Anthony Macdonald

Net profit is supposed to be up 80% this year.

So it's growing like a weed.

So it's stunning to watch.

I'm glad I'm not a fund manager that has to actually decide which of these companies to allocate capital towards because that's a very different prospect.

Yeah, James, just before we leave the topic of AI, I wanted to ask you about this guy, Bill Winters, the CEO of a bank called Standard Chartered.

This week he announced that he will sack 8,000 staff, but it was the phrase he used that caught my eye.

He said he'll use AI to, and I quote, replace low-value human capital.

Yeah.

James, does that sound as bad as I think it sounds?

Okay, James, let's get to our second topic.

And the political bun fight over the Albanese government's fifth budget rages on as the merits of the changes to the taxation of trusts and capital gains and the new negative gearing regime are fiercely debated.

But as always in Australia, one topic rules all, and that's housing.

Morgan Stanley this week declared that the largest house price correction in 40 years is underway on the back of the budget.

James, is it really that dramatic?

I agree it's red hot, but it wasn't really mentioned at the Director's Awards, James.

That was a seriously unique event.

So inside that director's bubble, lots of love in the room for directors.

No one mentioned negative gearing or CGT.

There was just a lot of pats on the back and talks about career journeys and that sort of stuff, which is all important, but it was a sort of fascinating look inside the director bubble there.

But on the outside, I agree with you, James.