Good morning. About 2,400 people were arrested across France over the weekend as cost-of-living protests over fuel prices and public services turned into riots, with protesters in Marseille breaking into the city hall using a metal fence as a battering ram.
Around 550,000 people marched, shops were looted in Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice and Strasbourg, and about 1,500 businesses were damaged, with losses estimated in the hundreds of millions of euros.
With Macron gone in six months, the next French president inherits a country where fuel prices and the cost of living put more than half a million people on the streets in a single day.
All the headlines and more below...
HCF SAYS MENTAL HEALTH CLAIMS NOW MAKE UP 90% OF GOLD-TIER PRIVATE HEALTH COSTS
HCF, which insures 2.1 million Australians, says the average overnight psychiatric admission costs the fund more than $15,500, with the most serious mental health disorders generating claims of $23,774 per patient, on par with knee and hip replacements. Mental health claims account for 90% of its gold-tier claims.
The share of Australians holding gold cover dropped from 40% in 2019 to 28% last year, while the average gold premium climbed 71% over the same period. Mental health claims across the private health insurance sector rose 18% over the past 5 years, and the average length of stay for acute mental health episodes is 19 days and rising. Hospital admissions for mental health are limited almost entirely to gold-tier policies, and several insurers have stopped selling gold cover.
HCF will release a white paper on Monday warning that 1.2 million Australians may downgrade from gold over the next decade without an overhaul of how mental health conditions are treated and funded. The fund wants permission to cover psychiatric care outside hospitals, such as visits to psychiatrists, which private health insurance currently cannot pay for, arguing early intervention would prevent more costly hospital admissions later.
AUSTRALIAN NEWS
Victoria introduced new auction laws requiring home sellers to publicly disclose a specific reserve price 7 days before sale as the state targets widespread underquoting concerns. LINK
Australian consumer confidence fell 1.1 index points to 98.4 over the year to September as high inflation and a 4.6% RBA cash rate intensified cost-of-living pressures. AFR
Car insurance premiums in Australia surged far faster than inflation as an ASIC report found average increases of more than 42% since 2019 and higher insurer profitability. LINK
The Australian government has introduced a Digital Duty of Care bill that would force big tech to offer an easy algorithm off switch and impose fines of up to $100M for harms. LINK
Experts warned that Australia's 1% rental vacancy rate and median $700 weekly capital-city house rent are forcing extended families and friends into group applications as tax changes deterred investors. LINK
The federal government forecast that Australia’s diesel use will rise about 7% to more than 36.8 gigalitres by 2030 as miners resist electrification and tax credits blunt decarbonisation incentives. AFR
Australia’s booming ETF industry is managing about $388B as passive funds rapidly reshape share ownership, spark debate over market bubbles and reduce traditional “mum and dad” stock-picking. LINK
MORTGAGE REPAYMENTS ARE NOW CHEAPER THAN RENT IN DOZENS OF AUSTRALIAN SUBURBS
Median rents across Australia rose 5.5% over the year to September to reach $713 per week, while property prices were flat after 6 months of falls, and in one in 10 suburbs and towns repayments are now less than $200 a week higher than rent. In some suburbs they're cheaper.
The typical rent for a Melbourne apartment was $628 a week after rising 4.8% over the last year, while typical repayments were $839 a week, based on a median value of $624,740 in September, down nearly $25,000 from a year earlier. The analysis assumes a new 30-year loan of 95% of the property value at a 6.2% interest rate. Repayments were cheaper than rent for the typical property in Carlton, Melbourne CBD, Notting Hill, Travancore and Southbank. In Sydney, repayments were just $100 a week more than rents in Ultimo, Warwick Farm, Rosehill, Liverpool and Granville, and in Canberra suburbs Belconnen and Phillip repayments were less than $75 a week more than rents.
A growing number of renters str looking to buy direct from their landlord, making the switch without moving. Areas with significant apartment development tended to be cheaper to buy than rent, especially where flats were being sold direct to owner-occupiers and not rented out. It was cheaper to buy in a quarter of suburbs in Darwin, where rents rose 11.6% in the year.
COMPANY NEWS
Qantas expanded its Western Australian operations by opening a Jetstar cabin crew base and an Emergency Procedures Training Centre in Perth as it targets the city as its second-largest international gateway. LINK
Priceline Pharmacy is set to lose 4 high-performing stores to rival Chemist Warehouse, risking about $25M in annual sales, after Infinity Pharmacy’s collapse and lease non-renewals. AFR
Deloitte cut about 170 Australian jobs as it shifted roles to its outsourcing division, which is hiring more than 500 staff and generated $2.55B revenue in FY26. AFR
Apple reported that its new foldable iPhone Duo, priced from US$1,999, sold out online within hours as “extraordinary” pre-order demand collided with existing component shortages. AFR
Suncorp mortgage customers were warned their minimum repayments could rise by hundreds of dollars, potentially over $1,000 a month, as ANZ drops Suncorp's redraw-based repayment policy. LINK
ACCC launched Federal Court action against Kmart alleging it sold nail glue without adequate burn warnings and Anko-branded devices breaching button battery safety standards, seeking penalties. LINK
Crown lifted full-year revenue nearly 3% to almost $3B but reported a 52% profit slump to $67.1M as weaker VIP play and higher regulatory costs weighed. AFR
Ikea committed $26M to permanent everyday price cuts funded by margin reductions and efficiencies, targeting 40 - 50% higher volumes on reduced items as it battles low-price rivals. LINK
Cadbury lifted its Australian chocolate market share above 50% as new product launches, Gen Z marketing and long-term national team sponsorships drove category‑leading growth despite cost pressures. AUS
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ONE MORE SCROLL
Odd Pick: SpaceX just flew artificial retinas to the space station to be made in zero gravity.
Draft Pick: New Zealand crushed Australia 43-21 in Sydney after racing to a 36-7 half-time lead, completing a 2-0 series and extending their Bledisloe Cup dominance to 13 Tests.
Doctor’s Pick: Why it’s easy to eat 30 plants a week.
TRIVIA
Which fruit was once called a "love apple"?
Answer below
ANSWER
Tomato
