Tech wobble hits Wall Street; nicotine consumption jumps 40pc; AI develops new vaccines
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome to Fear and Greed, business news you can use today.
What caused Wall Street's recent decline?
Wall Street falls as questions arise around the sustainability of the tech boom. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and former Prime Minister Julia Gillard hit out at critics of Victorian Premier Jacinda Allen over Ditch the Witch billboards.
What are the implications of the 'Ditch the Witch' billboards?
And nicotine consumption in Australia jumps 40% on the back of illegal sales of cigarettes.
Why has nicotine consumption surged in Australia?
Plus, new research gives an insight into property investors and AI is used to develop new vaccines.
What insights does new research provide about property investors?
It is Tuesday, the 9th of June, 2026.
How is AI being utilized to develop new vaccines?
I'm Michael Thompson and good morning, Sean Aylmer. Good morning, Michael. Sean, the main story this morning, Wall Street has just ended its worst week since October last year, albeit off record highs. The fate of Wall Street remains tied to the big tech companies, though. unexpectedly strong jobs market data over the weekend did shift some of the focus onto interest rates and the potential then for hikes in coming months. The question, and it's a very big question for investors, is that if interest rates in the US rise, is that going to crimp the trillions of dollars in AI spending expected over the next few years?
Yes, another market tied to big tech is the Korean market. It's up 94% so far this year on the back of a rally in its tech companies, places like Samsung, SK Group. And that, of course, compares to the ASX 200, which is actually down 1% year to date. It's difficult to get a read on what's next for Wall Street. The naysayers point out high oil prices and little chance of that changing anytime soon. That means more inflation in the pipeline, ultimately higher interest rates and slower economic growth.
What are the trends in the Australian housing market?
The proponents of buying Wall Street argue that... Ultimately, a deal will be done in the Middle East and economic data and company profits are, if anything, improving in the US. You also have the listing of Elon Musk's SpaceX and Anthropix going to list as well. So plenty to be excited about.
It seems that the big tech companies are confident that Wall Street will keep running.
How is the illegal tobacco market affecting consumption rates?
Over the last few days, now reports have emerged that Meta Platforms is considering a large equity raise. And that comes just days after we're talking about Google saying that it would equity raise $80 billion US dollars and Anthropic filed for an IPO. We also had, what did you make of this? We also had OpenAI saying that it wants to transform ChatGPT into a super app. that combines coding tools and AI agents, basically everything all in one in this effort to generate more revenue.
I don't mean to be cynical. Your silence says a lot here, Sean. I don't mean to be cynical. But you have to wonder a bit. So big tech for the first time can't fund their projected AI spend via cash flow. So they're seriously thinking, well, they are raising equity in some cases. ChatGPT is already... changing strategy in an effort to increase revenue. SpaceX is prepared to sell shares to pretty much anyone, including retail investors in Australia via, you know, if you've got a ComSec account, you can buy into SpaceX. That in itself is a bit unusual for a US company coming to market. I suppose, is AI paying off yet for big tech companies outside the chip makers? No doubt Nvidia's got a lot of money, but what about outside them?
These hyperscalers spending huge amounts of money, are they getting their money back at this point? I'm not so sure. I think we're starting to see that in some of these actions. The AI revolution is a revolution. I'm not arguing against that. But revolutions come with plenty of bumps and bruises. Maybe the next few months will be just a lot tougher than the past couple of months.
Yeah, it does sound that way. Let's look at the short term, though, Sean. Let's look at today. What's in store for the local market, given the context, the lead-in of Wall Street's pretty sizable sell-off over the weekend? Yes.
Well, I'd imagine it will open lower. Late last week, we saw investors in the ASX 200 moving into defensive sectors already. So healthcare, consumer staples, utilities, they did best.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:06–0:09
2
What caused Wall Street's recent decline?
0:09–0:23
3
What are the implications of the 'Ditch the Witch' billboards?
0:23–0:29
4
Why has nicotine consumption surged in Australia?
0:29–0:36
5
What insights does new research provide about property investors?
0:36–0:39
6
How is AI being utilized to develop new vaccines?
0:39–1:55
7
What are the trends in the Australian housing market?
1:55–2:21
8
How is the illegal tobacco market affecting consumption rates?
2:21–17:27