1
00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:06,800
Speaker 1: It's Thursday, the twenty sixth of February twenty twenty six.

2
00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:09,639
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Fast five Business News by Fear and Greed,

3
00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:11,440
Speaker 1: where we give you the top five business stories you

4
00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:13,680
Speaker 1: need to know in just five minutes. I'm Michael Thompson

5
00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:15,160
Speaker 1: and good morning, Sean Aylmer.

6
00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:17,240
Speaker 2: Morning Michael, Sean.

7
00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:21,400
Speaker 1: If you are listening to this podcast on Spotify and

8
00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:24,439
Speaker 1: you're listening through the your daily drive playlist, what's the

9
00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:26,720
Speaker 1: one thing you need to do right now?

10
00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:29,600
Speaker 2: Press a follow button, Follow, Follow, Follow, Follow.

11
00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:32,320
Speaker 1: Couldn't have said it better myself, because the playlist is

12
00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:34,040
Speaker 1: going to be disappearing soon. If you want to hear

13
00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:36,760
Speaker 1: the Fast five in the future, hit follow so you

14
00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:39,160
Speaker 1: get us in your ears every day. Let's get going

15
00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:41,159
Speaker 1: with the story, Sean. Story number one, the odds of

16
00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:45,760
Speaker 1: an increase in the interest rates in May most likely

17
00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:49,120
Speaker 1: just increased after the January Consumer Price Index showed headline

18
00:00:49,159 --> 00:00:53,360
Speaker 1: inflation stuck at three point eight percent and underlying inflation

19
00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:55,080
Speaker 1: is unfortunately rising.

20
00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:57,360
Speaker 2: Yes, it was supposed to be going the other way.

21
00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:00,680
Speaker 2: Economous thought headline would go from three point eight to

22
00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:04,160
Speaker 2: three point seven. It didn't. It held firm at three

23
00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:07,199
Speaker 2: point eight. The trim mean, that's reserve banks preferred measure

24
00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:09,840
Speaker 2: underlying inflation, the one they think about interest rates on.

25
00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:12,240
Speaker 2: It went from three point three to three point four percent.

26
00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:15,000
Speaker 2: It actually went higher, a sixteen month high. Biggest driver,

27
00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:17,759
Speaker 2: housing up six point eight percent of the year, rent,

28
00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:19,920
Speaker 2: new bills, cost of keeping a roof over your head,

29
00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:23,839
Speaker 2: and unfortunately there's no sign of easing. Financial market reaction

30
00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:26,880
Speaker 2: was immediate. The Aussie dollar jumped, the bond market sold off,

31
00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:29,959
Speaker 2: which suggests that professional investors reckon, we are going to

32
00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:31,160
Speaker 2: have higher interest rates.

33
00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:33,640
Speaker 1: And of course there's been this ongoing barning over where

34
00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:35,959
Speaker 1: the government spending is contributing to all of this. And

35
00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:38,120
Speaker 1: it comes on the same day that Jim Chalmers is

36
00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:39,479
Speaker 1: out there talking about restraint.

37
00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:43,000
Speaker 2: Now, yes, the Treasurer has reportedly asked his department to

38
00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:47,480
Speaker 2: start find finding savings using the phrase economics before politics

39
00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:50,720
Speaker 2: ahead of the May budget. Now, whether that's fiscal discipline

40
00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:54,320
Speaker 2: pre election positioning, who knows. But we have inflation refusing

41
00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:56,920
Speaker 2: to barge. Reserve bank watching closely. The government knows if

42
00:01:56,960 --> 00:01:59,360
Speaker 2: it goes to an election with a big spending budget, well,

43
00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:01,280
Speaker 2: people won't be happy about that.

44
00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:03,320
Speaker 1: Are we going to see a rate hike in April.

45
00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:07,200
Speaker 2: Yeah, sorry, Michael, I'm afraid well, maybe not April because

46
00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:10,720
Speaker 2: they get CPI data for the whole quarter at late April,

47
00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:12,359
Speaker 2: so maybe May. But I reckon, we're going to see

48
00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:14,799
Speaker 2: another rate hike. Okay, on to story number two. Now,

49
00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:19,480
Speaker 2: despite the inflation numbers, Sean, the local market had a

50
00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:22,040
Speaker 2: very good day. The ASX two hundred hit an all

51
00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:25,560
Speaker 2: time intra day record of nine one hundred and thirty

52
00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:28,240
Speaker 2: point three points. It snapped a three day losing streak

53
00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:30,639
Speaker 2: and finished up one point two percent at a new

54
00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:34,400
Speaker 2: all time closing high of one hundred and twenty eight points.

55
00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:37,320
Speaker 2: Records everywhere. Yeah, that's not supposed to happen when you

56
00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:40,000
Speaker 2: think that inflation is going to increase. Indexes now up

57
00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:41,600
Speaker 2: ten and a half percent of the past twelve months,

58
00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:43,679
Speaker 2: four and a half percent for the year so far,

59
00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:48,120
Speaker 2: all on the back of earnings results. Especially Michael, we'll

60
00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:50,799
Speaker 2: take you guessing his story number three or worths.

61
00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:53,680
Speaker 1: You guessed very well, Sean, it is story number three.

62
00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:56,400
Speaker 1: Will he share price hit a seventeen month high yesterday.

63
00:02:56,639 --> 00:02:59,080
Speaker 1: It jumped twelve percent on the back of a strong

64
00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:01,200
Speaker 1: profit result. It was the biggest one day rise for

65
00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:04,880
Speaker 1: Woolworths in thirty years, a very good set of numbers.

66
00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:07,680
Speaker 1: Profit was higher on revenue of thirty seven billion dollars

67
00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:10,600
Speaker 1: up three and a half percent. Food sales in Australia

68
00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:14,120
Speaker 1: up three point six percent, Online grocery sales Shaw and

69
00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:17,200
Speaker 1: that's where it's all happening up more than fifteen percent.

70
00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:19,480
Speaker 2: Certainly in your home. The slowdown in the first three

71
00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:21,280
Speaker 2: months of the half, he seemed to have turned around

72
00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:24,440
Speaker 2: in the second quarter and investors loved it. Not everything

73
00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:27,600
Speaker 2: was great. Supermarket certainly doing well. Big w continues to

74
00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:30,640
Speaker 2: struggle with little growth. Also, there was the staff under

75
00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:34,400
Speaker 2: payment cost there which actually hurt the statutory bottom line.

76
00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:36,280
Speaker 2: But operating earnings is very very good.

77
00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:40,680
Speaker 1: Okay. Story number four. Wise tech Global share price jumped

78
00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:43,840
Speaker 1: eleven percent yesterday after founder Richard White said the software

79
00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:47,320
Speaker 1: tracking company will cut two thousand jobs and embrace artificial

80
00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:51,120
Speaker 1: intelligence to develop software and serve customers. Almost thirty percent

81
00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:53,800
Speaker 1: of Wise tech staff will lose their jobs. It's a

82
00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:58,560
Speaker 1: very loud demonstration of how AI can really reshape workforces.

83
00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:01,880
Speaker 2: Yes, so, White said most software coding could now be

84
00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:07,760
Speaker 2: written autonomously, i e. By AI, ie buy Aiga written

85
00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:11,520
Speaker 2: autonomously and ad only needed to be overseen by single developer.

86
00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:15,160
Speaker 2: The group reported a dropping net profit and margins, reflecting

87
00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:18,760
Speaker 2: the acquisition of an American software business. But it was

88
00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:22,080
Speaker 2: the clearest sign we've seen so far, or the clearest

89
00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:25,039
Speaker 2: illustration of how AI is going to take jobs.

90
00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:29,080
Speaker 1: Story number five, Sean, Here we go. Donald Trump's State

91
00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:31,680
Speaker 1: of the Union address yesterday Australian time. It was the

92
00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:34,240
Speaker 1: longest on record, at one hundred and seven minutes. It

93
00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:37,240
Speaker 1: included a number of hecklers and ejections from the chamber.

94
00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:40,320
Speaker 1: Was very pointed on a number of issues, from illegal

95
00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:43,599
Speaker 1: aliens to Supreme Court judges. Of course, it had plenty

96
00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:46,480
Speaker 1: of just the old fashioned US rasumetas you would expect,

97
00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:49,640
Speaker 1: nothing less. It is they have to do this. This

98
00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:53,000
Speaker 1: is in the constitution. It's the annual address delivered by

99
00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:55,360
Speaker 1: the President to a joint session of Congress. Got to

100
00:04:55,839 --> 00:04:59,719
Speaker 1: provide a report on the nation's condition. The President told

101
00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:03,320
Speaker 1: the assembled that the US, which is two hundred and

102
00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:05,520
Speaker 1: fifty years old this year, is in a golden age.

103
00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:09,000
Speaker 1: He haild what he called the country's economic turnaround. Always

104
00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:11,480
Speaker 1: plenty of fanfare. You can expect that for Donald Trump

105
00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:13,440
Speaker 1: does take it to the next level. Cheers for the

106
00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:17,680
Speaker 1: US men's ice hockey team and for military veterans. Jeers.

107
00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,760
Speaker 1: When Trump defended the action of ice agents, there was

108
00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:21,040
Speaker 1: a lot.

109
00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:23,840
Speaker 2: Yeah. He had a crack at the Supreme Court justices

110
00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:27,040
Speaker 2: who knocked back his Liberation Day tariffs, saying their decision

111
00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:30,240
Speaker 2: was unfortunate, and three or four of those judges, three

112
00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:33,840
Speaker 2: who went against him were actually in Congress yesterday. He

113
00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:37,080
Speaker 2: said the Supreme Court had only temporarily derailed this policy

114
00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:39,880
Speaker 2: in his administration and created a new tariff scheme that

115
00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:42,960
Speaker 2: would not need congressional approval. In fact, he wants tariffs

116
00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:47,720
Speaker 2: to ultimately replace income tax income taxes. Details still to

117
00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:49,960
Speaker 2: come on that one, Michael, President Ish had a warning

118
00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:52,600
Speaker 2: to Iran over his nuclear weapons program. He said the

119
00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:55,920
Speaker 2: Russia Ukraine wouldn't war, wouldn't have happened if he were president.

120
00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:58,520
Speaker 2: He also had to crack at his predecessor, Joe Briden,

121
00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:02,000
Speaker 2: a bunch of other Democrats break Obama, and as you said,

122
00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:05,520
Speaker 2: it was just a show with plenty of razmataz.

123
00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:08,120
Speaker 1: Something for everyone in that one. Sean, thank you very much,

124
00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:11,240
Speaker 1: Thanks Michael. It is Thursday, the twenty sixth of February

125
00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:14,080
Speaker 1: twenty twenty six. Remember to hit follow on the podcast,

126
00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:16,400
Speaker 1: and if five minutes isn't enough, you're going to find

127
00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:19,280
Speaker 1: out longer daily show called Fear and Greed wherever you

128
00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:21,600
Speaker 1: listen to podcasts. I'm Michael Thompson and that was the

129
00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:23,520
Speaker 1: past five Business news by Fear and Greed.

130
00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:24,480
Speaker 2: Had a great day,