Fortescue & BHP spike after China's announcement | Visa's in hot water | The hidden costs of chocolate

This is what the Flux.

I'm justed and I'm harsh Steeve and it's Monday, the thirtieth of September.

Actually, we know coals and woolies have had a very rough week last week after the discounting scandal. But now a government funded report are shown that coals and woollies are actually thirty percent more expensive than Audi on a standard basket of groceries. They are being whacked from pillar to post.

Couldn't have described it better myself, does fluxpam. As another month rolls over, another month of subscriptions gets direct debited from your card painful, whether it's Netflix, Spotify or your local gym. Seventy seven percent of Flux users don't know how much is being direct debited each month. That's why we built the Flux subscription tracker in under thirty seconds. We use AI to help identify your upcoming subscriptions and

Three highly intelligent stories today, let's get into it for our first. The share price of Australia's biggest mining companies have jumped more than thirteen percent over the past week after a major stimulus announcement from China.

Buzzy miners clinking their iron field glasses, Jazz, tell me what's going on here?

Okay, So, as you know, HG, some of Australia's largest companies happen to be in the mining sector.

We're talking BHP Group, Fordescue and Rio Tinto, whoever combined market cap of three hundred and thirty six billion dollars on the ASX alone.

And actually the value of these companies is always huge, largely depends on the demand for their natural resources.

Think copper, iron ore, coal and lithium.

And a she This year, the price of iron ore has dropped by more than thirty five percent due to lower demand from the Chinese property market.

But late last week, the Chinese government announced some major plans to stimulate their economy.

Yeah, the Central Bank of China lowered interest rates and hinted more cash rate cuts to come.

And then the Chinese government announced their dish out support to property developers and homeowners.

We're talking over one hundred billion dollars worth of financial stimulus.

Next minute, Fortescue, Rio Tinto and BHP all saw their shares more than thirteen percent, which is.

A huge percentage growth when these companies are so big just to start with.

So what's the key learning here?

When China sneezes, Australia's miners catch the flu. But in this case it's a much needed dose of financial medicine.

You see, China accounts for nearly half of the copper demand in the world.

On top of that, China buys nearly seventy five percent of all of the global iron ore.

So when the Chinese government announces plans to increase the development of property, it means it will need more building resources.

Things like steel, which is made from ironore.

Which is mined out of these Australian owned mines.

Next minute, the price of iron ore jumps.

And Ossie miners are rejoicing.

For our second story, Visa is being sued by the US Justice Department for allegedly and monopolizing the debit card market illegally.

Justice Department coming after Meta Apple and Visa taking down the goliaths. What's going on here?

Does we know Visa the global payments behemoth the process nearly fifteen trillion US dollars in twenty twenty three.

It was founded back in nineteen fifty eight and has since exploded into a five hundred and thirty two billion US dollar business.

Now, actually, Visa has found itself in seriously hot water with the US Justice Department.

Yeah, Visa is being sued for allegedly monopolizing the debit card market illegally. The regulators reckon that Visa has used anti competitive pricing that penalizes merchants who looked for alternative payment methods.

On top of that, Visas allegedly been paying potential competitors to stay out of the market overall, which is highly illegal.

We're talking major plays in the payment space like PayPal.

Apple and Block and at she. After this news from the Department of Justice, visas share price sunk by over five percent out.

Now, this illegal pricing apparently began back in twenty twelve, after the US passed new laws that required banks to offer at least two debit networks to customers.

And since then it seems like Visa's been using different tactics to maintain its market power.

So what's the key learning here?

When you try too hard to hold onto your power, you can risk losing it.

All, you see, does since the US passed those laws to increase competition Visa has been scrambling to protect its dominance.

We're talking getting merchants to sign agreements with tough anti competitive terms.

And signing deals with the likes of Haypal, Apple and Block to prevent them from competing with Visa.

And actually it was these deals that raised red flags in the regulator's eyes.

You mean the deals Visa signed to protect itself from future threats that may or may not eventuate, me exactly.

And Visa's not the only company that's faced legal trouble for being overprotective of its market power.

Yeah. Just last month, Google was charged for paying twenty six billion US dollars to companies to ensure that they'd keep its search engine as their default.

So it she Sometimes the harder you try to cling to control, the quicker it can slip through your fingers.

For our third and final story, chocolate may become a whole lot more expensive in twenty twenty five, as the price of coco has jumped rapidly this year.

Do not get between me and my Wittikers, has Zella, Chocolate Block, won't even try tell me what's going on here.

Witterkers, Cadbury, Lind name your guilty pleasure jars. They all have one thing in common.

I believe it's that coco is the main ingredients.

That's right, But I've got some tough news to break to you. Cocoa prices have skyrocketed by ninety percent since the start of twenty twenty four.

And now a new report from Rubbobank warns that chocolate is about to get a whole lot price.

Heut, And what's the reason for this jump and cocoa prices?

Well, Actually, cocoa producers have struggled with the double ammy of intense heat and intense rain over the past two years.

And this has led to the lowest cocoa stocks in twenty two years, or the cocoa crunch as.

We like to call it. So what is the key learning here?

When the price of raw materials like cocoa goes up, it ripples through the entire supply chain.

We've all heard of a chain reaction, a series of events where each is caused by the previous one.

You see jazz. Seventy percent of the world's cocoa is harvested in West Africa.

And given the poor harvest last year, it's that to cocoa prices jumping to a fifty year high.

So the poor harvest impacts the cocoa farmers in West Africa, who then pass the cost onto factories of your favorite chocolate brands.

And then it gets passed along until it lands sadly in your grocery basket.

So Jazz that Wiker's Block might be becoming and luxury treats soon.

Yeah, am Netflix, Spotify your local gym Stan. Every single subscription gets direct ebitent from your card without you even knowing it, and seventy seven center Flux users don't even know how much they're paying each month for subscriptions. That's why we've built the Flux Subscription Tracker, tracks all your subscriptions in one spot in under thirty seconds. Make sure to download the Flux out to check it all out.

It's been a lot of fun, but I'm sure Brett's really looking forward to coming back.

We'll definitely speak to you very soon on the pot as well, So thanks so much for all your effort at the last couple of weeks.

Yes, keen to be back again soon. Send us at Thanks for listening, and we'll see you on Wednesday.