This is what the flux.
I'm Bratton and I'm justin and it's Wednesday, the nineteenth of June. Feman, welcome back, bye, golly, it's good to be back. Jussy boy, me ow didn't get any hour and neuroaight now, Josey boy, Another RBA meeting is in the books. And yes, another pause keeping the cash rate at four point three five percent in a fifth pause in a row. And three of the big four banks are still expecting a cash rate drop later this year.
So finger is across.
Speaking of the RBA cashert, We've done a whole heap of deep dyes in the Flux app about why there was a pause, why didn't increase and also why Australia's kind of following the Federal Reserve in the US when it comes to the cash rat is very very juicy. So flex out. Make sure to downlad the Flux app and check it all out.
Three profit worthy stories today, jusy boy, let's do it for our first. Telstra has scrapped its commitment to a carbon offset scheme and it's also cut its plans to become carbon.
Neutral, pulling away from the pack. He is, so tell me more well, does he boy.
We obviously know Telster for being the largest telco company in the whole of Australia, and four years ago, Telstra, the.
Very good corporate citizen, joined the government's Climate Active program.
Along with seven hundred other companies.
Now, the goal of signing up was to get all these companies to carbon neutral.
In other words, investing in projects to offset the pollution that they are emitting.
But now four years later, Telstra's announced that it will stop buying carbon credits under the government's program, and.
Rather than buying these carbon credits, it will invest more money into decarbonization project.
Like introducing renewable energy in its data centers.
And does it Boy. Ultimately, Telstra recons this will help reduce its carbon footprint as opposed to just buying carbon credits to offset the carbon it was creating as a business. But interestingly, many people are actually celebrating Telstra leaving this program because carbon credits are a murky world for businesses.
Sounds very juicy, So what is the key lanning here?
Carbon credits have great intentions but appear to be failing in reality.
Put, carbon credits allow big polluters to offset the carbon that they amiss.
That means you don't actually need to change any of your behavior if you don't want it.
In other words, if you're emitting carbon from your data center, you invest in units of carbon credit and.
These units can go towards land restoration projects to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. And this is why the carbon credits market around the world is growing rapidly. In fact, the carbon credit market was valued at over one hundred and three billion US dollars in twenty twenty three and expected to.
Grow by fourteen point eight percent over the next eight years.
But the reality is carbon credits have attracted plenty of controversy giant and that is because.
People argue they're kind of misleading and like a whole lot of transparence.
For example, Telstra copped heat for buying the majority of its carbon credits from renewable projects not in Australia but in India, emitting in Australia and buying credits in India exactly, which is probably why Telster has decided to go back to basics and just reduce their emissions.
For our second story, Mars Wrigley, the snack food behemour, is spending millions of dollars to try and restore its chewing gum brands to their former glory.
Chewing gum fell off the cliff during COVID with nobody to impress. So what is going on here?
So Mars Wriggly is the multinational manufacturer of a whole range of foods anti pet products as well.
We'd be talking Mars Bars obviously, Eminem's Pods, Maltesers, even Bounty. On top of that, Juzzy Boy also owns a BK chewing gum, Airwaves, Juicy Fruit, as well as the heroes Extra and Orbit.
But be man, Mars Wrigglely is facing a bit of a sticky problem at the moment because gum sales peaked in twenty ten according to Euromonitor, and just haven't bounced out.
And they've tried everything.
They've tried things like fresh breath, long lasting taste, great confidence on dates, and now Mars Wriggly is back again with another major commitment to investing in their.
Gum ad Now this time around, Juzsey Boy, Extra and Orbit Gum is going to silence your anxious thoughts and improve your self esteem.
Really leaning into the trend, towards mindfulness.
And the trend towards anxiety.
I'd really like to see the peer reviewed research behind this link. Please quite your mind with Minty Breath gum. But this new campaign follows a number of failed campaigns because the brand is already so well known.
So what is the key learning here?
Revamping an iconic brand is like a cover of a classic song. Everyone knows the original way too.
Well, clearly Juzzy Boy. It's very difficult because Extra has been around since nineteen eighty four.
So to bring around real change, brands need a shift customers perception of the brand entirely. Let's be honest.
Twoing gum brands are up against it at the moment.
Yeah. Global gum sales fell nearly twenty percent between twenty nineteen and twenty twenty during the pandemic.
And although they have bounced back, there's still been a significant decline in the actual number of gum units sold since then.
That's according to Euromonitor.
Gum isn't the first product that's had to totally shift their brand positioning to turn things around.
For example, back in the eighties, Harley Davidson turned itself around big time.
They were just another motorcycle company and became a symbol of rebellion in the US.
They went from the brink of bankruptcy to a four and a half billion US dollar company. So Mars Wrigley is hoping to do the same. Billious Gum.
For our third and final story, Steak dot Com, the online casino, is desperate to law in tech talent from Australia's biggest companies, so it is throwing huge dollars at them.
Rolling the dice in this little game of salary rulette. B Man, so tell me more so.
Steak dot COM's owner, Easygo Solutions, is a tech company in the entertainment space and be Man.
Although they're global and not legal in Australia, they're actually founded here.
Now they own brands like Steak dot Com, the world's biggest online cryptocasino, but also kick dot Com and Twist Gaming and the Man.
Steak dot Com has made quite the name for itself as an online casino.
Sponsors Everton Football Club in the UK and also Alpha Romeo in the f Y.
Not to forget Drake being one of their ambassadors as well, and now juzy Boy Easygo, which doesn't quite have the rep of a Canva or an Atlastian is throwing mega salaries to bring tech talent into their business. They claim salaries twenty percent above the industry average.
The hard thing for Easygo though, is that it's looking for talent in a shrinking pool.
So what is the key learning here?
Australian tech industry has a major challenge on the horizon, a shortage of skilled workers for a growing number of jobs.
You see be man. It's estimated that Australia will need an extra three hundred thousand tech workers by twenty thirty according to the Federal Government.
Forecasts, and at the same time, there are only about six thousand science and engineering students graduating in Australia every year.
As a result, companies have to throw everything but the kitchen sink to get the best talent.
A skills shortage in technology can have serious implications for the growth of tech companies in the future, because.
Strong growth relies on strong people. Fox Am, you might not be surprised, but Australia loves to follow the US, particularly when it comes to cash rate rises and pauses. But there's a reason behind it and we've got to cover it. In the Flux app to make sure to download it so you can be smarter than your boss.
Thanks for listening, and we'll see you on a for Friday