Voters reject Trump policies; DJs set to fall into administration; AI isn’t causing job losses

Voters reject Trump policies; DJs set to fall into administration; AI isn’t causing job losses

News in brief

David Jones set to enter administration

David Jones is expected to collapse into voluntary administration after negotiations with landlords broke down. The 188-year-old department store chain had sought rent relief and permission to close up to half its stores. McGrathNicol is expected to become administrator, while lender Hilco Capital prepares to appoint receivers. Stores are expected to continue trading.

 

Household spending rebounds despite higher rates

Australian household spending rose 0.6 per cent in September, according to the ABS, reinforcing Reserve Bank concerns about persistent demand in the economy. Fuel spending jumped 5.4 per cent, although motorists actually bought less fuel. Health, transport and recreation spending also increased, suggesting households are continuing to spend despite higher borrowing costs.

 

AI having little impact on Australian jobs so far

Artificial intelligence has had limited impact on Australian job vacancies, according to new ABS research. More than 80 per cent of businesses reported no change in vacancies due to AI, while four per cent reported a reduction. Technology businesses were most affected, with 16 per cent reporting fewer vacancies.

 

Australia approves first weight-loss pill

Australia’s medicines regulator has approved the first oral GLP-1 weight-loss treatment, Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy tablet. The daily pill could become available before the end of the year, offering an alternative to weekly injections. Doctors expect strong demand but warn that appropriate medical screening and monitoring remain essential.

 

Uber loses $81 million payroll tax battle

Uber must pay more than $81 million in NSW payroll taxes after losing a High Court appeal. The court ruled that payments to drivers qualified as wages under the relevant legislation, rejecting Uber’s argument that it merely collected payments on behalf of contractors. The decision could have wider implications for gig economy businesses.

 

Cyber-attacks disrupt European supermarkets

Supermarkets across at least ten European countries have been hit by cyber-attacks targeting refrigeration systems, forcing retailers to discard spoiled food. Freezer temperatures reportedly climbed as high as 50 degrees. European Union officials have warned the attacks appear designed to disrupt food supplies, raising concerns about the vulnerability of remotely controlled.

Fear-o-meter

Donald Trump on the mid-term election result, as told by CBS

 

"My message is, congratulations to the Democrats, and I look forward to working with you for the good of our country," he said.

 

The president said he plans to work with the opposing party, saying, "I know a lot of Democrats. I have total veto power and I'm sure we'll be able to work things out."

 

"I think they're gonna want to work with me," he said. "Otherwise I'd just veto everything and they're not gonna want that."

 

The president insisted that so many Republicans lost because he wasn't on the ballot.

 

"I feel that I wasn't on the ballot, and there was nothing that could be done about that," he said. "If I was, we would have won."

 

Explaining the losses for Republicans, the president added: "In some cases they didn't like the candidates, and in some cases those candidates were not my friend and the base knows that better than anybody. And they stayed back. They didn't have — I mean, it's just, it's sad in the sense that we would have won easily if I was on the ballot. But I wasn't."

 

Asked if he is upset, he said he "tried hard" and "left it on the field"

"I tried to help people get elected, and they were not elected, they couldn't get elected," he said. "The people didn't come out as they should have. If I were on the ballot they would have been out. But they didn't. It's just one of those things, you know? It's a point in time. Happened many times before."

Fear & Greed Q+A today

In the fourth interview in our new weekly series on retirement and investing with MLC Expand, CEO Liz McCarthy speaks with Sean Aylmer about the Intergenerational Report, what an ageing population means for superannuation, and why younger Australians are now more engaged with their super:

 

"I was reading in a report the other day that seventy percent of younger Australians think that twelve percent super is the right amount of money to start to save for.

 

And I think that we'll see a lot more engagement in younger cohorts of Australians who want to be involved in their superannuation.

 

I know my children are twenty and twenty-two and they're much more engaged in super than I ever was. So you actually see the amounts coming out and you want to know what's happening with it. And I think that's a great thing.

 

Making sure that you've thought about what that might look like, fast forward to... sixty-five, because let's be real, you've probably got another twenty-five years of living. And really thinking that through."

Democrats seize control of Congress in bad result for Trump

 

American voters have delivered a major rejection of President Donald Trump’s policies, handing Democrats control of both houses of Congress in the US midterm elections.

 

Democrats captured Senate seats in Republican strongholds including Kansas, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. Some of those seats had been held by Republicans for decades.

 

Exit polls revealed significant swings towards Democrats among younger voters, Latinos and Catholics, with the economy emerging as a major factor.

 

More than four in ten voters said their family’s financial situation was worse than two years ago, while around three-quarters were dissatisfied with the direction of the country.

 

Trump said he would accept the results and work with Democrats, although he blamed Republican losses partly on his absence from the ballot.

 

The result will significantly constrain his domestic agenda over the remaining two years of his presidency. Democrats will be able to block legislation, challenge spending priorities and launch congressional investigations.

 

For financial markets, the implications are mixed. Democratic control could make tax cuts and further support for AI infrastructure more difficult.

 

However, Trump retains considerable authority over foreign policy, tariffs and the war in Iran, meaning decisions on those issues will remain crucial for the global economy.

Greed-o-meter

State	Last Democratic win	Years since
Kansas	1932	94
Texas	1988	38
Maine	1988	38
South Carolina	1998	28
North Carolina	2008	18
Iowa	2008	18
Ohio	2018	8

Years since each state last elected a Democratic US senator, before the 2026 midterms. Based on projected election results.

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The Democrats' strong showing in the US midterms has broken some extraordinary state droughts for the party. In Kansas, voters elected their first Democratic US senator in 94 years. Texas and Maine also elected Democratic senators for the first time in 38 years.

Listen to today's episode 🎧 

Source: Associated Press, CBS