sector earlier this year

 

But Apple’s share price is rising.

 

Apple’s capital expenditures are expected to be about $US14 billion in its current fiscal year. By comparison, Microsoft is projected to have capex of more than $US94 billion. And Meta, a company half Apple’s size, is set to have capex of more than $US70 billion in 2025, according to Bloomberg.

 

In a year dominated by AI enthusiasm, Apple is the worst performer of Bloomberg’s Magnificent 7 Index. However, over the last month, Apple is up ten per cent whereas Microsoft is flat, and Meta is down 14 per cent.

 

It isn’t necessarily the end of the tech boom but there is much more cynicism in the market right now.

Fear & Greed Q+A today

On the ongoing ransomware threat to Australian businesses, including the changing tactics of attackers, and the evolving attitudes towards paying ransoms:

 

"Ransomware attacks still remain high... This year, 44% of the respondents reported experiencing a ransomware attack in 12 months... That's down from around 56% last year. What we did see this year... 90% of those businesses were SMEs. They were smaller businesses. So the vast majority of the brunt of that attack is landing on the small businesses in this country, whilst some of the big attacks are certainly the ones we see in the press. But that's a small proportion.

 

Another thing that we were really happy to see was the amount being paid [has] dropped from last year. We were reporting $1.35 million being the average payment which is incredibly high, driven by some really large payments. This year, $711,000. So that's a significant reduction in that average payment that's coming through and a great shift in attitude... A lot of businesses said that they would still be willing to pay a ransom if attacked, but less than last year."

Fear, rather than greed, is gripping global markets, with cryptocurrencies tumbling, Wall Street tech heavyweights mostly going backwards, and even Australia’s two biggest companies, the Commonwealth Bank and BHP, losing ground. Meanwhile, safe haven investments like gold and silver are surging again. In the parlance of professional investors, it is a risk-off market. The main problem is a lack of information. The US government shutdown means investors are buying in the dark. In crypto markets, Bitcoin has lost 30 per cent of its value since its high a month ago and is back to its level at the beginning of the year. Locally, the real possibility of no more rate cuts is hurting the market. The S&P/ASX200 is trading close to four-month lows with the biggest drag being Commonwealth Bank. But the biggest losers over the past month have been the tech stocks, both on Wall Street and locally.

Greed-o-meter

Rank	Retailer	PRICE score
1	Adore Beauty	248
2	THE ICONIC	247
3	Dan Murphy's	241
4	Appliances Online	237
5	Kmart	227
6	Mecca	225
7	Chemist Warehouse	224
8	Bonds	222
9	Myer	220
10	BCF	220

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Cosmetics retailer Adore Beauty is Australia's 'most loved' retail business, according to a survey by Power Retail. The survey combines Net Promoter Scores (NPS) with Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) and an Effort Rating, which measures ease of interaction. The end result is the PRICE score. Dan Murphy's and Kmart both made the top five, Woolworths was ranked 49th, Coles was 52nd, and a couple of fashion retailers brought up the rear.

 

Top 10

Listen to today's episode 🎧 

Source: Power Retail

Rank	Retailer	PRICE score
73	Connor	143
74	Michael Hill	140
75	Booktopia	139
76	Kogan	139
77	Princess Polly	137
78	Macpac	127
79	Taking Shape	124
80	Microsoft	121
81	City Chic	114
82	Witchery	112

Bottom 10