Corporate news, markets, and the economy
Byron Bay's Bluesfest, a 36-year pillar of Australia's live music scene, has collapsed into liquidation just three weeks before the festival was scheduled to open, leaving thousands of ticket holders and local contractors out of pocket.
Kate Morrison 
A Delaware judge has ruled that gaming publisher Krafton breached its contract with Subnautica 2 developer Unknown Worlds, ordering the reinstatement of fired CEO Ted Gill and extending the studio's $250 million performance bonus deadline.
Andrew Marsh 
Venture capitalist Jon McNeill sees genuine opportunity in the unglamorous work of building and maintaining AI infrastructure. But the jobs are not where everyone thinks.
Nadia Souris 
OpenAI is folding its ChatGPT app, Codex coding platform, and Atlas browser into a single desktop superapp, citing internal inefficiencies and mounting competitive pressure.
Mitchell Tan 
A Brisbane deli owner has publicly accused a former manager of plagiarising recipes and copying his menu to launch a competing sandwich shop, sparking a debate about intellectual property in the restaurant industry.
Aisha Khoury 
Alphabet's life sciences company Verily is restructuring with fresh funding, shedding its parent company's control and moving toward independence as a dedicated health-tech firm centred on artificial intelligence.
Nadia Souris 
Amazon has acquired Rivr, a Zurich-based robotics startup, to bring autonomous delivery robots into its logistics network. The deal reflects Amazon's broader push to automate operations beyond the warehouse.
Tom Whitfield 
OpenAI has acquired Astral, the company behind widely-used Python developer tools, in a strategic move to strengthen its Codex coding agent against fierce competition from Anthropic.
Andrew Marsh 
The Australian Energy Regulator's draft decision proposes residential power bill cuts of up to 10.1% next financial year, driven by lower wholesale costs and improved supply chain conditions.
Mitchell Tan 
Two landmark hospitality sales signal robust investor interest in premium Australian hotels and pubs, from Perisher Valley's highest altitude property to Sydney's most iconic beer garden.
Darren Ong 
National Australia Bank is readying a major expansion of its AI-powered customer engagement system after maturing its 'customer brain', targeting a dramatic increase in personalised customer actions.
Sophia Vargas 
In just weeks, manufacturers have killed affordable EVs while protecting high-margin luxury models. The pattern reveals uncomfortable truths about tariffs, subsidies, and market reality.
Tanya Birch 
European cloud providers have filed an antitrust complaint against Broadcom, arguing the closure of its VMware partner programme is an illegal squeeze on customer choice that destroys businesses built around the software.
Andrew Marsh 
Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket are signing high-profile partnerships with CNN, CNBC, and other major outlets to embed betting odds into news coverage. Industry experts warn the arrangements risk corrupting journalism.
Tanya Birch 
Tesla plans to build its own semiconductor fabrication plant, a $25 billion wager that signals real frustration with global supply chains, but decades of industry expertise cannot be purchased at any price.
Nina Papadopoulos 
Australia's government is distributing a $1,200 cost of living payment to welfare recipients starting March 21, even as inflation data shows families spending $7,200 more annually to maintain a basic lifestyle.
Marcus Ashbrook 
Gaming PC sales are surging globally, but the market's dramatic shift toward high-end systems is pricing out budget-conscious players. Industry analysts question whether promised affordable ARM-based alternatives will materialise.
Tom Whitfield 
The US trade deficit hit a record $1.2 trillion in 2025 as AI hardware imports from Asia surged 60%, overwhelming domestic production capacity and undermining the administration's tariff strategy.
Tom Whitfield 
Pearl Abyss' share price collapsed nearly 30% after Crimson Desert arrived with mixed reviews, exposing the risks of massive hype-driven investment in game development.
Oliver Pemberton 
Paramount has secured a $110 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery after Netflix backed out, but regulatory hurdles and massive debt loom ahead.
Kate Morrison