Neil

• Global markets are monitoring financial updates ahead of the U.S. equities cash opening on July 28, 2026. • Economic data shows a reading at its highest level since March, slightly exceeding the median estimate from a Bloomberg survey of economists, though it remains below the long-term average of 100. • Insee reports a decline in the proportion of households viewing prices as having risen over the last year, alongside a sharp drop in inflation acceleration expectations.

Secretary and president of Australian Council of Trade Unions announced surprise departures on Monday eveningThe leadership of the trade union movement is set for a major shakeup after the secretary and president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions announced their surprise departures.The ACTU’s secretary, Sally McManus, and its president, Michele O’Neil, revealed on Monday night they would be stepping down after eight years together. Anthony Albanese described both as personal friends and “giants of the labour movement”. Continue reading...

Prime minister pays tribute to secretary and president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions after surprise announcement. Follow updates liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIn a statement, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, described Sally McManus and Michele O’Neil as personal friends and “giants of the labour movement”.He said:Working families are in a stronger financial position today than they would otherwise be because of the tireless advocacy and strong leadership of Sally McManus and Michele O’Neil.Sally and Michele secured incredible successes for working people in their eight years together leading Australia’s union movement – the first all-female leadership team in the Australian Council of Trade Unions’ 99-year history.Union membership is growing, and workers have over 47 new workplace rights. But of course, there are still big challenges with cost-of-living pressures, AI, and billionaires who have too much wealth and power. Continue reading...

• Proprietary survey data suggests that AI integration could drive a growth of over 10% in new drug development programs within the next three to five years. • AI is increasingly being used to screen job résumés before human review, fundamentally changing the recruitment process. • Experts warn that these AI tools may judge candidates unfairly because Large Language Models (LLMs) inherit human biases from their training data.

• Mercor, an AI company founded in 2023, is reportedly in talks with investors for a new funding round at a $20 billion valuation. • This potential valuation is double the $10 billion mark the company reached during its previous funding round in October. • The news highlights the massive capital flowing into data-training ventures, similar to Meta's $14 billion investment in Scale AI last year.

The star of more than 100 films is remembered as a champion of New Zealand’s arts, culture and environment, and a generous collaborator and friend Sam Neill, star of Jurassic Park films and The Piano, dies aged 78Sam Neill’s 20 best rolesSam Neill’s friends, peers and admirers have rushed to pay tribute to the actor, after his sudden death on Monday at the age of 78.Australian director Phillip Noyce, who directed Neill in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm alongside Nicole Kidman, told the Guardian: “Sam was perhaps the most gentlemanly actor ​I ever encountered. Level-headed and sincere in a show business world of crazy egos. His word was his contract.” Continue reading...

Premier Jeremy Rockliff says the ‘traffic cones and street signs of Tasmania can breathe a small sigh of relief’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA one-tonne southern elephant seal named Neil, whose beachside antics have attracted millions of views on social media, appears to have returned to sea.The five-year-old has spent several weeks at his usual twice-yearly haul-out spot in southern Tasmania. Continue reading...