Good morning. ChatGPT is getting business profiles, with OpenAI letting companies verify and update details about their products and services in a new Business Hub that closely resembles what Google already offers.
Companies can see how ChatGPT users interact with them, including profile views, mentions and website clicks, and eligible businesses can launch their own agent to answer users' questions about their products.
OpenAI's last attempt to make money from shopping in ChatGPT, a commission-based checkout cart seen as a way to take on Amazon, was retired in March.
All the headlines and more below...
MACQUARIE AGREES TO $14M PENALTY OVER SAVINGS ‘BONUS’ RATE
Macquarie Bank admitted breaching the Corporations Act over how it promoted a “welcome rate” on new savings accounts. It and ASIC have jointly proposed a $14M penalty to the NSW Supreme Court, on top of the $8.8M Macquarie has already paid to nearly 40,000 customers.
Between December 2021 and September 2022, Macquarie described the offer as a “welcome variable rate” and a “bonus”. ASIC alleges that could lead customers to believe it was paid on top of the standard variable rate. It generally worked as a fixed rate that applied instead of the standard rate for the four-month promotion. As rates rose through 2022, the gap between the two could narrow or disappear.
Macquarie also admitted its advertising framework was not rigorous enough to spot the risk, and customer complaints did not prompt a timely enough correction. “This wasn’t just unclear wording,” ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland said. The court still has to approve the penalty.
AUSTRALIAN NEWS
New research from UNSW and e61 warned that bracket creep disproportionately lifts tax burdens on low earners and those near the top bracket, calling it an inequitable, non-credible budget strategy. LINK
New mortgage loans dropped a record 15% in the September quarter as the housing downturn deepened, driven by a 30.6% slump in investor lending after rate hikes and tax changes. LINK
Australian employers are bracing for a spike in sickies as Grand Theft Auto VI launches next Thursday, after Sony and Microsoft reported record pre-orders and Take-Two Interactive predicted absences. LINK
The Productivity Commission found regional and remote Australian airfares were 11% higher per customer and 13% higher per kilometre than city routes between 2023-2025, mainly reflecting higher operating costs. LINK
Retail spending in Australia rose 36% over the 6 years to June 2025, while spending on recreational goods jumped 52%. AUS
The Australian dollar fell to around US68.78¢ as renewed US dollar strength and hotter-than-expected US inflation complicated the RBA’s inflation fight and increased pressure for further rate rises. AFR
DAVID JONES TO SHUT 19 STORES AND CUT THOUSANDS OF JOBS AFTER CHRISTMAS
David Jones will close half its store network and axe thousands of jobs from its 6,000-strong workforce after Christmas, as receivers from FTI Consulting attempt to stabilise the 188-year-old retailer by shrinking its footprint. The closures include 7 stores in NSW, 3 in Victoria, 2 each in Queensland, South Australia and WA, 1 in Canberra and 1 in New Zealand.
The stores will continue trading through the peak Christmas period but are expected to cease by the end of the year. Chief executive Erica Berchtold told staff the cuts were necessary because the store portfolio was "no longer the right shape for the business" and the company "could not continue operating as it was."
FTI said the restructure was "unavoidable if David Jones is to continue as a viable business" and followed the plan put forward by Anchorage before the retailer collapsed into administration last week. Gift cards can still be used but are no longer available for purchase. Suppliers, hundreds of which have gone unpaid after the collapse, have been invited to a first creditors' meeting on 17 November.
THE INSIDE TRACK
KPMG lost the Crown Resorts audit effective immediately. LINK
Mirvac is making over 100 people in Development redundant in a wave of redundancies before Christmas, reportedly due to market conditions, with cuts to occur in the next month. LINK
Heard something at work? Redundancies, offshoring, an email that should not have gone out. Tell us what’s happening at your company.
COMPANY NEWS
CBA reported a 7-basis-point rise in home loans more than 90 days overdue to 0.80% as higher interest rates and inflation hit borrowers, while quarterly profit reached $2.8B. LINK
TPG Telecom outlined plans to let customers trigger AI agents to diagnose and fix service issues after agentic AI in call centres reduced churn by about 40% and cut inbound calls. LINK
Adairs reported group sales for the first 19 weeks of the half down 0.6% as deteriorating consumer conditions hit second-quarter sales, while Mocka grew 12.2%. LINK
Aware Super spent $46.3M on marketing in the year to June 30, double the average of its rivals, as Australia's 10 biggest super funds spent $242M between them. AFR
Domino’s Pizza Enterprises reported a 4.6% fall in group same-store sales between July and November as it retreated from deep discounting, improving from a 5.8% drop earlier. LINK
Accenture’s Australian operation generated nearly $3B in revenue in its last financial year as ASX clients flocked to its globally backed AI consulting services. AUS
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CHART OF THE DAY
ONE MORE SCROLL
Odd Pick: Airbus plane breaks Guinness record by flying nonstop for over 24 hours.
Editor’s Pick: Perimenopause support returns five times more profit than AI investments for employers.
Draft Pick: Jillaroos coach drops in-form Kelleher for Southwell in shock World Cup final selection.
Doctor’s Pick: New food pyramid puts healthy carbs and plant-based foods first.
TRIVIA
Which decade is most associated with the birth of disco?
Answer below
ANSWER
The 1970s
