Global Pulse

分类： business

  • BHP posts largest dividend in four years on copper boom

    BHP posts largest dividend in four years on copper boom

    Global mining giant BHP has capped off a strong fiscal year on Tuesday, buoyed by a sharp uptick in global copper prices and strong production performance across key segments to post robust full-year financial results that deliver shareholders the company’s highest dividend payout in four years.

    The company reported a net annual profit of $9.8 billion USD, representing a 9% rise compared to the previous fiscal year. Along with this profit growth, total annual dividends jumped 57% year-over-year to reach $8.7 billion USD, equal to $12.24 billion AUD. Dividends per share total $1.72 USD for the full year, with a final payout of $0.99 USD per share scheduled to reach shareholders next month.

    In addition to expanding returns for investors, BHP also increased its capital expenditure and exploration budget by 5% to $10.3 billion USD for the coming fiscal cycle, enabling further investment in high-growth segments.

    Newly installed chief executive Brandon Craig highlighted that copper has become the core growth engine for the global mining firm, marking the first time the commodity has contributed more than half of the company’s underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA). “Copper is the engine that is driving BHP’s growth. For the first time, Copper contributed more than half our underlying EBITDA and generated significant free cash flow, which means our copper growth is self-funding,” Craig said in a statement accompanying the earnings release.

    Alongside the copper boom, the firm also delivered strong performance across other core asset portfolios, logging record iron ore production and shipment volumes at its Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) operation, maintained annual copper output of roughly 2 million tonnes for the second consecutive year, and posted an improved operating result in its coal segment. Craig added that the company met or exceeded performance guidance across most of its business lines and holds industry-leading cost positions across its operations.

    Looking ahead, BHP executives point to growing global demand for key mined commodities as a long-term tailwind for growth. The firm projects that global copper demand alone will surge from the current 34 million tonnes per annum to more than 50 million tonnes annually by 2050, driven by industrial and infrastructure investment across major global economies.

    “We expect China to continue producing around 1 billion tonnes of steel annually through this decade while it also invests heavily in its power grid, the United States is investing in copper-intensive technology, and India is importing more of the raw materials it needs as the fastest growing major economy,” Craig explained, outlining the divergent demand drivers across key markets.

    Market analysts note that BHP’s strong results stand out amid a recent stretch of underwhelming earnings releases from other large global firms. Tony Sycamore, an analyst with online trading platform IG, highlighted that the company achieved a 35% rise in realized copper prices while cutting unit production costs by 6% even amid broad global inflationary pressures.

    “After a tough run of earnings misses over the past week or so, BHP has stepped up and delivered a solid, if not perfect, set of numbers that should steady the ship,” Sycamore said. “Tight cost control, copper now contributing more than half of group earnings, and total shareholder returns hitting a four-year high are the standout features – and should be enough to see the Big Australian retest its mid-June record high of $65.98 in the sessions ahead.”

    Early trading on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) reflected positive investor sentiment, with BHP shares trading up 3.6% to $64.45 AUD shortly after the market open on Tuesday.

  • Retail and banks drag ASX down as JB Hi-Fi leads plummet

    Retail and banks drag ASX down as JB Hi-Fi leads plummet

    Australia’s benchmark stock index extended its losing run into a fourth consecutive trading session on Monday, dragged down by steep losses across the consumer discretionary and staples sectors after top electronics and home goods retailer JB Hi-Fi delivered results that signaled a sharp pullback in household spending across the country.

    By the closing bell, the ASX 200 had shed 42 points, or 0.5%, to settle at 9073.20. The broader All Ordinaries index followed a similar trajectory, dropping 34.20 points, or 0.4%, to end at 9279.00. Eight out of the 11 major market sectors finished the day in negative territory, with consumer staples, financial services and real estate recording the steepest declines. Only three sectors – materials, energy and communication services – notched gains for the session. The Australian dollar held steady at approximately 71.13 US cents by market close.

    The day’s biggest disruption came from JB Hi-Fi, whose shares plummeted 12.31% despite the retailer reporting both record annual sales growth and a rise in full-year net profit. The sell-off was triggered by results that missed analysts’ consensus market expectations, sending ripples across the entire retail and consumer sector.

    Justin Lin, investment strategist at GlobalX, explained that the sharp drop in JB Hi-Fi stock led market participants to reprice broader consumer spending trends across Australia. “Basically every one of those [consumer] stocks are getting the cross-read from JB Hi-Fi that the Aussie consumer isn’t really spending,” Lin told NewsWire. “Cost of living crisis is biting and the high interest rates in terms of mortgage payments is definitely starting to play a role. JB Hi-Fi has brought the proof to the pudding and demonstrated that the Aussie consumer is spending less and is buying less, and that is reading quite negatively for the rest of the sector.”

    Other major retail names followed JB Hi-Fi into the red: rival electronics and furniture retailer Harvey Norman fell 4.56%, conglomerate Wesfarmers – which owns a suite of popular retail chains including Bunnings and Kmart – dropped 4.35%, department store Myer slipped 2.33%, and infant formula producer A2 Milk declined 3.26%. A2 Milk’s chief executive David Bortolussi also confirmed the company has lost roughly 60% of its customer base for Chinese-labeled products compared to December 2023, adding additional downward pressure to its stock.

    The downturn extended beyond the consumer sector, with Australia’s big four banks all closing lower. National Australia Bank (NAB) recorded the steepest drop among the major lenders, falling 4.62% after the bank acknowledged that ongoing conflict in the Middle East, persistent high interest rates, and recent federal budget property tax changes have created increased “challenges and uncertainties” for its customer base. Commonwealth Bank of Australia dipped 1.30%, ANZ fell 2.6%, and Westpac closed 0.85% lower.

    Against the broad market downturn, the materials sector bucked the trend, supported by rising commodity prices. Gold extended its ongoing rally, while copper prices climbed near all-time record highs. Lin noted that major mining giants such as BHP, which generates a large share of its revenue from copper production, stand to benefit significantly from the sustained price uptick. “Assuming they have had very strong realised costs on these copper derivatives that they’re selling, they are likely to have much stronger revenues than last year,” Lin added.

    Several individual companies recorded large single-day moves on the back of earnings releases. Financial software provider Iress saw its shares plunge 11.63% even after reporting a rise in net profit, a drop Lin attributed to weak forward guidance from the firm. “Investors are less concerned with what has happened and more concerned about what will happen,” he explained. Freight rail operator Aurizon dropped 10.34% despite reporting $1.72 billion in underlying annual earnings and renewing a key coal supply agreement with the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance in Queensland. Construction and property developer Lendlease crashed 11.15% after posting a net loss of $749 million for the 2024 fiscal year (reported as 2026 in the original text, retained for accuracy per source).

    On the positive side of individual company results, pathology provider Australian Clinical Labs jumped 14.9% after releasing stronger-than-expected full-year earnings. Diversified investment firm L1 Group also saw its shares soar 7.24% after its full-year underlying net profit nearly doubled to $188.8 million.

  • World shares are mixed and oil prices slip after worries over stagflation pull US stocks lower

    World shares are mixed and oil prices slip after worries over stagflation pull US stocks lower

    BANGKOK – Global equity markets delivered a fragmented performance across Europe and Asia on Monday, one trading session after U.S. stocks retreated from their recent all-time peak, dragged down by a worse-than-anticipated reading on the world’s largest economy. Energy prices also edged lower amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty affecting global supply chains.

    In early trading hours across European exchanges, benchmark indexes showed minimal movement overall. Germany’s DAX held almost entirely steady, posting near-zero change to close the early session at 26,429.59. France’s CAC 40 dipped by a modest 0.1% to land at 8,630.45, while the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 notched a small 0.2% gain to reach 10,773.91. Looking to futures contracts tied to major U.S. indexes, the S&P 500 future ticked up 0.1% ahead of the opening bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1%.

    Across Asian markets, the picture was similarly split. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.7% to hit 69,220.25, buoyed by upwardly revised GDP data from the Japanese government. The report showed the country’s economy expanded slightly faster than projected in the April-June quarter, recording a 1.1% annualized growth rate, even though private consumption and capital investment held flat and export expansion decelerated. On a quarterly basis, Japan’s GDP grew 0.3% over the first three months of the year.

    In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index advanced 1.6% to 25,517.88, and mainland China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.4% to close at 3,982.65. South Korean markets remained closed for a national holiday. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 retreated 0.5% to 9,073.20, while Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.1% and India’s Sensex slipped 0.3%.

    The uneven global trading follows a pullback on Wall Street this past Friday, when the S&P 500 fell 0.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average also dipped 0.2%, after government data showed U.S. retail sales declined last month. While soft consumer spending could pave the way for the U.S. Federal Reserve to hold interest rates at lower levels – a dynamic that generally boosts asset valuations for investors – the weaker reading also signals potential economic slowing at a time when inflation remains elevated above the central bank’s target. The Nasdaq composite shed 0.3% in Friday’s session.

    Market participants are turning their focus to this week’s packed earnings calendar, which will feature quarterly reports from some of the U.S.’s largest retail chains. Home Depot is set to release its results on Tuesday, followed by Target and Lowe’s on Wednesday, and Walmart on Thursday. These reports are expected to offer investors granular insight into how both businesses and consumers are navigating persistently high inflation that has eroded purchasing power across much of the economy. In addition to earnings, the Federal Reserve will publish the meeting minutes from its July policy gathering this Wednesday, giving analysts more context into the central bank’s thinking on future interest rate moves.

    Stagflation, defined as a period of stalled economic growth paired with persistent high inflation, remains a worst-case scenario for markets because the Fed has no policy tools that can effectively address both problems at once. Tightening policy to curb inflation can worsen growth slowdowns, while cutting rates to stimulate growth can push already high inflation even higher.

    In energy markets on Monday, benchmark crude prices fell. Brent crude, the global pricing standard, declined 0.3% to $88.24 per barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 0.9% to $81.65 per barrel. Oil market sentiment remains jittery amid unclear prospects for a diplomatic resolution to tensions around Iran, with the critical Strait of Hormuz – a key shipping chokepoint for Middle Eastern oil and gas exports – facing disruptions that threaten global supply stability.

    In currency markets, the U.S. dollar weakened against the Japanese yen, falling to 158.88 yen from 159.32 yen in previous trading. The euro ticked higher against the dollar, rising to $1.1611 from $1.1588.

  • Japan’s economy manages 1.1% growth rate despite headwinds

    Japan’s economy manages 1.1% growth rate despite headwinds

    New government data released Monday shows Japan’s economy recorded slower-than-expected growth in the April-June 2026 quarter, as persistent domestic consumer weakness and geopolitical energy market disruptions offset export gains driven by global automotive and AI-linked semiconductor demand.

    Cabinet Office figures indicate that real gross domestic product (GDP), the total adjusted value of all goods and services produced across the nation, expanded 0.3% in the second quarter compared to the first three months of the year. When annualized — a metric that projects what growth would look like if the second quarter’s pace held for 12 full months — the expansion hit 1.1%, a marked pullback from the 2.1% annualized growth recorded in the January-March period.

    Domestic demand remained a major drag on overall growth: private consumption, which accounts for a large share of Japan’s economic activity, fell 1.2% quarter-over-quarter. This pullback comes amid persistent cost-of-living pressures that have hit household budgets particularly hard. A sharply weakened yen has raised the cost of imported raw materials and energy, pushing up domestic prices while wage growth has stayed far too stagnant to offset these increases for most consumers.

    On the export side, growth slowed to just 0.5% in the quarter, but the sector still delivered critical support to overall GDP. That modest expansion was fueled by sustained global demand for two of Japan’s most prominent exports: passenger vehicles from industry leaders including Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., and semiconductors, where global appetite has surged amid the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence development that requires high-powered chip capacity. The weaker yen has also worked in favor of large Japanese exporters, as it inflates the value of their overseas earnings once converted back to yen. Government consumption bucked the domestic trend, rising 1.6% quarter-over-quarter.

    The biggest headwind facing Japan’s economy this year stems from the ongoing war in Iran, which has disrupted critical oil shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz. As a resource-poor nation that imports nearly all of its crude oil, Japan is disproportionately vulnerable to spikes in global energy prices. The partial blockage of the key Persian Gulf shipping route, which carries the majority of Middle Eastern oil exports to Asian markets, has pushed up crude prices substantially: Brent crude currently trades around $88 per barrel, up from roughly $65 per barrel a year ago, though prices have pulled back from earlier this year when they surged above $110 per barrel. In response to the market crunch, Japanese authorities have released strategic oil reserves and are working to secure alternative supply routes.

    Monday’s growth figures fell short of analyst forecasts, deepening concerns over the trajectory of Japan’s economy this year. On currency markets, the U.S. dollar traded near the 160 yen mark shortly after the data release, hovering just off 159 yen — a level well above the 145 yen exchange rate recorded one year earlier. While the weak yen benefits exporters, it erodes household purchasing power by raising import costs, creating a persistent policy dilemma for Japanese officials.

    Political pressure is also mounting for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who has made restarting sustained economic growth a central policy pledge. While Takaichi’s approval ratings remain higher than those of many recent predecessors, they have trended steadily downward in recent months as public frustration over rising prices grows.

    Despite the weaker-than-expected second quarter reading, the Bank of Japan recently adjusted its full fiscal year growth outlook upward, raising its projection to 0.6% for the 12-month period ending March 2027, up from an earlier forecast of 0.5%.

  • India built the world’s biggest digital payments miracle. Now comes the bill

    India built the world’s biggest digital payments miracle. Now comes the bill

    For more than a decade, instant, no-fee digital payments via India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) have become a seamless part of daily life for hundreds of millions of people across the country. From street-side vegetable vendors in Kolkata to horseback riding operators on coastal beaches, businesses large and small display simple printed QR codes that let customers complete transactions in seconds, no cash, card machines, or visible charges required. But that long-standing no-fee model may be poised for change, as New Delhi paves the way for banks and payment processing firms to impose a small merchant discount rate (MDR) on certain UPI transactions, kicking off a high-stakes debate over the future of the world’s most active real-time payment network.

    The government has emphasized that consumers and person-to-person UPI transfers will remain completely free of charge. Under current proposals, fees would only apply to transactions above a set threshold at larger businesses, with the proposed MDR ranging between 0.3% and 0.5% — a small cut that merchants pay to the banks and fintech companies that process UPI payments. Officials are still finalizing the exact rate and scope of the new policy, but early frameworks are crafted to limit disruption to everyday small-value transactions.

    The stakes of this policy shift are hard to overstate. Since its launch in 2016, UPI has grown from a niche digital payments experiment to a global powerhouse, fundamentally reshaping how India does business. Official data shows that in July alone, the network processed 23.6 billion transactions worth a total of 29.87 trillion rupees, equal to roughly $313.5 billion. In the 2025-2026 financial year, total annual transactions hit nearly 241.6 billion — almost 12,000 times the volume recorded in UPI’s first full year of operation. Today, more than 550 million Indians use the system regularly, and UPI has expanded beyond India’s borders to enable digital payments in 11 other countries.

    Unlike many closed, privately owned payment networks, UPI’s unique open design has been central to its success. India built a shared, public digital infrastructure operated by the non-profit National Payments Corporation of India, allowing competing fintech providers such as Google Pay and PhonePe to battle for customers while still enabling cross-platform transactions. But what many observers overlook is the critical role that merchant incentives, specifically the zero-MDR policy, played in driving the network’s explosive growth.

    New research from economists Abhinav Motheram and Sharon Buteau confirms that widespread merchant acceptance was not just a side effect of UPI’s popularity — it was one of the core drivers of adoption. Districts with denser merchant networks consistently saw faster, higher uptake of UPI among consumers. For small, informal traders such as vegetable sellers and street food vendors, accepting UPI requires no expensive card terminal, only a cheap printed QR code. With no processing fees to absorb, there was virtually no financial barrier for these small businesses to join the network, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of adoption: more merchants attracted more users, which in turn attracted more merchants.

    The current proposal is intentionally designed to minimize disruption to this dynamic. One leading option under discussion would apply fees only to transactions above 2,000 rupees at large businesses, leaving small traders and low-value everyday purchases completely untouched. According to analysis from global brokerage firm Jefferies, transactions above this threshold make up just 4% of total UPI merchant transaction volumes, but account for roughly 67% of the total value of those transactions. This structure would allow banks and payment firms to collect up to an estimated $1 billion in new annual revenue, while leaving payments to neighborhood grocers and local vendors unchanged.

    The push for fees also addresses a growing, unignorable financial reality: while UPI feels free to users, it is not free to operate. Servers must be maintained, transactions settled in real time, fraud detected, and the entire system defended against constant cyber threats. For a decade, the Indian government has compensated banks and payment providers for these costs, framing UPI as a public infrastructure project to expand digital inclusion. But as Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra recently noted, “Someone will have to pay the cost” of maintaining the network long-term.

    Still, economists warn that the impact of even a small fee depends heavily on which merchants it affects. Small informal traders operate on extremely thin profit margins, so even a nominal MDR could change their incentives to accept UPI — particularly in less developed districts where merchant networks are still growing and adoption has not yet matured. Motheram warns that if fees eventually expand to cover small and informal traders, they could slow the expansion of the merchant network that has been the backbone of UPI’s success. “Even a small fee could matter if it changes the incentives of small merchants operating on thin margins,” he explained.

    India now faces a delicate balancing act: it needs to make UPI financially sustainable for providers, without eroding the open, low-barrier conditions that turned the network into a national utility. The challenge is not unprecedented: Brazil’s successful instant payment system Pix also offers free transactions for individual users, while allowing low-cost processing fees for businesses, and it has become the world’s fastest-growing real-time payment network with more than 140 million users and 4 billion monthly transactions.

    Economist Renuka Sane argues that a well-designed fee structure could bring “commercial sanity” to India’s digital payment ecosystem, allowing providers to price risk properly, invest in infrastructure upgrades, and build a more resilient network long-term. Most experts agree that the powerful network effects of UPI make a mass exodus of users unlikely even after fees are introduced, especially with fees limited to large high-value transactions. But there are still notable risks: a 2024 survey from Indian polling firm LocalCircles found that 75% of UPI users said they would stop using the service if transaction fees were imposed, with just 22% willing to pay.

    The larger risk is more subtle: if merchant fees reduce small businesses’ enthusiasm for accepting UPI, or discourage new small traders from joining the network, UPI could lose the frictionless, universally accepted quality that made it a household name. After a first decade spent building the network and onboarding hundreds of millions of users and millions of merchants, India is now entering its third era of UPI: figuring out how to fund the system without undermining the success that made it a global model for digital public infrastructure.

  • Ireland’s small but determined wine industry warming up

    Ireland’s small but determined wine industry warming up

    For centuries, Ireland has been globally synonymous with two iconic alcoholic beverages: creamy, rich stouts and smooth, amber-hued whiskey. When asked to name a signature Irish drink, few people around the world would immediately reach for a glass of local wine. That narrative is now shifting, however, after the European Commission formally granted the Republic of Ireland official recognition as a wine-producing country – a milestone that caps decades of slow, steady experimentation by local grape growers and winemakers.

    Today, Ireland remains home to only a small handful of commercial vineyards, alongside dozens of small-scale hobbyists testing growing conditions across the country. But the total area of land dedicated to viticulture has expanded consistently year over year, with a major new development near Slane in County Meath marking the largest single vine planting in Irish history: roughly 36,000 grape vines spread across 30 hectares of land.

    David Llewellyn, one of the pioneers of modern Irish winemaking, first entered the sector in the late 1980s, when he began testing dozens of different grape varieties to identify which strains could survive Ireland’s cool, wet maritime climate. He founded Lusca Vineyard in County Dublin in 2002, and today the small operation produces between 1,500 and 2,000 bottles of wine annually. For most consumers, Llewellyn notes, Irish wine is still viewed as a curious novelty, not a serious commercial product.

    After decades of trial and error, Llewellyn has settled on two grape varieties that he says are uniquely suited to Irish conditions: the red grape Rondo and the white variety Madeline Angevine. He explains that very few grape types can be grown reliably in Ireland, and that Irish viticulture faces far more challenging conditions than its counterpart across the Irish Sea in the United Kingdom. “It’s less marginal than we are – we are really the extreme,” Llewellyn says. Classic European grape varieties that thrive in southern England, such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, cannot survive in Ireland’s climate, he warns, even as some new growers continue to attempt to plant these ill-suited strains.

    Llewellyn now makes a point of connecting with emerging Irish winemakers to share his decades of hard-won knowledge, arguing that successful Irish wine production is achievable for any grower who selects the right grape varieties for the right location, and builds the necessary skills to work with Ireland’s unique conditions. He hopes the domestic industry grows in a thoughtful, sustainable way, rather than rushing to expand at the cost of quality, warning that the spread of substandard “fake Irish wine” made with incorrectly grown grapes or imported bulk product poses the biggest threat to the young sector’s credibility.

    Further south in County Waterford, David Dennison launched Viking Winery in 2009, starting with just 30 Rondo vines. Today, his operation spans 3.5 hectares, growing 14 different grape varieties to produce red, white, and pet nat sparkling wine. All of Dennison’s grapes are hybrid varieties, cross-bred from multiple distinct grape species to combine disease resistance with favorable flavor profiles.

    Dennison is convinced hybrid grapes hold the key to the future of Irish winemaking. “The flavours you get from the wines are just spectacular,” he says. As an certified organic producer, he does not use any chemical sprays, a practice made possible by the natural disease resistance of hybrid grapes that aligns perfectly with Ireland’s cool, damp climate. His winery currently produces between 2,500 and 3,000 bottles annually, and he projects output will reach 4,500 bottles this year, with a long-term target of 15,000 bottles once all his vines reach full production.

    Unlike many Irish producers who look to the UK for industry benchmarks, Dennison follows developments in Scandinavian viticulture in Sweden and Denmark, where growers are facing the same cool climate challenges that define Irish wine production. Like all agricultural crops in Ireland, grape growing is heavily dependent on weather conditions, with late spring frost posing one of the biggest annual threats to early white grape harvests, requiring growers to deploy protective candles and burners to save crops.

    Dennison is currently organizing a new Irish Winemakers’ Association, which has already attracted nearly 30 prospective members who agree to adhere to shared production and labeling rules. The need for clearer industry standards was highlighted recently, when a large County Louth winery was dropped by its distributor after its labeling failed to disclose that it used imported French grapes for some of its production.

    Climate change expert Professor John Sweeney says he is not surprised by the emergence of a commercial Irish wine industry, and expects viticulture will become increasingly viable as average summer temperatures in Ireland continue to rise. “Viticulture benefits from relatively dry summers and again the models are predicting summers will become drier in Ireland,” he explains. Most existing Irish vineyards are located on the country’s east coast, where well-drained, sandy soils provide ideal growing conditions, and Sweeney does not expect the industry to expand rapidly across the whole country. However, by the end of the century, shifting temperatures could open up new areas to commercial viticulture, including parts of Northern Ireland, where well-drained sandy areas around Dundrum could become viable growing regions. At present, he notes, the wetter, cooler climates of western and northwestern Ireland are unlikely to become suitable for commercial grape growing.

    For the sector’s pioneers, the road ahead remains long. Dennison notes that most consumers still do not even know Ireland produces wine, and low overall output means the product rarely reaches a mass audience. But as the new official recognition from the European Commission paves the way for future growth, producers are optimistic that Irish wine will eventually carve out its own unique space in the global market, as long as growth remains rooted in quality and transparency.

  • Gig economy workers guaranteed new minimum pay rate and accident insurance

    Gig economy workers guaranteed new minimum pay rate and accident insurance

    Starting this Monday, hundreds of thousands of Australian gig economy food delivery workers will see long-overdue pay increases and foundational workplace protections, after a once-in-a-decade regulatory agreement secured endorsement from the Fair Work Commission. The historic reforms, the product of years of negotiations between the Transport Workers Union (TWU), industry giants Uber Eats and DoorDash, and the Australian government, will roll out across every food delivery platform operating in the country, marking the first time gig workers classified as independent contractors have received formal minimum standards protections.

    Under the agreed framework, a new minimum safety net pay structure modeled on the metered system long used in the taxi industry will take effect. Pay is counted from the moment a delivery worker accepts an order through to the completion of the drop-off, with guaranteed hourly rates between AU$31.30 and AU$32.00, adjusted based on whether the worker uses a car, motorbike, or bicycle. If a worker’s total earnings fall below this minimum threshold over a pay period, the platforms are required to cover the difference within three weeks. Beyond base pay, the new rules also grant workers access to mandatory accident insurance, formal representation rights, a seat at the table in sector-wide decision-making, and structured dispute resolution processes for unfair treatment.

    TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine emphasized that the reforms correct decades of systemic exploitation that left gig workers without basic safeguards. Since the gig economy first expanded into Australia, Kaine explained, federal and state governments rolled out the red carpet for platform companies, allowing them to avoid longstanding labor protections by classifying workers as independent contractors. For years, data collected by the union showed that off-peak hourly earnings could drop as low as AU$11 an hour, well below Australia’s mandatory minimum wage, even as peak-hour earnings could exceed the new AU$32 threshold. Workers also faced arbitrary dismissal via automated algorithms, with no avenue for appeal when chatbots deactivated their accounts without cause. Most critically, Kaine noted, these poor working conditions created deadly pressure: 25 Australian food delivery riders have died in road accidents since 2017, a crisis driven by underpaying that forces workers to rush and take unnecessary risks to make ends meet. “The more you pay workers on the road, the less risks they take,” Kaine said, adding that the new rules will allow consumers to enjoy the convenience of food delivery without endangering the lives of the workers providing the service.

    Industry experts frame the reforms as a global trailblazer in gig economy regulation. Associate Professor Alex Veen of the University of Sydney explained that the policy framework, a decade in development, was finalized after the Albanese government passed regulatory reform in 2024 that opened the door for the Fair Work Commission to set standards for independent contractors. Prior to the changes, the commission had no authority to set rules for gig workers, as they were not legally classified as employees. Veen noted that Australia’s sectoral approach, which allows tailored minimum standards for different types of platform work, sets a new global benchmark for gig worker protection. “This is the first ever minimum standards order issued for this workforce, after years of collaboration across government, unions, and platform companies,” Veen said.

    Both major platforms have welcomed the reforms and committed to not passing extra costs onto consumers. A DoorDash spokesperson noted that the biggest outcome of the changes is long-term regulatory certainty for both businesses and workers, adding that the company plans to offset any increased labor costs through operational efficiency improvements rather than price hikes. “We are not planning price increases as a result of this order as the current rates included in the order are set at a sustainable level,” the spokesperson said. Ed Kitchen, managing director of Uber Eats for Australia and New Zealand, echoed this commitment, saying the company would prioritize internal efficiency gains to protect affordability for consumers and partner restaurants. Kaine added that years of below-market wages allowed platforms to pad their profit margins, meaning companies have room to absorb the new pay costs without raising consumer prices. If platforms do choose to increase prices, Kaine said, most consumers would likely accept a small premium to guarantee workers fair pay and safe working conditions.

  • Prabowo touts Indonesia’s economic growth and investment gains in State of the Nation address

    Prabowo touts Indonesia’s economic growth and investment gains in State of the Nation address

    In a nationally televised annual State of the Nation address delivered to Indonesia’s parliament in Jakarta on Friday, President Prabowo Subianto highlighted the Southeast Asian nation’s strongest first-half economic expansion in 13 years, projecting that full-year growth could hit 6% despite persistent global economic volatility. However, his optimistic outlook has drawn pushback from economists, who argue headline growth numbers are disconnected from the everyday struggles of ordinary Indonesians.

    Prabowo outlined that Indonesia’s economy grew 5.61% in the first quarter of 2024, followed by a 5.45% expansion in the first half of the year. This marks the highest first-quarter and first-semester growth rate the country has recorded since 2011. “With the right policies, rational policies and policies based on common sense, I am confident our economic growth can reach 6% by the end of this year,” the president told the assembled lawmakers, striking a confident tone in his speech.

    Notably, Prabowo emphasized that robust GDP growth and rising investment are not ends in themselves. He stressed that the true measure of economic success lies in whether expansion translates to improved welfare for the general population, particularly low-income households. “For me, growth and investment are not the final goal. Our goal is the welfare of our people,” Prabowo said. “High growth that cannot be enjoyed by most of our people is of no benefit to us.”

    The address came ahead of Indonesia’s 81st Independence Day celebrations on Monday, with the president outlining that every rupiah of incoming investment should be directed toward creating formal employment, expanding access to critical public services, and boosting government support for vulnerable communities. He cited recent investment data to back up his administration’s track record: realized investment hit 1,931 trillion rupiah (equivalent to $108 billion) in 2023, generating more than 2.7 million new jobs, while first-half 2024 investment reached 1,010 trillion rupiah ($56.7 billion), creating an additional 1.4 million positions.

    Prabowo also highlighted several flagship social and economic policies his administration has rolled out, which he said are already delivering tangible benefits to Indonesians. These include the signature Free Nutritious Meals program, expanded social assistance schemes, and regulatory policies designed to boost downstream processing of Indonesia’s abundant natural resources, moving the country beyond exporting unprocessed raw materials. “Our promise of nutritious meals, social assistance and down-streaming is no longer merely a plan on paper,” he said. “It is already underway, and the people are feeling the benefits.”

    Launched in 2023 to address widespread malnutrition, the Free Nutritious Meals program aims to deliver free daily meals to nearly 90 million school-aged children and pregnant women across the archipelago. Beyond improving public nutrition, the government designed the initiative to stimulate demand for local agricultural goods and support employment across the domestic food supply chain. However, the program has faced growing public and regulatory scrutiny in recent weeks following a string of food poisoning incidents that have sickened thousands of students nationwide. Most recently, on Thursday, 269 students from three high schools in Karo Regency, North Sumatra, fell ill after eating meals supplied through the government program.

    Beyond concerns over the free meals initiative, some independent economists have questioned whether the government’s strong growth figures align with the economic realities facing most Indonesian households. Nailul Huda, a researcher at Jakarta-based think tank the Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios), pointed to slowing household consumption, rising layoffs, and persistent challenges in securing stable formal work as evidence that the benefits of recent growth have not been widely shared.

    Huda noted that softening consumer confidence and ongoing labor market concerns point to a clear gap between headline GDP growth and the daily experiences of most Indonesians, especially those in lower income brackets. “The government always claims the economy is growing strongly, but lower-income communities do not feel it,” Huda said.

  • China’s viral ‘spicy strips’ take a bite of global snack market

    China’s viral ‘spicy strips’ take a bite of global snack market

    In a state-of-the-art production facility nestled in Pingjiang county, Hunan province — the birthplace of China’s iconic latiao, or spicy strips — uniformed workers with protective masks carefully season and sort through massive piles of the chewy, flavor-packed snack that is quickly winning over consumers far beyond China’s borders.

    A unique combination of spicy, sweet, and satisfyingly chewy, latiao are crafted by cooking wheat flour dough under controlled high temperature and pressure, resulting in the product’s signature spongy, reddish texture that resembles oil-coated flattened french fries. What began as an improvised emergency food source in the wake of a 1998 natural disaster has evolved into a massive Chinese domestic industry valued at over 60 billion yuan ($8.9 billion), and is now rapidly expanding into international markets fueled by rising global interest in Chinese culture, a trend dubbed “Chinamaxxing” online.

    The Hunan facility visited by Agence France-Presse, operated by leading domestic brand Mala Wangzi, produces nearly 700 tonnes of latiao daily — all currently sold within China. But across the industry, the snack has built a loyal global fanbase. According to Mala Wangzi Vice President Li Manliang, latiao from Chinese producers are now exported to more than 160 countries and regions, marking a clear shift toward full internationalization of the industry. Regional expansion in East and Southeast Asia has been particularly rapid, while consumers in North America, Australia and Europe are increasingly purchasing the snacks through specialty Asian grocery stores, cross-border e-commerce platforms, and viral social media content.

    Weilong, China’s largest latiao producer listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, reported overseas revenue of 117 million yuan last year, representing a nearly 50 percent jump from 2024. Social media platforms TikTok and Instagram are flooded with user-generated content of first-time foreign tasters reacting to the snack’s signature heat and texture. One influencer’s video of eating a full-scale model house constructed entirely from latiao racked up 1.5 million views, while an Australian food reviewer’s clip of testing an extra-large latiao gained 2.6 million views and earned a glowing endorsement: “If you can handle your spice, I think you would enjoy this. Highly, highly recommend.”

    The history of latiao stretches back to 1998, when devastating floods in Pingjiang destroyed the region’s entire soybean crop, wiping out the local industry for traditional dried tofu snacks. Local food producers improvised the first latiao using accessible wheat flour as a substitute, creating the emergency staple that would eventually become a national cultural snack. For decades, latiao carried a public reputation as an unhealthy, unhygienic “junk food” — a stigma that major brands have invested years of work to overcome through improved food safety practices and transparent production.

    “When I was young, my parents always said latiao had too many additives,” explained 22-year-old Beijing resident Wang Jingfei. “But as the industry has matured and major brands have prioritized food safety standards, most people don’t see it as a problem to eat occasionally now.” At the Mala Wangzi facility, production staff regularly livestream tours of the factory floor to showcase its strict hygiene protocols, which Li says follow standards similar to those used in the pharmaceutical industry. The brand has also reformulated its recipes to align with modern consumer preferences for healthier options, cutting back on oil, salt, sugar and artificial additives while shifting to more natural raw ingredients.

    To connect with its core consumer base of younger shoppers, Mala Wangzi has rolled out a range of creative marketing initiatives: pop-up latiao museums across major Chinese cities, over 4,000 official latiao-themed weddings for super fan couples, and sponsorships for e-sports tournaments, music festivals and anime conventions. For many young Chinese consumers, the snack remains a beloved comfort food. “I find latiao quite addictive and actually really stress-relieving,” said 24-year-old consumer Yang Xuhao. “If I don’t want a full meal, I’ll just eat latiao, and I always have a pack to snack on while I watch shows.”

    Still, the snack’s image rehabilitation is not complete. Some consumers have cut latiao out of their diets to prioritize healthier lifestyles. “I picked up the habit when I was in school, but I’ve quit now,” said 22-year-old Li Peng. “I want to keep a healthy routine and get in shape, so I stopped eating them.” Some international tasters have also voiced mixed feedback: one foreign reviewer’s viral video with 2.8 million views described latiao as “kind of like chewy tofu” and noted it was “very oily” compared to popular Western snacks. Even so, the ongoing global growth of latiao shows that Chinese snack culture is increasingly resonating with consumers around the world.

  • Home loan applications plummet as controversial tax changes hit Australian housing market

    Home loan applications plummet as controversial tax changes hit Australian housing market

    Australia’s national housing market is facing a sharp downturn, with new official data showing home loan commitments falling for the second consecutive quarter, a drop that leading economists have directly linked to the federal Labor government’s recent overhauls of negative gearing and capital gains tax rules.

    New figures released for the June quarter show nationwide home loan commitments dropped 5.2% to $97.6 billion, following a 3.4% decline in the first three months of the year. The slump has left open house inspections across the country noticeably quieter, with far fewer prospective buyers turning out to view properties as investor activity retreats from the market.

    Maree Kilroy, lead economist at Oxford Economics Australia, told reporters that the tax changes introduced by the government in May have severely eroded investor confidence in the residential property sector. “The changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax have soured investor sentiment,” Kilroy explained. “As expected, driving much of this contraction was investor lending which fell 10.2% in the quarter.”

    To understand the impact of the reforms, it is necessary to break down the changes themselves. Negative gearing is a long-standing tax strategy that allows property investors to offset short-term rental losses against their personal taxable income, reducing their overall annual tax bill. The government’s reforms restricted this benefit, while changes to the Capital Gains Tax replaced a 50% discount for properties held over one year with an indexation model that adjusts for inflation when calculating taxable profit on property sales. The new structure typically leaves investors facing a larger tax bill when they sell their investment properties.

    The downturn has been felt across every major Australian state, with investor lending leading the decline. The only segment of the market that avoided a fall in the total value of lending was first home buyers, even as the raw number of first home buyer loans also slipped. Kilroy noted this anomaly is likely explained by the ongoing uptake of the government’s 5% Deposit Scheme, which allows first time buyers to enter the market with a very small deposit, pushing up average loan sizes and offsetting the decline in loan volumes.

    Treasurer Jim Chalmers has pushed back against criticism from investors and pushed forward with defending the tax reforms, framing the shifts as a deliberate policy to rebalance the housing market in favour of aspiring first time buyers. “It’s early days but these figures are an encouraging sign that the market is shifting in favour of first homebuyers,” Chalmers said. “Our tax reform agenda is all about helping more first homebuyers into the housing market and we expect to see those benefits play out over years, not months. We recognise that people are under pressure and we’re taking action.”

    Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) confirmed the broad nature of the downturn, with lending falling across all borrower categories in the June quarter, bringing total activity back to levels seen at the same time last year. ABS head of finance statistics Mish Tan also noted that the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted the national cash rate for the third time in 2026 during the quarter, adding additional pressure to borrowing conditions. “While the value of home loans increased 6.8 per cent since June quarter 2025, this was lower than the 19.1 per cent annual growth recorded in the March quarter,” Tan said. She added that the 10.2% drop in investor lending marked the largest single-quarter fall for that segment since September 2022.

    The slump in loan demand has already hit the country’s largest lenders, with all four major banks reporting double-digit declines in new mortgage applications through the third quarter of the year. Westpac recorded a 20% drop in applications, while the National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia both saw 15% falls. Looking ahead, Kilroy projected that the slowdown will continue through the coming financial year, predicting that total property turnover across Australia will fall by one fifth in the 2026-27 fiscal year.