The Fin

Senior reporter Carrie LaFrenz and fashion editor Lauren Sams on the slow motion demise of department stores, what tipped David Jones over the edge and what’s going to happen now.
This podcast is sponsored by Ripple

Further reading:
David Jones prepares for collapse as talks fail David Jones will be tipped into administration this week after a rescue plan that would have left the 188-year-old business with just 12 stores unravelled, four months after the retailer managed to find a new financier.
‘Downton Abbey with cash registers’: David Jones from glory to decline The end of the grand old days and why the imminent collapse of David Jones was 188 years in the making.
The great retail reckoning is here The fallout will ripple through the economy as players shut stores, are picked off by opportunistic buyers or decide it’s too difficult to keep trading.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Washington correspondent Jessica Gardner and foreign affairs reporter Nicci Smith break down the elections in America and Israel and what the fallout means for markets, energy prices and democracy.
This podcast is sponsored by Ripple

Further reading:
Everything you should know about Trump’s midterm elections Americans go to the polls to decide the new make-up of the House of Representatives and part of the Senate. The vote serves as a check on Donald Trump’s power.
Voters are about to whack Trump. Markets could tumble a Democratic sweep would be a big risk-off moment. Stocks could tumble by as much as 10 per cent – the accepted definition of a correction.
The stakes could hardly be higher’: The election for Israel’s soul October 7 has become a lightning rod issue for Israelis in an election that is a referendum on the polarising leadership of Netanyahu and on the nation’s soul.
Israel can’t postpone its reckoning forever Intractable divides between the secular and religious sections of the population pose a bigger problem for the country than any external threat.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, workplace correspondent David Marin-Guzman and legal reporter Janek Drevikovsky on how litigants are using AI to level the playing field, what it means for judges, and the business of law.
This podcast is sponsored by Ripple

Further reading:
AI wins landmark Fair Work Commission case for Macquarie academic When Macquarie University computing academic Greg Baker decided to represent himself in a legal dispute with his employer in October, his knowledge of workplace laws was close to zero, he concedes.
A tiny AI law firm beat the taxman – and may have shrunk your tax bill For a two-person law firm, going head-to-head with the taxman is a Herculean task. Four or five senior barristers said it was impossible. Michael Drummond simply consulted Rachel, his tiny firm’s homemade artificial intelligence bot.
Lawyers go to war with clients who force-feed them AI slop In her 30 years as a tax lawyer, Tania Waterhouse has never seen anything like it. The case was a straightforward ATO matter. The client – an ordinary taxpayer. Waterhouse did the work and, as a standard courtesy, sent the client a draft of her advice.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, senior reporter Jonathan Shapiro and tech editor Paul Smith take us inside the spectacular undoing of Firmus: what went wrong, how it unravelled in a week, and what this sudden collapse reveals about the AI boom.
This podcast is sponsored by Ripple
Further reading:
How Firmus’ $44b IPO failure unfolded
Firmus was on a runaway train to become one of the country’s most valuable listed companies. This is the day-by-day account of how that hope evaporated.
The pain that killed Firmus’ float is spreading. Here’s a new victim
AirTrunk’s decision to delay its Singaporean property IPO is another sign that the rising cost of capital is starting to foster doubts in the global artificial intelligence trade.
AirTrunk postpones $4.4b Singapore listing as interest rates soar
AirTrunk, has delayed plans to list a real estate investment trust in Singapore due to global market volatility, including rising interest rates.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, senior reporter Greg Bearup and pollster Kos Somaras on how vital migrants have become in the regions, why those towns are voting for One Nation and how new data shows that the shift doesn’t have much to do with immigration.
With additional audio: Nic Walker
This podcast is sponsored by Ripple
Further reading
‘We’ll cut your rent by up to 4k’: Hanson ups the ante on immigration One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has lifted the stakes in the immigration policy wars by releasing modelling showing her policy would save renters between $2000 and $4300 a year.
Taylor’s middle ground on migration might be the safest course The Coalition has tried to reconcile two competing interests: how to slash the number of arrivals without hurting the economy.
Voters turn on Albanese and Chalmers as economic concerns bite The latest The Australian Financial Review/RedBridge Group/Accent Research poll also shows economic management is starting to resonate with voters, jumping 7 percentage points in a month as an issue of concern to sit just outside the top five.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.