This is what the flucks.
I'm Bratt and Justin and it's Monday, the eleventh of November.
Josie, boy, did you notice some happy faces over the weekend on the streets around town?
I did in back.
Well, last week was the ASX best week since mid August, if you didn't mind. It's all based on the expectation for rate cuts next year and China pumping squillions of dollars in stimulus into its own economy, and all of this leads to a very happy share market onwards.
And upwards, I ab man. Indeed, flamm can luxury items make good investments? That is the question that we had on our lips in the Flux app. And let me tell you one interesting fun fact for you. The rare whiskey market rose two hundred and eighty percent over the last ten years. So if you want to know which luxury items have grown in value over the past decade, it's all covered in the Flux app.
Three inflationary stories today, JUSI boy, let's do it for our first. Australians under the age of sixteen are going to be banned from using TikTok, Facebook and Insta under new government legislation not going to be a.
Popular decision for the youth of today.
Be Man or big Tech. So tell me what, well, Josie Boy.
Ever since social media took off in the early two thousands, it's been a pretty revolutionary way to connect with other humanoids, with your.
Friends, with your overseas cousins, and that person you once met in a hostel.
Fourteen years ago.
You are still following from the old MySpace wall back in the day to Facebook's wall, and then of course snap stories and dms and be man or social media companies always promote the benefits of social media, there's also a pretty hairy underbelly. Yep, you might remember Josie Boy. Three years ago, Leake documents showed that Meta actually knew that Instagram was harming the mental health of teen girls.
And the man. Similar stories around the impact of social media on youth have come up time and time again in recent years.
And now the Australian government is going to restrict social media access to Australians under the age of sixteen.
We're talking to Insta and Facebook and TikTok and Snap and x and up to thirty more social media platforms, and these underages will only be able to use the platforms if they have consent from their guardians or parents. But the scariest part is that it could set a precedent for other countries to ban social media for underage users too.
So what is the key learning here?
One bold decision today can set a precedent for many bold decisions in the future.
Now, Australia's decision to ban social media for under sixteenth is a world first.
So that means other countries are waiting and watching to see the impact of this law.
And they may potentially roll it out themselves as a world second.
Yeah, the UK is already looking towards rolling out something similar.
But here's the thing, Jazzy Boy.
For social media giants like TikTok and Meta, they generate a bucket load of revenue from this demographic.
In fact, last year Instagram made heaps of its AD revenue from use age Between fourteen and seventeen.
We are talking four billion US dollars.
And you're not out of the wards either. TikTok making two billion US dollars from underages and YouTube made one point two billion US dollars not out of the woods either. So this social media band takes off around the world, it could seriously impact their innings.
For our second story, Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil producer, has seen its third quarter profits plummet fifteen percent after lower oil prices eight into its margin.
Your young, Brie, those petrol prices, I say, be man, good for consumers.
So what is going on here?
Oh?
Well, jasy boy.
Saudi Aramco is the state owned oil company majority owned by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
And by majority we mean serious majority. Saudi Arabia owns more than ninety seven percent of Saudi Aramco, and Saudi Aramco.
Is not small as it happens.
In fact, it's the world's sixth most valuable company and.
B Man, the dividends from Saudi Ramco are used to invest in the future of Saudi Arabia.
But the future of Saudi Arabia may be on a slight pause right now.
Doessey Boy tell me what?
Because in the most recent quarter, Saudi Aramco reported revenue of one hundred and eleven billion US dollars, which actually was less than two percent below last year. But the kicker is its profits were down fifteen percent for the quarter compared to the same time last year.
The main reason you're asking, well, the price of oil has dropped big time in the past twelve months.
And be Man being the biggest in the world, Saudi Aramco is a bellweather for the global oil industry.
So what is the key learning here?
Bell weather stocks are the stocks that are normally used to gauge the general performance of an industry or a market or the overall.
Economy, and when they do well, it's often assigned that all are thriving.
And when they don't do well, it's often a pretty good indicator that the industry is struggling.
And just what Saudi Ramco produces around one in every eight barrels of global crude oil if you do not mind.
So it's fair to say that Saudi Ramcoast performance is a pretty good indicator into the rest of the market.
And some of the biggest companies are also bell weathers in their own industries, like Alphabet and the tech industry, or companies like Finex in the US or Australia post They can often be used as bell weathers for consumer demand.
But be Man, given the drop in oil prices this year and Saudi Ramcoast profit it's no surprise that it shares it down more than fifteen percent this year alone.
For our third and final story, Cooper's Brewery, the Australian owned brewery has seen its profit jump following a pretty unique alcohol offering who.
Uzzi Drinkers with title oilet's getting kind of creative here, so tell me what is go so.
Cooper's Beer has been around since eighteen sixty two and is still majority owned by the original Cooper's family man.
It currently has around five percent of the national beer market with It's paleol and It's sparkling our beers.
But over the past few years it's struggled to compete against the likes of Asahi and Lyon.
Those are the big brands that own beers like Carlton Draft and twoe'es in four x gold and many many more beer brands.
The boy Cooper's has bounced back this year with a nearly six percent jump in profit to twenty three million bucks, and it's all.
Thanks to a little secret weapon of theirs, the home brewing beer kit Boy.
As ozzies are feeling more financially stressed, they're turning to home brewing as value for money.
I must say, Mann, I've tried it once before and it didn't quite work out the way I plan.
And Joe Boy, Cooper's actually owns ninety percent of the home brewing kit market here in Australia.
And the market has grown rapidly since the cost of living challenges that we're all facing.
Intrigued to see where you go here, Josie Boy, So what is the key learning?
Understanding consumer behavior trends is vital for any business, especially in the alcoholic beverage industry.
Beer brands are facing some pretty major challenges right now.
Yeah.
Well, first, there's the cultural shifts that are having a major influence on how and when people are consuming alcohol.
For example, Cooper's found that since more people work from home after work drinks they're not as popular.
And then we've also got things like the tough economic conditions.
Yep, alcohol consumption is becoming pretty expensive with price rises every year.
But be man. With home brewing kits, Coopers is actually showing us that it's possible to refigorate a product despite the challenges in the industry.
Tell you what, Jaesibay, what I'd really love is a home financial education kit.
You got one for me?
I do. It's all actually in the Flux App. We're talking budgeting, we're talking credit's call, and a heap of juicy content to help you win at money every single.
Day you download the Flux App.
Thanks for listening, and we'll see you on Wednesday.