Speaker 1: This is what the flucks.
Speaker 2: I'm justin and I'm hashteeve and it's Monday, the twentieth
Speaker 2: of May.
Speaker 1: AG. We spoke last month about the ato's latest crackdown
Speaker 1: on tax debts owed by businesses, and it seems like
Speaker 1: the ATO is pretty serious. According to the latest Starter,
Speaker 1: corporate insolvencies over the past year are fifty percent higher
Speaker 1: free COVID and the main reason the ATO chasing down
Speaker 1: their debts flux spam.
Speaker 2: We are entering winter, or at least it's definitely starting
Speaker 2: to feel that way. In the floodstap we've covered five
Speaker 2: tried and tested ways to manage your energy bill, so
Speaker 2: make sure to check it out and save some money
Speaker 2: on your bills this winter.
Speaker 1: Three warming stories to the AHG.
Speaker 2: Let's get into it for our first.
Speaker 1: Pizza Hut Australia has been fined two and a half
Speaker 1: million dollars for spamming customers with ten million hit delicious
Speaker 1: messages without their consent.
Speaker 2: That is a whole lot of discounts on garlic, bread
Speaker 2: and pizzas and tell.
Speaker 1: Me more so. Pizza Hut is the global pizza franchise
Speaker 1: that first expanded into at in the nineteen seventies and.
Speaker 2: In Australia, the Pizza Hut franchise has been through a
Speaker 2: lot of owners, but since.
Speaker 1: June last year it's been owned by a US franchiser
Speaker 1: operator called the Flynn Restaurant Group.
Speaker 2: But Jazz. Before this new owner came in, Pizza Hut
Speaker 2: Australia was busy telling anyone who'd listen about its.
Speaker 1: Surf and turf pizza or maybe the Bolonaise pasta pizza.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it sent nearly six million texts and emails between
Speaker 2: January and May twenty twenty three to customers who had
Speaker 2: unsubscribed or not consented.
Speaker 1: On top of that, it's sent out more than four
Speaker 1: million marketing emails without an option for their customers to unsubscribe.
Speaker 2: So now the Australian Communications and Media Authority have fined
Speaker 2: Pizza Hut two point five million dollars for these spamy
Speaker 2: marketing messages, and respect for consumer privacy is becoming the
Speaker 2: top of akma's hitlist.
Speaker 1: So what is the key learning here?
Speaker 2: While the cost of sending emails and texts is pretty cheap,
Speaker 2: the cost of breaching these laws is becoming very costly.
Speaker 1: You see, email campaigns can cost a few cents per
Speaker 1: email or sometimes even for free.
Speaker 2: So companies are often tempted to send major email blasts.
Speaker 1: But because of the ease of sending these emails, Akma
Speaker 1: has been actively cracking down on the practice for the
Speaker 1: past eighteen months.
Speaker 2: Get this, Akma has issued more than fifteen million dollars
Speaker 2: in spam and marketing penalties just over the past eighteen months.
Speaker 1: We're talking companies like ticketech opsm kmart, DoorDash and Combank
Speaker 1: as well.
Speaker 2: It can really hurt their reputation.
Speaker 1: And maybe customers might think twice about sharing their details
Speaker 1: with pizza art again, even if it means missing out
Speaker 1: on a SpongeBob Sweet Chili pizza.
Speaker 2: Yeap, those really exist.
Speaker 1: For our second story, Sony Music has sent a warning
Speaker 1: shot to AI companies, accusing them of stealing its artist's
Speaker 1: content without permission.
Speaker 2: This is taking me back to that viral Drake and
Speaker 2: the Weekend song that was actually made by AI. Tell
Speaker 2: us what's going on here?
Speaker 1: Okay? So, Sony Music is the world's second biggest record
Speaker 1: company over by Sony Entertainment, and.
Speaker 2: It's worked with hundreds of artists worldwide, including Billy Joel, Celin,
Speaker 2: Dion and Beiance.
Speaker 1: And now Sony has sent out a letter to over
Speaker 1: seven hundred AI companies warning them not to train their
Speaker 1: AI model on its content without permission.
Speaker 2: Sounds strict. That content includes everything from audio recordings to
Speaker 2: music compositions, lyrics and.
Speaker 1: Cover art, and actually in that letter, Sony asked the
Speaker 1: AI companies to either confirm they haven't used any of
Speaker 1: Sony's content without permission.
Speaker 2: Or disclose exactly how that content was being used in
Speaker 2: AI training.
Speaker 1: Because Sony wants to then discuss licenses. Sony then wants
Speaker 1: to discuss licensing deals with AI companies. You get compensation
Speaker 1: for the content that's been used because.
Speaker 2: It ain't no AI touching texas hold them without Beyonce's approval.
Speaker 1: Absolutely not. This is sounding a little bit familiar though,
Speaker 1: looking at you New York Times.
Speaker 2: So tell me what is the key learning here?
Speaker 1: When one industry identifies a big revenue opportunity, the rest
Speaker 1: often follow you.
Speaker 2: See, Sony's letter has come hot on the heels of
Speaker 2: rising tension between media publications and AI companies.
Speaker 1: YEP. Last year we saw the New York Times see
Speaker 1: open AI and Microsoft for copyright infringement.
Speaker 2: They claim that their content was used in training these
Speaker 2: AI models. So this movement, which was started by media companies,
Speaker 2: has pushed other industries to take action too.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and in the music industry it ain't just sony.
Speaker 2: Artists like Billie Eilish and Nicki Minaj have told AI
Speaker 2: companies to stop and I quote this assault on human creativity.
Speaker 1: And actually this could now influence other creators like photographers, designers,
Speaker 1: filmmakers and more to push for compensation.
Speaker 2: Two your move AI companies.
Speaker 1: For our third and final story, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway
Speaker 1: has finally revealed the mystery business that he is in
Speaker 1: business six point seven billion US dollars into and at
Speaker 1: share price jumped eight percent on the news.
Speaker 2: Buffett's got that midas touched for seventy years, so it's
Speaker 2: no surprise to see the price jump. Tell me more.
Speaker 1: Warren Buffett is one of the most famous investors in
Speaker 1: the whole wide universe.
Speaker 2: He started investing under the Berkshire Hathaway name with his
Speaker 2: mate Charlie Munger.
Speaker 1: He's ninety three and still very involved well. Charlie was
Speaker 1: still operational in the business until he passed away at
Speaker 1: ninety nine.
Speaker 2: Now Berkshire Hathaway is known to be particularly patient with
Speaker 2: its investments.
Speaker 1: Ain't going to make an investment just because it's got
Speaker 1: a heap of cash.
Speaker 2: In fact, Berkshire Hathaway had one hundred an eighty two
Speaker 2: billion usd in cash in March this year.
Speaker 1: But now Berkshire Hathaways announced its investment of six point
Speaker 1: seven billion US dollars in a new company, Sharp Insurance.
Speaker 2: And sort off shares in Apple, which was their largest investment.
Speaker 1: Got to say that really hurts Apple being traded out
Speaker 1: for a pretty bland insurance company.
Speaker 2: But after the investment announcement, the share price in Chub
Speaker 2: Insurance jumped eight percent.
Speaker 1: And it seems like Buffet's really got a thing for
Speaker 1: insurance businesses because of its float.
Speaker 2: So what's the key learning here?
Speaker 1: Some industries are inherently positioned for success thanks to their
Speaker 1: unique financial structures.
Speaker 2: Take the insurance industry, for example, Insurers collect premiums from
Speaker 2: customers now, but claims aren't paid out until later, or.
Speaker 1: More likely never.
Speaker 2: This is called the float. It acts as a free
Speaker 2: loan for the insurer.
Speaker 1: And insurers can invest this float money in the in
Speaker 1: between time for their own benefit, like in.
Speaker 2: Other companies like Coca Cola or American Express heard of them.
Speaker 1: Before, I think maybe once or twice, and a she
Speaker 1: Berkshey Hathaway's floats across its insurance businesses has grown to
Speaker 1: over a hundred dudred and sixty four billion US dollars.
Speaker 2: And this idea of the flow is why Berkshire Hathaway
Speaker 2: has significant investments in four large insurers.
Speaker 1: There's Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance, there's Geico, there's General Reinsurance, and
Speaker 1: now they've welcomed Chub Insurance into the fold too. I
Speaker 1: read that article on how to save money on my
Speaker 1: electricity and energy this winter, and I'm very much looking
Speaker 1: forward to putting that in practice. So fox Ham, if
Speaker 1: you want to know the top five things to do
Speaker 1: to reduce your energy bell this winter, make sure to
Speaker 1: download the Flux app and check it all out.
Speaker 2: Thanks for listening and we'll see you on Wednesday,