☕️DJ Sol-Searching

Good morning.

Donald Trump took to Truth Social to tell Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon that the bank made a “bad prediction” about Trump’s tariff plans on markets and consumers and that he should focus on spinning decks not cashing cheques.

“I think that David should go out and get himself a new Economist or, maybe, he ought to just focus on being a DJ, and not bother running a major Financial Institution,” Trump said, blasting DJ Sol for his musical hobby.

While Trump didn’t detail why he is cranky at Goldman, it could have something to do with a research note by the bank’s economists on Sunday that said the impact of the president’s tariffs on consumer prices is just starting to be felt.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Shares in Life360 jumped Tuesday after a strong second-quarter result prompted an upgrade to full-year guidance, even as the company announced co-founder Chris Hulls will step down as CEO. The company CFO Russell Burke told Capital Brief it is considering shifting Tile manufacturing from China to Malaysia to avoid potential US tariffs.

The quick sync

• Life360 weighs Malaysia move for Tile production to dodge potential 125% US tariffs. (Capital Brief)

• The RBA’s rate cut grabbed headlines, but its blunt downgrade to productivity growth may be the real story heading into next week’s reform talks. (Capital Brief)

• ASIC’s Joe Longo wants AI rules kept light but says companies can’t sit on their hands until Canberra decides. (Capital Brief)

• Seven chief Jeff Howard slams AI giants for “theft” of news content and calls on Canberra to crack down. (Capital Brief)

• Chris Hulls passes the reins at Life360 to Lauren Antonoff, with booming growth and a hint the market likes the change. (Capital Brief)

Trading floor

M&A

• Spark NZ sells 75% of data centres to PEP for $486m. (Capital Brief)

• Soul Patts sells $140m in Tuas shares after M&A announcement. (AFR)

• EMR restarts $US3b Kestrel coal mine sale with select bidders. (The Australian)

• Star Entertainment to sell 50% stake in Queen’s Wharf casino. (AFR)

• Perplexity offers $34.5b to buy Google Chrome, pledging to keep features and invest amid antitrust pressure. (Capital Brief)

• Perth’s AvidSys Group set to buy controlling stake in Formula One team. (AFR)

• Healthscope eyes self-bid to go not-for-profit amid weak offers. (The Australian)

• PEP’s Johns Lyng bid includes $200m loan to CEO Scott Didier. (AFR)

Capital Markets

• AI disruption fears have triggered a brutal software selloff, erasing billions from Europe’s tech giants in a single day. (Bloomberg)

• Seven West profit falls 62% despite streaming boost. (Capital Brief)

• SGH profit up 5%, boosts dividend. (Capital Brief)

• Coronado Global Resources posts first-half loss amid falling coal prices, expects improvement in H2 2025. (Capital Brief)

• ACCC set to approve industry levy on soft plastics to replace REDcycle. (Smart Company)

• Macquarie upgrades JB Hi-Fi to outperform and Morgans lifts rating after sharp 8.4% share selloff, calling it an overreaction. (Capital Brief)

• Tuas raised $385m via shares and plans $50m more to help fund its $1.7b M1 telecom takeover, supported by $1.1b in debt. (Capital Brief)

• Centaurus Metals seeks $17m to progress Brazilian nickel project. (AFR)

• Star Entertainment’s shares rose after exiting Queen’s Wharf stake, gaining cash, a Gold Coast hotel, and future payments. (Capital Brief)

• SkyCity Adelaide deemed suitable for casino licence despite issues; working on AML improvements. (Capital Brief)

• Tyro halts trading amid takeover speculation after ASX query. (The Australian)

• RBA cuts rates to 3.6%; banks lower home loan rates; inflation forecast unchanged. (Capital Brief)

• Barrenjoey predicts spodumene prices will rally for 6-12 months, benefiting lithium miners. (Capital Brief)

• Barrenjoey’s Community Capital raises $310m for new private equity fund. (AFR)

• Federal Court finds Apple and Google guilty of anti-competitive conduct in app stores, opening path for compensation claims. (Capital Brief)

• Computershare’s revenue drops to $3.1b, but profit rises to $607m on strong service growth. (Capital Brief)

• China urges firms to avoid Nvidia H20 chips, favoring domestic alternatives over security concerns. (Capital Brief) (Bloomberg)

• Government’s $2b ANZ Pacific guarantee criticised for potential competitive harm. (AFR)

• US inflation steady at 2.7% in July; Fed rate cut bets rise. (Capital Brief)

• Anthropic offers Claude chatbot to US government for US$1 amid rising AI government deals. (Capital Brief)

• Fractal Analytics, India’s first AI unicorn, lodged plans for a 49 billion rupee ($856m) Mumbai IPO. (Bloomberg)

• Tesla regroups and redistributes engineers after Musk shuts down its Dojo AI supercomputer effort. (Bloomberg)

• Evergrande’s Hong Kong delisting seals the fate of China’s most notorious property collapse. (Bloomberg)

VC 

• Syenta raises $8.8m in pre-Series A funding led by Investible for new AI chip printing technology. (Startup Daily)

• Zetifi wins $5m grant to expand smart antenna tech worldwide. (Startup Daily)

People moves

• oOh!media names SBS boss James Taylor as next CEO. (Capital Brief)

• KPMG, Deloitte, and PwC sack 35 staff over misconduct after scrutiny. (AFR)

• Life360 CEO Chris Hulls hired Lauren Antonoff as COO knowing she might replace him as CEO. (Capital Brief)(Capital Brief)

• Miles Advisory names Lloyd Way and Duncan Mann co-heads after founder’s death. (AFR)

• Trump nominates EJ Antoni, Heritage Foundation economist, as head of Bureau of Labor Statistics after firing previous chief amid job data disputes. (Capital Brief)

• Paul Howes to leave KPMG for CEO role at rebranded Sayers Group. (AFR)

The watercooler