Business - Daily Politics

Qantas has announced a strategic exit from the Asian low-cost airline market by selling its entire stake in Jetstar Japan. The Australian flag carrier is divesting its 47.5% shareholding to its joint venture partner, Japan Airlines, which will take full ownership of the budget airline. This move completes the Qantas Group's exit from a market where it has operated for over a decade.

The decision marks a significant strategic shift, redirecting the company's focus and resources towards its core domestic Australian network and key long-haul international routes. Analysts see the divestment as a disciplined decision to reallocate resources to areas of ...

Investment filings reveal a strategic shift in technology holdings by prominent investor Peter Thiel. The portfolio adjustments show a substantial reduction in exposure to semiconductor giant Nvidia, coupled with increased investments in established tech leaders Apple and Microsoft. This reallocation represents a notable repositioning within the tech sector by an influential institutional investor.

Analysts suggest the move reflects a broader portfolio diversification strategy amid concerns about market volatility and high valuations in certain technology segments. By reducing semiconductor exposure and increasing holdings in large-cap, cash-generative companies, the strategy appears to balance growth potential with long-term stability. The adjustments demonstrate a shift ...

The price of Ethereum (ETH) experienced a sharp and rapid decline, dropping more than 10% during a major market sell-off. This decline was worsened by a chain of forced liquidations, where nearly $3 billion worth of leveraged crypto positions were automatically closed by exchanges as prices fell.

The main cause was a large unwinding of overleveraged derivatives positions, especially long bets predicting higher prices. As Ethereum's price started to fall, it triggered automatic sell orders from traders using excessive borrowed money (leverage) to boost their bets. This forced selling created a self-perpetuating downward spiral, pushing prices lower and causing even more ...

The UK's high streets continue to see a rapid decline in their physical banks. Santander has announced plans to close a further 79 branches, which will leave hundreds of communities without a local branch of that bank. This decision is part of an accelerating, industry-wide trend that has seen thousands of bank branches disappear from communities over the past decade, fundamentally transforming how people access basic financial services.

The shift is mainly driven by the large number of consumers moving to digital and mobile banking, making many traditional branches less financially viable for banks aiming to cut costs. Santander noted that ...

The price of Bitcoin fell sharply, declining to its lowest level since the start of 2026 and moving below the $90,000 threshold. The drop reflects a wider recalibration in financial markets as investor sentiment turned cautious.

This decline occurred in a session marked by shifting dynamics for alternative assets. Initial geopolitical concerns had spurred flows into traditional safe-haven assets, briefly lifting the price of gold. Bitcoin, which some market participants view as a digital store of value, often correlates with such moves. However, this momentum faded as gold prices retreated from their session highs, removing a source of support for the

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CommBank) experienced a significant nationwide outage, rendering its mobile app and NetBank online banking services unavailable for a considerable number of customers. The disruption began in the preceding evening and extended into the following day, preventing users from logging in to check balances or conduct essential financial transactions. The bank confirmed the outage, stating that CommBank and NetBank were “unavailable for some customers” while assuring that other services like card payments and ATMs remained operational. A spokesperson announced the issue was resolved by approximately 2:06 PM local time on the day of the incident, though the ...

Amazon has initiated a major corporate restructuring, announcing plans to eliminate approximately 16,000 jobs globally. This significant workforce reduction, primarily affecting corporate, technology, and project management roles, marks the latest phase in the tech giant's ongoing efforts to streamline operations and improve efficiency.

Company leadership has stated the decision is a strategic move to reduce costs, remove organisational redundancy, and reallocate resources toward its highest-priority investments. A central driver of this shift is a heightened focus on artificial intelligence. Amazon plans to channel savings and talent toward accelerating its development and integration of generative AI and machine learning technologies across its ...

ASML, the Dutch semiconductor equipment giant, has reported a massive surge in quarterly orders, far exceeding market expectations, fueled by an insatiable global demand for artificial intelligence chips. The company’s fourth-quarter earnings for 2025 revealed that net bookings for its advanced lithography systems, essential for producing the world's most powerful semiconductors, hit a new record. This boom is directly tied to investments from major chipmakers scaling up production for AI data centres and next-generation computing.

Alongside the stellar financial results, which also showed a significant year-over-year increase in sales, ASML announced a strategic restructuring plan. This initiative includes cutting approximately 1,700 ...

The Competition Appeal Tribunal in London has ruled that a landmark £656 million collective action lawsuit against Valve Corporation can proceed. The case, representing up to 14 million UK Steam users, alleges the company has abused its dominant position in the PC gaming market.

Filed by digital rights campaigner Vicki Shotbolt, the lawsuit centers on two primary accusations. First, it claims Valve imposes restrictive terms on game publishers, preventing them from selling titles cheaper or earlier on rival platforms. Second, it argues that Steam’s requirement for users to purchase all additional in-game content through its platform effectively "locks in" consumers.

These practices, ...

Amazon is undertaking a major restructuring of its grocery business, announcing the closure of all its physical Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh store locations across the United States. The decision marks a significant strategic pivot for the retail giant as it exits from operating its own network of physical supermarkets and convenience stores.

This nationwide closure of underperforming locations is part of a broader effort to streamline operations and improve profitability in a highly competitive grocery sector. According to an internal memo from the company's grocery leadership, the restructuring will allow Amazon to concentrate resources on its most promising growth areas: ...