Australian IVF screening start-up pulls Nasdaq IPO, blames US tariffs
An Australian technology start-up, which has developed a test to screen embryos for thousands of genetic diseases, has ditched its plan to list on the Nasdaq, after the chairman blamed US President Donald Trump's tariff chaos for spooking investors.
GenEmbryomics had been preparing for its float for 18 months, but failed to raise the full $US5.3 million ($8.4 million) for its initial public offering by April 8, a date that coincided with the bottom of the sharp global sharemarket correction triggered by Trump's tariff policies.
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AU Financial Review
34 minutes ago
- AU Financial Review
NATO's ‘daddy' trick; 10 ASX stock picks; Heart risk for super fit
Want to get this in your inbox at lunchtime every weekday? Financial Review subscribers can sign up for The Brief newsletter here. Plus start your day with our Before the Bell newsletter and read a full wrap of the day's news in Market Wrap. In today's news, NATO's 'daddy strategy' conquers Donald Trump, Macquarie lists 10 ASX stock picks for a cold winter, and there's a heart condition that's a side effect of being super fit.
SBS Australia
36 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
Midday News Bulletin 26 June 2025
In this bulletin; NATO members agree to raise defence spending to 5 percent of GDP; President Trump praised by head of NATO for attack on Iran's nuclear programme; And in cricket, day one of Australia's First Test against the West Indies ends in controversy. Leaders of the member states of the North Atlantic Treaty organisation, NATO, have agreed to boost defence spending to 5% of their countries' GDP by 2035. The move follows months of pressure from U-S President Donald Trump. "I've been asking them to go up to five per cent for a number of years - and they're going up to five per cent." The US president described the decision, taken at a two-day NATO summit in The Hague, as a "big win for Europe and... Western civilisation". In a joint statement, members said they were united against "profound" security challenges, in particular the long-term threat posed by Russia. NATO secretary General Mark Rutte said the decision had been a hard one, but was urgently necessary. "Countries have to find the money. It's not easy. These are political decisions. I totally recognise that. But at the same time there is absolute conviction, with my colleagues at the table tha, given this threat from the Russians, that given the international security situation, there is no alternative. We've got to do this." Mr Rutte also praised President Trump for Tuesday's bombing mission which targetted Iran's nuclear program and suspected development of an atomic weapon. "The fact that he took this decisive action, very targeted, to make sure Iran wouldn't get his hands on a nuclear capability, I think he deserves all the praise." Tehran says the country's nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and denies accusations it's developing a nuclear weapon. Iran's parliament has unanimously agreed to suspend all cooperation with the IAEA, the UN's nuclear regulator. The move was in response to the USA's bombing of the country's major nuclear facilities , and Israel's 12 days of airstrikes on its nuclear infrastructure as well as scientists and high-ranking military officers. The step will make it harder for an independent expert assessment of the damage inflicted on Iran's three key nuclear sites. It also makes it harder for the location of any highly enriched uranium to be uncovered. Two of Australia's big four banks are predicting a cut in interest rates when the Reserve Bank next meets following better-than-expected inflation numbers. Headline inflation for May fell to 2.1 per cent from 2.4 per cent the previous month, defying predictions of inflation remaining steady. The Reserve Bank hands down its next cash rate decision on July 8th, when the Commonwealth Bank and NAB believe the next cut will be announced. Westpac and ANZ predict a lowering of the cash rate in August. Harry Murphy Cruise from Oxford Economics told the SBS On the Money Podcast this is signalling a change in priorities. "Really I think the economy is moving into a slightly different phase from one where we're focussed on taming inflation to something where we're really trying to support growth." A woman will face court today accused of hacking her university's database in an attempt to save on parking. Police allege the 27 year old is behind a series of cyber attacks on Western Sydney University beginning in 2021, which began with an attempt to secure unauthorised discounts for parking on campus. She's accused of escalating her hacking activity to make alterations to her academic results, as well as threats to sell other students' confidential data on the dark web. It is believed that hundreds of staff and students were affected in the series of alleged hacks involving unauthorised access, data ex-filtration, system compromises and unauthorised use of the institution's infrastructure. The opening day of Australia's First Test against the West Indies has ended in controversy, after star batter Usman Khawaja refused an interview with local broadcaster SEN Radio, in protest over the network's treatment of cricket journalist Peter Lalor. Lalor was dropped from SEN's coverage of Australia's Sri Lanka tour in February after posting articles about Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on social media. Khawaja, at the time, publicly supported the veteran journalist online. The furor comes after Khawaja scored 47 runs on a disastrous first day for the Aussies in Barbados, who finished all out for 180. Top-order batter Sam Konstas was bowled out for three, as was Cameron Green, at the hands of Shamar West Indies seam bowler taking four wickets for 46.
SBS Australia
36 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
NATO allies raise defence spending at summit dominated by Donald Trump
NATO countries have agreed to hike defence spending at a major summit in The Hague. The military alliance endorsed raising member countries' defence spending goal from two per cent of GDP to five per cent by 2035. It follows sustained pressure from US President Donald Trump, whose leadership was praised at the summit by NATO Secretary Mark Rutte. "We stand together, united in NATO, the most powerful defensive alliance in world history. President Trump, dear Donald, you made this change possible. Your leadership on this has already produced one trillion dollars in extra spending from European allies since 2016. And the decisions today will produce trillions more for our common defence to make us stronger and fairer by equalising spending between America and America's allies." Spain stood out as a notable exception, refusing to commit to the spending boost, which prompted this warning from Mr Trump. "I'm going to negotiate directly with Spain. I'm going to do it myself. They're going to pay, they'll pay more money this way. You should tell them to go back and pay - you're a reporter? Tell them to go back. They ought to join all of those countries that are paying five per cent." The US President has dominated the summit, with a series of characteristically controversial comments. He compared the recent US strike on Iran's nuclear facilities with the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, for example. Mr Rutte also captured attention with his colourful comparison of Donald Trump to a geopolitical "daddy" when discussing the Israel-Iran war. TRUMP: "They're not going to be fighting each other. They've had it. They've had a big fight, like two kids in a schoolyard. You know, they fight like hell. You can't stop them. Let them fight for about two, three minutes. Then it's easier to stop them." RUTTE: "And then daddy has to sometimes use strong language." TRUMP: "You have to use strong language, every once in a while, you have to use a certain word." That certain word was an expletive uttered by Mr Trump on his way to the summit - as he tried to hold together the ceasefire he'd brokered. "We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the f**k they're doing." So far the ceasefire appears to be holding, something many Western leaders see as lending credence to Mr Trump's self-styled role as a peacemaker. One conflict the US president has had less success in ending is Russia's war with Ukraine, despite declaring during the presidential campaign he could end the war in one day. Resolving the conflict was high on the NATO agenda, and Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles offered more support at the summit to help Ukraine continue fighting. ' We have been able to announce that we will be deploying an E-7 Wedgetail to Poland in August for a three month rotation, which will help support Ukraine in its struggle and defiance against Russia. There'll be about 100 strand personnel who come with that asset. In addition to that, we've also announced more sanctions in relation to Russia." Under the arrangement, Australia will apply travel bans and financial sanctions to an additional 37 individuals, in an effort to weaken Russia's economy and push it towards peace with Ukraine. The US president also took the opportunity to pressure Russia, calling on President Vladimir Putin to end the war, and raising the prospect of more military support for Ukraine. "So let me just tell you, they do want to have the anti-missile missiles. Okay. As they call them. The Patriots and, we're going to see if we can make some available. You know, they're very hard to get. We need them too." Hanging over the summit was the more fundamental question of whether the United States remains committed to Article 5 - which outlines NATO's mutual defence guarantees. Mr Trump gave an ambiguous response when asked about this - which is unlikely to satisfy the concerns of countries left unsure about longstanding security arrangements. "Depends on your definition, there's numerous definitions of Article 5, you know that, right? But I'm committed to being their friend. You know, I've become friends with many of those leaders, and I'm committing to helping them."
