$10.4 billion test looms for ‘safe haven' Australian banks
Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank outperformed the ASX 200 during the market rebound over the past month, as investors piled into the sector after the chaos unleashed by the US president's 'Liberation Day' tariff announcements.
CBA shares shot to record highs on Friday, valuing the bank at more than $280 billion. ANZ Bank shares have outperformed the ASX 200 since January, though their bounceback during April was more modest.
Fund managers say one reason for bank shares' resilience is a perception they are a relative 'safe haven' amid market turmoil, as the US tariffs are not expected to directly hit industry profits. But some analysts also say valuations are 'stretched' – in particular CBA's – making the next round of profit results, starting with Westpac on Monday, a key litmus test for the sector.
'There's some truth to the banks being a safe haven, but at the same time, the growth outlook is more modest than it was 20 years ago.'
Regal Funds Management head of fundamental research Mark Nathan
The effect of falling interest rates on banks' bottom lines will also be an important issue for investors – markets are tipping about 1 percentage points of Reserve Bank interest rate cuts over the rest of 2025.
Regal Funds Management head of fundamental research Mark Nathan said investors were likely to focus on what bank results revealed about the sector's bad debts, interest margins, capital and the level of competition.
Nathan said one of the key things to consider is whether banks could cut interest rates by less than any RBA cuts – though he expected banks would probably pass through any rate cuts to borrowers in full.
'We've got to be cognisant that, politically, it may be difficult for banks to move lending rates by less than any RBA cuts,' he said.
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ABC News
43 minutes ago
- ABC News
Tesla awards chief executive Elon Musk $44 billion worth of shares
The world's richest man, Elon Musk, has become even richer after Tesla awarded him $US29 billion ($44 billion) worth of shares in the company. It comes just six months after a judge struck down an even larger pay package worth $US56 billion ($86 billion) after a lawsuit brought by a Tesla stockholder. Mr Musk, who is the chief executive of the electric vehicle maker, will be awarded 96 million shares in Tesla, but analysts believe it signals the tech billionaire will remain with the company until 2030. Tesla said in a regulatory filing on Monday that Mr Musk must first pay Tesla $US23.34 ($36.06) per share of restricted stock that vests. That cost is equal to the exercise price per share of the 2018 pay package that was awarded to the company's chief executive. In a letter to shareholders, Tesla's board said that Mr Musk hasn't received "meaningful compensation" for eight years. The board argued that Mr Musk deserved the compensation because he has delivered "transformative and unprecedented growth" that has "translated into immense value generated for Tesla and all our shareholders." Tesla shares have plunged 25 per cent this year, largely due to blowback over the billionaire's affiliation with President Donald Trump. Tesla also faces intensifying competition from both the big Detroit automakers and from Chinese EV companies. In its most recent quarter, Tesla reported that quarterly profits plunged from $US1.39 billion ($2.15 billion) to $US409 million ($632 million). Revenue also fell and the company fell short of even the lowered expectations on Wall Street. Under pressure from shareholders last month, Tesla scheduled an annual shareholders meeting for November to comply with Texas state law. A group of more than 20 Tesla shareholders, which have watched Tesla shares plummet, said in a letter to the company that it needed to at least provide public notice of the annual meeting. Investors have grown increasingly worried about the trajectory of the company after Mr Musk had spent so much time in Washington this year. He became one of the most prominent officials in the Trump administration in its bid to slash the size of the US government. In December, Delaware Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick reaffirmed her earlier ruling that Tesla must revoke Mr Musk's multi-billion-dollar pay package. She found that Mr Musk engineered the landmark pay package in sham negotiations with directors who were not independent. At the time, Judge McCormick also rejected an equally unprecedented and massive fee request by plaintiff attorneys, who argued that they were entitled to legal fees in the form of Tesla stock valued at more than $US5 billion ($7.7 billion). The judge said the attorneys were entitled to a fee award of $345 million. The rulings came in a lawsuit filed by a Tesla stockholder who challenged Musk's 2018 compensation package. Mr Musk has been one of the richest people in the world for several years. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said he felt Mr Musk's stock award would alleviate some Tesla shareholder concerns. "We believe this grant will now keep Musk as CEO of Tesla at least until 2030 and removes an overhang on the stock," Mr Ives wrote in a client note. "Musk remains Tesla's big asset and this comp issue has been a constant concern of shareholders once the Delaware soap opera began." AP
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘Bust-ups with everybody': Elon Musk's long history of having a short fuse exposed
Become friends with Elon Musk and, likely, the clock will be ticking. Characters as diverse as Silicon Valley tech moguls and Canadian alt-pop singer Grimes have all entered his personal orbit before later screeching out again, usually followed by some degree of scorched earth via social media. There is no greater example than Mr Musk's relationship with now-President Donald Trump, The New York Post reports. Everyone knew the richest man in the world would fall out with the most powerful, but few predicted it would happen so quickly — just six months after the inauguration. 'He is prone to lash out,' Faiz Siddiqui, author of Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk, said. 'He is insulated and can make his point.' Regardless of how sharp the point may be, Mr Musk can shed a friend and walk away unscathed. 'He has an army, the largest following on X (the social media platform), that will back him,' Siddiqui said. Here then is a sampling of former friends, colleagues and loved ones who once embraced Mr Musk, only to later feel the burn. Larry Page Google co-founder Larry Page and Elon Musk were so chummy Mr Musk routinely crashed at Mr Page's home. Fortune magazine included the pair in a story about 'eight business leaders you didn't know were BFFs'. But things fell apart when Mr Musk hired a top scientist away from Google in 2015. Mr Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI, paid Ilya Sutskever $US1.9 million ($2.9 million) to head up its new lab. According to Musk, by Walter Isaacson, the poaching ended their friendship. 'Larry felt betrayed and was really mad at me,' Mr Musk told Mr Isaacson in the book. 'He refused to hang out with me anymore.' Zack 'Asmongold' Hoyt It's hard to imagine the world's richest man in a childish spat with an online gaming streamer. But that was the situation with Mr Musk and Zack 'Asmongold' Hoyt. Like other professional gamers, Mr Asmongold watched Mr Musk playing Path of Exile 2 on a livestream. Following common sentiment, he alleged Mr Musk paid other people to play for him, which is called 'boosting'. Apparently insulted by the allegation, Mr Musk unfollowed Mr Asmongold and removed his blue checkmark from X. In response, Mr Asmongold posted a YouTube video called 'Elon Musk has Lost It.' Mr Musk went on to push out private direct messages between them. Forbes summed up the fallout by noting about Mr Musk, 'He may not really have time to beef with Twitch streamers … Yet, here we are.' Justine Wilson Justine Wilson was married to Musk from 2000 to 2008. She watched him become a billionaire and bore six children (one of whom died tragically at 10 weeks due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). She later described herself as a 'starter wife'. Mr Musk, according to Ms Wilson, told her, 'If you were my employee, I would fire you.' After eight years and three sessions of couple's counselling, Mr Musk filed for divorce. During two years of litigation – which Mr Musk said cost him $US4 million ($6.2 million) – she rallied for their house in Bel Air, 10 per cent of his Tesla shares, 5 per cent of his SpaceX shares, $US6 million ($9.2 million) and a glacier blue Tesla Roadster. But thanks to a prenup, Ms Wilson said, 'I had effectively sold away all my rights as a married person.' She wound up with far less than the billions won by other tech divorcees like Bill Gates' ex Melinda French and Jeff Bezos' firs wife, MacKenzie Scott. While Forbes estimates Wilson's wealth at $US18 million ($28 million), they also estimate she would have $US17.3 billion ($26.7 billion) had she received the settlement requested. Vivian Jenna Wilson Originally named Zavier, Vivian Jenna Wilson was born male, to Musk and Justine, along with a twin sister, in 2004. Responding to Vivian's transgender identity, Musk publicly maintained that his offspring was 'not a girl' and described them as being 'dead' to him. Vivian went to a California court to change their name and distance themselves from their father. 'I no longer live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form,' Vivian stated in the filing. Philip Low After meeting Elon Musk socially in 2011, neuroscientist Philip Low, who had been a test subject for Stephen Hawking, became fast friends with the Silicon Valley mogul. Soon after, Low launched a company called NeuroVigil, which boasted a non-invasive device for brain monitoring. Musk invested and joined the board. In 2021, according to Politico, Musk – who had his own brain implant company, Neuralink – wanted to resign from the other company's advisory board. Not wanting him to exercise his stock options, which could significantly hurt Neurovigil, Low fired him. He sent an email to Musk, warning, 'Don't f*** with me.' According to Politico, Low '(cast Musk) as obsessive, prone to seeking revenge, power hungry and in constant search of dominance'. Martin Eberhard In 2003, Martin Eberhard was one of two co-founders who incorporated Tesla. Mr Musk invested in the company and, one year later, became chairman. Mr Musk was later recognised as a co-founder, following a lawsuit. 'That was a side issue and it got sorted out,' Siddiqui told The Post. The falling out has more to do with Mr Musk 'claiming that he was almost solely responsible for the company'. It doesn't help that Mr Musk ousted Mr Eberhard from his CEO post in 2007, according to Business Insider. Mr Musk has since described Mr Eberhard as 'by far the worst person I've ever worked with in my entire career'. In 2009, Mr Eberhard sued Mr Musk for defamation. Though the suit was settled out of court, in Isaacson's Musk bio, Mr Eberhard does marvel, 'This is the richest man in the world beating on someone who can't touch him.' Sam Harris Disagreeing with Elon Musk might not be a good way to foster a friendship with him. The neuroscientist Sam Harris discovered this the hard way. Harris and Musk first became acquainted in 2008. They fell out in 2020 when Mr Musk tweeted 'the coronavirus panic is dumb'. Mr Harris has claimed that he asked Mr Musk to 'walk back' from the position. 'There was a question about Musk weighing in on something that he does not have the expertise to weigh in on,' said Siddiqui. 'Is that putting people at risk?' Mr Harris claimed Mr Musk bet $US1 million ($1.5 million) with him that there would be no more than 35,000 Covid-19 cases in America. If the number exceeded 35,000 Mr Harris would be paid $1 million, to go to a charity. If it did not, Mr Musk would get a $US10,000 ($15,400) bottle of tequila. Mr Harris obviously won. But did the million materialise? His texts went unanswered. Since then, via X, Mr Musk called Mr Harris 'mentally ill'. Mr Harris said there is 'something seriously wrong with (Musk's) moral compass.' Grimes The singer whose real name is Claire Boucher was romantically involved with Elon Musk from 2018 until 2021. They have three children with unique names: X AE A-XII (aka, X), Exa (aka, Y) and Techno Mechanicus. There have also been suits and countersuits over custody. In February 2025, Grimes posted to X Mr Musk should respond to a 'medical crisis' involving one of their children. When somebody questioned her taking a private situation to social media, she replied, 'If I have to apply public pressure then I guess that's where we're at.' X accompanied Mr Musk when he met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Grimes allegedly posted to X she does 'not approve that in every conceivable way … I am desperate to solve it … But currently I don't know how to do it.' Sam Altman In 2015, Mr Musk, Mr Altman and others founded artificial intelligence company OpenAI as a non-profit. It then launched its for-profit arm, ChatGPT. Mr Musk and Mr Altman then fell out over the direction of the company. 'Musk wanted OpenAI to hold onto this idea that it is a non-profit,' said Siddiqui. 'Like that it would be for the good of humanity.' When Mr Musk moved to buy OpenAI, Mr Altman accused the tech billionaire of being in 'a position of insecurity,' adding 'I feel bad for the guy.' 'Elon busts up with everybody, that's what he does,' the 40-year-old behind ChatGPT told The Post. Mr Musk has taken to referring to Mr Altman as 'Scam Altman'. Jack Dorsey Mr Dorsey co-founded microblogging site Twitter, which Mr Musk eventually bought and renamed X. In 2022 as the deal was about to go through, Mr Dorsey went so far to say he had faith in Mr Musk's 'mission to extend the light of consciousness'. But once in place, Mr Musk made job cuts, changes in policy and the name change. By 2023, Mr Dorsey was saying Twitter 'went south' after his purchase. Peter Thiel Peter Thiel and Elon Musk have known each other long enough for their relationship to be complicated. In 2000, they combined their respective banking companies to create PayPal. By 2025, it's been a bit of a roller coaster. According to Thiel biography The Contrarian, the two men realised their differences early on. Soon after the merger, Mr Musk crashed his million dollar McLaren while driving Mr Thiel to a meeting. Mr Thiel, according to the book's author, saw Mr Musk as reckless. Mr Musk viewed Mr Thiel as profit driven. Following the merge, while Mr Musk was on his honeymoon, Mr Thiel and his loyalists pushed Mr Musk out of his CEO spot. But the grudge didn't hold. After all, when Mr Musk's SpaceX was going through choppy times in 2008, Mr Thiel provided a $20 million investment that set the company right — and its rocket entered orbit on its next attempt. Though they have called one another unflattering names – according to Business Insider, Mr Musk regards Mr Thiel as 'a sociopath' and Mr Thiel views Mr Musk as 'a fraud' – Siddiqui sees common ground. 'I think philosophically they are largely aligned,' he said. 'In the political arena, they have advocated for a lot of the same policies.' Vernon Unsworth Sometimes two people try to do the right thing and it goes terribly sideways. Such was the case when Elon Musk and British caver Vernon Unsworth pitched in to save 12 boys trapped in a waterlogged Thai cave system for 15 days. Mr Musk sent engineers from Tesla and a mini submarine to the site. Mr Unsworth took a more traditional approach, finding skilled cave divers and dispatching them to where the boys – members of a Thai soccer team – were trapped. Mr Musk's vessel never got used and Mr Unsworth dubbed it a PR stunt, suggesting that he 'stick his submarine where it hurts'. Musk entertained his 30 million followers on X by dubbing the diver 'pedo guy' in a since deleted tweet. Mr Unsworth sued for defamation Mr Musk insisted that, in his native South Africa, 'pedo guy' is a common phrase. The kids were saved, Mr Musk was found not guilty of defamation. Mr Musk's lawyer stated the obvious in his summing up: 'In arguments, you insult people.'
Man of Many
5 hours ago
- Man of Many
The Inaugural Morris Single Barrel Whisky: A Historic Moment for Australian Malts
By Rob Edwards - Sponsored Published: 4 Aug 2025 Share Copy Link 0 Readtime: 4 min Every product is carefully selected by our editors and experts. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more. For more information on how we test products, click here. It's not unusual for makers of whisky and wine to allude to a certain level of heritage and history when it comes to the drams and drops they produce. However, few come even remotely close to the extraordinary provenance of MORRIS, which has an astounding 166 years of unmatched family craftsmanship emanating from the northeastern Victorian town of Rutherglen. In fact, it would be fair to say that every bottle MORRIS has ever produced is a small piece of Australian history. Established in 1859, MORRIS started as a vineyard producing some of Australia's finest wines before expanding its offering to include remarkably premium whiskies. Many of these have drawn much of their unique flavour from a finishing process that uses the very barrels that once held their sibling wines. In this way, producing both wines and whisky has enabled MORRIS to offer a sense of terroir that others can only dream of. Rutherglen Morris Durif Single Barrel | Image: Morris of Rutherglen Now, MORRIS is celebrating the rich legacy that has led to it becoming Australia's most-awarded wine and whisky brand via the release of its inaugural Single Barrel. The MORRIS Family Durif Single Barrel is a newly revealed Australian Single Malt Whisky – a category within which MORRIS has long been considered exceptional. This incredible new release demonstrates how MORRIS simply never stops honing the approach that has seen it become so widely renowned. At the same time, it pays tribute to Australian whisky craftsmanship and captures the structure and complexity of the Durif grape alongside the rich Rutherglen soils surrounding the distillery. Let's take a closer look at this hand-bottled marvel, limited to just 258 bottles. Rutherglen Morris Durif Single Barrel | Image: Morris of Rutherglen Rutherglen Morris Durif Single Barrel (58.5%) Sometimes, we all deserve to indulge in a touch of decadence, and we can think of no better way to do so than via the MORRIS Durif Single Barrel, a burnished gold liquid containing rich, malted layers that are sure to delight. Proceedings commence with a superb nose of malted biscuits and dark chocolate crème, followed by a palate of creamy chocolate fondant and dark cocoa. Each sip concludes decadently courtesy of a layered finish of chocolate orange, vanilla, and dried fruits. It's nothing short of a triumph worthy of MORRIS' 166-year legacy. Plus, deep and complex flavours from the iconic MORRIS Durif barrel enhance rather than overpower the spirit. This difficult-to-achieve harmony stands as a testament to both meticulous barrel preparation and exceptional craftsmanship. Rutherglen Morris Durif Single Barrel | Image: Morris of Rutherglen Where Luxury and History Meet As we've already mentioned, this extraordinary expression is hand-bottled, enveloped in premium labelling containing details about its origin, including the barrel number, bottle number, and the signature of the MORRIS Head Distiller. Further, each bottle comes packaged in a luxury gift box, making for the perfect present for someone special (or a welcome addition to your own whisky collection). Even in light of the 166 years of expertise and passion that go into every bottle produced, Australia's finest whisky and wine makers have somehow outdone themselves with this MORRIS Family Durif Single Barrel. It makes us pause and wonder about what other liquid miracles they might materialise over the coming months and years. Given the limited nature of this release, we encourage whisky collectors and enthusiasts to express their interest early – we'd hate for you to miss out. Here's to a further 166 years of tantalising drams and drops!
