Billionaires bonanza, CBA's jobs backflip, Chalmers summit

Welcome to the end of the week, it's Paul-Alain Hunt from the Melbourne bureau. The ASX is set for a sluggish open after closing at an all-t

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Welcome to the end of the week, it's Paul-Alain Hunt from the Melbourne bureau. The ASX is set for a sluggish open after closing at an all-time high yesterday, but first here's the headlines you need to start your day.  Today's must-reads: Australia's rich get richer Chalmers' productivity summit CBA's reversal on AI

What's happening now

Australia's richest are getting richer — so where's all the money being made? In our latest podcast, Rebecca Jones speaks to wealth editor Andrew Heathcote about the winners and losers in Australia's billionaire ranks, the sectors driving their gains, and what lessons we can take from how the ultra-wealthy think. Listen and follow The Bloomberg Australia Podcast on Apple, Spotify, on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Terminal clients: Run {NSUB AUPOD <GO>} on your desktop to subscribe. The government aims to scrap more "nuisance tariffs" and clear a huge backlog of environmental approvals for new homes as part of its initial response to Treasurer Jim Chalmers' economic summit, though participants were opposed to another wide-ranging tax review.  Commonwealth Bank of Australia has decided not to replace 45 customer service roles with artificial intelligence, after unions took the bank to the workplace relations tribunal earlier this month. Meanwhile, Bloomberg Intelligence estimates global banks will cut as many as 200,000 jobs in the next three to five years as AI encroaches on tasks currently carried out by human workers. People welcome. Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra Co-operative Group is to sell its global Consumer and related businesses to French conglomerate Lactalis for NZ$3.85 billion ($2.2 billion). Lactalis may also acquire the the Bega cheese licenses held by Fonterra's Australian arm, a move that would lift the total deal value to about NZ$4.2 billion Australia is at reduced risk of blackouts over the next decade thanks to a rapid buildout of renewables and batteries that will help offset the retirement of the nation's coal fleet, according to the country's energy market operator.  Insignia Financial boss Scott Hartley has expressed confidence in Australian regulators to pave the way for CC Capital Partners' proposed A$3.3 billion ($2.1 billion) take-private deal by early next year.  Gold is expected to hold onto gains into 2026 following a rally to a record earlier this year, Australia's biggest listed precious metal miner, Northern Star, said after reporting that full-year profit more than doubled.

What happened overnight

Caution prevailed on Wall Street ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole gathering, with stocks falling and bond yields rising as a key factory report raised concern that inflation pressures could dim the outlook for rate cuts. The fastest growth in manufacturing since 2022 drove Treasuries down. Australia's ASX is expected to open slightly lower.  The UK took control of one of the country's largest steelworks after a firm owned by the beleaguered tycoon Sanjeev Gupta was forced into liquidation. It follows a move by South Australia to place Gupta's Whyalla steelworks into administration and find a new owner.  Sanjeev Gupta. Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg A New York appeals court struck down a $464 million fraud penalty against President Donald Trump and his company, even as it upheld the finding that he broke the law by inflating the value of assets like Mar-a-Lago. A five-judge panel in Manhattan on Thursday agreed with Trump that the size of the fine was unconstitutionally "excessive." A deadly monsoon season has claimed at least 1,860 lives in India and Pakistan, with flash floods, landslides and inundated cities exposing the region's growing vulnerability to climate-related disasters. Heavy rains have left scenes of devastation across the subcontinent, with entire villages washed away.

What to watch

Nothing major scheduled today

One more thing...

When President Xi Jinping faced a deflation spiral a decade ago, he not only cracked down on China's oversupply problem but also unleashed an almost $900 billion housing investment boom. It's a similar situation today, except Chinese policymakers are rolling out only half the solution. While Beijing's recent push to curb overcapacity is helping rein in the glut in steel and solar sectors, the "anti-involution" campaign is missing a stimulus spark and could hurt the economy instead of bringing inflation back. Xi Jinping, China's president, displayed on a screen during the closing of the Third Session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.  Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

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