PM perches on $4.3m cliff edge ⛰

G’day.  

Welcome to Point Blank – How’s the caffeine treating you this morning?

 💼 Practice Points

• Should your clients adopt the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) standards? 23 ASX-listed companies, including industry leaders like Qantas and Telstra, have committed to voluntary reporting in line with TNFD.

• WA Supreme Court ordered the reinstatement of a deregistered company when a party showed they were aggrieved by the deregistration.

• Beginning 1 January 2025, Victoria's legal cost rules will undergo significant changes, under which the new scale will be based on time-based billing rather than item-based.

 📢 Talking Points

• Australian Electoral Commission warns it cannot combat AI and deepfake threats to democracy ahead of next year's federal election.

• NASA spacecraft has launched to explore Jupiter's moon Europa, which is believed to harbour a vast ocean beneath its icy surface, on a journey of nearly six years.

• US consumers have revised their competition lawsuit against Hermes, claiming Hermes makes you buy other products before getting your hands on the coveted Birkin bag.

• A potential Trump presidency could strain Europe’s economy, with heightened tariffs and reduced support for Ukraine, forcing nations to ramp up their defence budgets.

• Global pension rankings show Australia slipping below Singapore to sixth position.

• Labor tries to water down criticism over the PM’s A$4.3 million clifftop luxury house. Energy Minister Chris Bowen says, ‘fair enough, this is what aspiration is about’.” Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume labels the purchase as “tone-deaf during a housing crisis”.

 🏦 The Treasury

 🤝 Deal Room

• Record gold prices have prompted EMR Capital to put the $2bn Ravenswood gold mine on the market in 2025. Interested parties include Regis Resources, Capricorn Metals, Evolution Mining, and Northern Star.

• Following the Takeovers Panel’s decision, ERA will proceed with a $880bn capital raise to address urgent liquidity concerns, paving the way for Rio to acquire 99.2% voting power.

• Final bids are flying in for collapsed airline Rex, with a $300m price tag and buyers mulling a full purchase or breaking up the airline.

• Boeing aims to raise $35bn as it attempts to fly through production challenges and other issues including high debt levels.

• Woodside Energy has modestly upgraded its guidance for full-year production, and intends to delist in London.

🏛 Policy Watch

• Labor cracks down on unfair business practices, empowering the ACCC to target hidden fees and deceptive sales tactics to ease cost-of-living pressures.

• The Northern Territory's new Country Liberal Party government is fast-tracking a sweeping law and order agenda, including lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 10 and stricter penalties for public drinking.

• Salesforce wants the Australian Government to appoint an AI safety officer.

🧐 Wednesday Wisdom

🏗 Sector Specific

Diggers

• Pilbara Minerals secures A$1bn revolving credit facility with a syndicate of lenders for refinancing and general corporate and working capital purposes.

• Two of Brazil’s largest companies. Petrobras and Vale team up to decarbonise operations, with Petrobras supplying renewable fuels for Vale’s transportation needs.

The Fin

• Bain Capital's payday from Virgin Australia has soared above A$1bn since rescuing the airline from administration during COVID.

Tech & Retail

• DataBank raises US$2bn to build 3 new U.S. data centres, tripling its power needs, with AustralianSuper leading the investment.

• Netflix is bracing for its slowest subscriber growth in six quarters, while shifting its focus to revenue and profit margins, with plans to stop reporting subscriber data in 2025.

• Crown is again in the firing line, facing a $2 million fine for allowing 242 self-excluded gamblers to place bets.

Real Estate

• Citi Australia’s Chief says Aussie real estate is of top interest for big investors as the sector emerges as Australia’s most in-demand. Investors seek out the biggest beneficiaries of what they expect to be the start of a central bank easing cycle.

🙉 Hearsay 

• The ACT Bar Council has cleared former DPP Shane Drumgold of misconduct allegations, dismissing complaints about misleading statements and providing false evidence in the Bruce Lehrmann prosecution.

• A Melbourne lawyer is under investigation for submitting fictitious legal citations generated by AI, failing to verify their accuracy before filing.

• Nine fresh appointments to the AAT and the newly established ART.