Latest news with #ByronKaye
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Australian bank CEOs say Trump 'tariff madness' may drive up global inflation
By Christine Chen and Byron Kaye SYDNEY (Reuters) -A trade war sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs may drive up global inflation, stoke market volatility and slow economic growth, the CEOs of two top Australian banks said on Tuesday, but added Australia was insulated from the disruption. The heads of No. 1 retail lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia and No. 1 business lender National Australia Bank told a conference the new U.S. administration's protectionist policies would likely strain the global economy in the medium term with higher costs and lack of certainty. But Australia's roughly $15 billion a year in exports to the U.S. was small compared to its overall export trade, so the country was better placed than Canada, which sells 85% of its exports to the U.S., the financial leaders added. "There's certainly risk to the downside, around slowing global growth," CBA CEO Matt Comyn told the Australian Financial Review Business Summit in Sydney, adding U.S. tariffs would mean "inefficiencies in trade (and) therefore more inflation". CBA had reported a "pronounced uptick" in mortgage applications since the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates last month for the first time since November 2020 to 4.1%, Comyn's head of retail banking Angus Sullivan told the conference earlier. NAB CEO Andrew Irvine said the rate cut had been an "exhale of breath" in the economy, but "tariff madness" under Trump may lower the chance of further cuts this year. Currently NAB expects two 25-basis point cuts in 2025. "We're not an island," Irvine told the conference. "If this tariff madness does happen, we could be at the end of (rate) reductions." Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Australia's Star names Salter Brothers as party behind $590 million refinancing play
By Rishav Chatterjee and Byron Kaye (Reuters) -Australia's No. 2 casino operator Star Entertainment said it has opened its books to investment group Salter Brothers for a debt refinancing proposal worth up to A$940 million ($590 million) that could help stave off a collapse. The proposal from Melbourne-based Salter Brothers, which has investments in commercial real estate assets such as hotels and childcare centres, would enable cash-strapped Star to service the massive debts it acquired during a protracted industry downturn, the casino firm added. It also builds competitive tension between financiers looking to bail out the company in exchange for high lending rates or a potential equity stake. A day earlier, Star said U.S. casino firm Bally's Corp made a refinancing approach that could give it 50.1% of the Australian firm. Salter Brothers and Bally's did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. Star had previously said it received a debt refinancing approach worth up to A$940 million without saying who from. In a two-paragraph statement on Tuesday, Star named Salter Brothers as the party and added that it "has entered into an exclusivity and process deed with Salter Brothers Capital relating to that Refinancing Proposal". A Star spokesperson did not respond to a Reuters request for additional comment. Australia's casino sector has been experiencing a protracted downturn due to damaging regulatory inquiries, as well as lockdowns and a border closure related to COVID-19, followed by rising costs of debt. The company's shares have been suspended from trading since last Monday after it failed to sign off on its half-year accounts by an end-February deadline. The board said at the time it was concerned about the company's ability to meet near-term liabilities. Star said last week it would sell its 50% stake in a just-opened casino in Brisbane to Hong Kong's Far East Consortium International and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises for A$53 million, an asset that media reports said cost A$3.6 billion to build. ($1 = 1.5946 Australian dollars)
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Yahoo
Google reports scale of complaints about AI deepfake terrorism content to Australian regulator
By Byron Kaye SYDNEY (Reuters) - Google has informed Australian authorities it received more than 250 complaints globally over nearly a year that its artificial intelligence software was used to make deepfake terrorism material. The Alphabet-owned tech giant also said it had received dozens of user reports warning that its AI program, Gemini, was being used to create child abuse material, according to the Australian eSafety Commission. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Under Australian law, tech firms must supply the eSafety Commission periodically with information about harm minimisation efforts or risk fines. The reporting period covered April 2023 to February 2024. Since OpenAI's ChatGPT exploded into the public consciousness in late 2022, regulators around the world have called for better guardrails so AI can't be used to enable terrorism, fraud, deepfake pornography and other abuse. The Australian eSafety Commission called Google's disclosure "world-first insight" into how users may be exploiting the technology to produce harmful and illegal content. "This underscores how critical it is for companies developing AI products to build in and test the efficacy of safeguards to prevent this type of material from being generated," eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said in a statement. In its report, Google said it received 258 user reports about suspected AI-generated deepfake terrorist or violent extremist content made using Gemini, and another 86 user reports alleging AI-generated child exploitation or abuse material. It did not say how many of the complaints it verified, according to the regulator. Google used hatch-matching - a system of automatically matching newly-uploaded images with already-known images - to identify and remove child abuse material made with Gemini. But it did not use the same system to weed out terrorist or violent extremist material generated with Gemini, the regulator added. The regulator has fined Telegram and Twitter, later renamed X, for what it called shortcomings in their reports. X has lost one appeal about its fine of A$610,500 ($382,000) but plans to appeal again. Telegram also plans to challenge its fine.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Strike, discounting hit H1 profit for Australia's Woolworths
By Byron Kaye and Himanshi Akhand (Reuters) - Top Australian supermarket chain Woolworths said first-half profit fell the most in a decade as rising living costs spurred bargain-hunting and a warehouse strike left shelves bare, and warned the austerity would weigh on future results. Underlying profit before one-off items tumbled by one-fifth in the six months to January 5 for the company which sells more than one-third of Australian groceries, as a 17-day strike at distribution centres wiped A$240 million ($152.1 million) from sales and shoppers favoured cheaper products. The result shows the Sydney-listed company's exposure to multiple economic pressures: consumers saddled with high housing, energy and fuel costs are increasingly relying on discounts and shopping around for better deals, while workers seize on a low unemployment rate to push back on what they see as onerous demands. Woolworths is Australia's biggest employer with nearly 200,000 staff. Sales of long-life store-brand food jumped 7.1% in the period, nearly three times the rate of overall Woolworths Australian food sales, while the strike of more than 1,500 warehouse workers from November to December slowed food sales by nearly two-thirds from the first to the second quarter. Net profit excluding one-off items fell 20.6% to A$739 million for the six months, missing the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of A$770 million, and the company forecast pre-tax profit would fall in the mid-single digits in the second half. "It is not the result any of us would have liked," CEO Amanda Bardwell told journalists on a call. Woolworths saw from mid-2024 an "acceleration in value-seeking behaviour, and that shift has continued", Bardwell added. Woolworths shares were 2.7% lower in morning trading on Wednesday, against a slightly lower market, as analysts looked past the company's plan to cut A$400 million a year in back-office costs and downgraded full-year forecasts in line with the company's guidance. "The ... cost-out program will be a positive surprise, though the market may be disappointed with the 2H25 Australian food outlook," Citi analysts wrote in a note. E&P analyst Phillip Kimber said in a note that the company's "guidance comments are generally weaker" and suggested Woolworths full-year profit would be 5% lower than previously expected. Woolworths cut its interim dividend to 39 Australian cents per share from 47 Australian cents last year. No. 2 competitor Coles is expected to announce its first-half results on Thursday. ($1 = 1.5768 Australian dollars) ($1 = 1.5783 Australian dollars) Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CoStar makes $1.7 billion play for Australia property classifieds firm Domain
By Scott Murdoch and Byron Kaye (Reuters) - U.S. property data group CoStar made a A$2.65 billion ($1.69 billion) approach for Australian No. 2 real estate classifieds company Domain, swooping on a lacklustre performer in a market primed for a resurgence. The deal would be the first Australian foray for CoStar and would reshape dynamics in a market where listing volumes have sagged as high living costs slowed the country's hot housing sector but are improving as interest rates come down. Domain has for years struggled behind larger classifieds website owned by News Corp-controlled REA Group, and a new owner could invest in marketing to drive up clicks, which determine how much it can charge for listings. CoStar offered A$4.20 a share, a premium of 34.6% over Domain's most recent closing price, the Australian company said, adding it was considering the offer. CoStar declined to comment. Domain shares jumped as much as 45% to a three-year high and were up 39% by midsession at A$4.35, trading above the bid price as investors bet a takeover would go ahead but positioned for a higher offer. "Domain doesn't have an obvious path out of this predicament (and) could certainly use the support," said Morningstar analyst Roy Van Keulen in a research note which gave a "100% probability of the business being acquired for the proposed offer". CoStar acquired a 16.9% stake in its target on Thursday. The deal would bring a capital injection to Domain's 60% owner, newspaper and free-to-air television owner Nine Entertainment, which, like the rest of Australia's media sector, has been grappling with a decision by Facebook owner Meta to cancel content deals. Nine said in a statement it was considering the proposal. Shares of Nine were up 23% at their highest level in a year. Shares of REA were down 11%, while the Australian shares in its 61% owner News Corp slid 7%. The deal would require Foreign Investment Review Board approval. ($1 = 1.5642 Australian dollars) Sign in to access your portfolio
