1 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:06,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Fear and Greed Business News Afternoon Report 2 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: for Thursday, the twenty ninth of January twenty twenty six. 3 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:13,119 Speaker 1: Michael Thompson and every afternoon we've got the five stories 4 00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:15,200 Speaker 1: that happened today that you need to know about. Let's 5 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:17,880 Speaker 1: go a story number one. The smp ASX two hundred 6 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:20,400 Speaker 1: finished the day flat at eighty nine hundred and twenty 7 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:23,120 Speaker 1: seven point five points, but it was a lot lower 8 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:25,760 Speaker 1: earlier in the day with investors wary about the potential 9 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:29,080 Speaker 1: for US strikes on Iran. Those fears sent the price 10 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:32,520 Speaker 1: of gold surging yet again. It hit another new record, 11 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:36,240 Speaker 1: this time five than six hundred and two US dollars, 12 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:39,720 Speaker 1: an ounce that benefited the local gold miners of course, 13 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:44,560 Speaker 1: Northern Star Neumont Evolution all up between two and three 14 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:47,519 Speaker 1: percent today. The price of copper also climbed, hitting a 15 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 1: new record itself that was just shy of fourteen thousand 16 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:53,920 Speaker 1: US dollars a ton. That helped BHP, with the share 17 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:57,040 Speaker 1: price of the big Australian climbing two percent, opening up 18 00:00:57,120 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: more space between it and Commonwealth Bank as the biggest 19 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: company on the course. Not such a great day for 20 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:06,920 Speaker 1: rare earth producers. I Luca Resources fell fourteen percent. Linus 21 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:10,319 Speaker 1: was off nearly four percent. That was on reports out 22 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:13,520 Speaker 1: of the US that the government there may abandon plans 23 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:16,960 Speaker 1: to set price flaws and finally talks of local rate 24 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:21,680 Speaker 1: hikes next week. After yesterday's jump in inflation certainly helped 25 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:24,920 Speaker 1: the Aussie dollar keep on climbing. It reached another three 26 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: year high of seventy point nine to two US cents 27 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:31,039 Speaker 1: under story number two now and on the topic of 28 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:34,880 Speaker 1: interest rates, the US Federal Reservers kept rates on hold overnight, 29 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:37,920 Speaker 1: with chair Jerome Powell signaling that there's little urgency to 30 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:41,040 Speaker 1: cut rates in the world's largest economy. The Fed voted 31 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:44,039 Speaker 1: ten to two to keep its benchmark rates in the 32 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 1: three and a half to three point seventy five percent range. 33 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:50,520 Speaker 1: There were two governors dissenting in favor of a quarter 34 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:53,920 Speaker 1: point cut, Stephen Miron, who was an advisor to Donald 35 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: Trump before being appointed to the board, and Christopher Waller, 36 00:01:57,000 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: who's considered to be a contender to replace Jerome Power. 37 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 1: Powell said that the economy was growing at a solid pace, 38 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:07,360 Speaker 1: unemployment remained broadly stable, and inflation, while still elevated, was 39 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:09,799 Speaker 1: moving in the right direction. He said the FED was 40 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:13,080 Speaker 1: well positioned after last year's rate cuts to let incoming 41 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:16,520 Speaker 1: data guide future decisions, which may not please the President, 42 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:21,400 Speaker 1: whose administration has threatened Jerome power with criminal indictments, a 43 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:23,480 Speaker 1: move that has been rejected by the FED chair as 44 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 1: an effort to put pressure on interest rate decisions. Story 45 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:30,920 Speaker 1: number three. Prime Minister Anthony Aberanezi will meet with state 46 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: and territory leaders tonight and tomorrow to negotiate funding agreements 47 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: for health and hospitals for the next five years. The 48 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:39,680 Speaker 1: Prime Minister said he had put an offer to the 49 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:42,639 Speaker 1: eight governments in writing this week and that I quote, 50 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:46,119 Speaker 1: we have options as a commonwealth if there is no agreement. 51 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:49,399 Speaker 1: Last month, the state and territories rejected a twenty three 52 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 1: billion dollar public hospital funding offer from Canberra. At the time, 53 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:55,640 Speaker 1: Health Minister Mark Butler warned that unless a deal was 54 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 1: reached before South Australia went into caretaker mode in late 55 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:02,200 Speaker 1: February ahead of its March twenty one election, it may 56 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:05,560 Speaker 1: be too late to have any deal in place by 57 00:03:05,639 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: July one next year. Story number four. Apple has spent 58 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:12,120 Speaker 1: the day trying to ensure US older iPhones could still 59 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 1: make regular and emergency calls on Telstra's network. It is 60 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:19,360 Speaker 1: the latest in a series of triple zero failures. Apple 61 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:23,880 Speaker 1: temporarily stopped software updates released earlier this week for three 62 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:28,240 Speaker 1: iPhone models, the iPhone eight, iPhone eight plus, and iPhone X. 63 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 1: The updates included changes to the technology responsible for making 64 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:35,920 Speaker 1: emergency calls, but stop the phones connecting to Telstra's network 65 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:40,600 Speaker 1: making triple zero phone calls. Apple didn't provide details this 66 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:44,240 Speaker 1: morning on exactly what caused the software problem, but indicated 67 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:47,160 Speaker 1: it was not related to the triple zero failures that 68 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:51,640 Speaker 1: had been previously identified by telco groups. And finally, story 69 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:56,200 Speaker 1: number five, Amazon has announced a layoff sixteen thousand more 70 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: corporate staff as it looks to cut bureaucracy and redirect 71 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:04,200 Speaker 1: spending towards artificial intelligence. The cuts follow fourteen thousand layoffs 72 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:08,400 Speaker 1: in October, with this current round long expected to take 73 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 1: place after the holiday shopping season. The company has been 74 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: clear in the past that AI is going to ultimately 75 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:18,919 Speaker 1: mean fewer corporate roles, even as the business itself is 76 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:21,880 Speaker 1: continuing to grow strongly. It's expected to report more than 77 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:26,480 Speaker 1: two hundred and eleven billion US dollars in fourth quarter sales, 78 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 1: profits exceeding twenty one billion US dollars next week. I 79 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 1: told you yesterday that global logistics giant UPS is cutting 80 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 1: up to thirty thousand jobs, closing at least twenty four 81 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 1: facilities this year, and that's largely because it's actually cutting 82 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:43,599 Speaker 1: the number of packages that it delivers for Amazon to 83 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:47,919 Speaker 1: focus on the higher margin deliveries, things like vaccine deliveries. 84 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:50,680 Speaker 1: That's it for the Afternoon Report for Thursday, the twenty 85 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:53,279 Speaker 1: ninth of January twenty twenty six. Make sure you're following 86 00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:55,360 Speaker 1: the podcast and head along to Fear and Greed dot 87 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:58,279 Speaker 1: com dot au to sign up for our free daily newsletter. 88 00:04:58,320 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 1: I'll put a link in today's show notes as well. 89 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:01,760 Speaker 1: AH Michael Thompson. Enjoy your evening.