Category: 3. Business

Food delivery drivers could win a major pay boost and better working conditions, under a landmark deal jointly proposed by the Transport Workers’ Union and Uber Eats and DoorDash – Australia’s two biggest food delivery services.

Those improved conditions would include accident insurance for injured or killed workers. Eighteen delivery workers have died on the job in Australia since the union began tracking fatalities in 2017.

The deal is yet to be reviewed and decided by the national workplace tribunal, the Fair Work Commission.

But this would be an historic deal if the commission does ratify it. It would apply not just to Uber Eats and DoorDash drivers, but industry-wide to other food delivery companies, such as Hungry Panda. It would also set a precedent in other areas of the “gig economy”: from rideshare drivers to contract carers hired via digital job platforms.

News of the proposed deal came the day before rival food delivery company Menulog stops taking orders in Australia. From November 26, Menulog customers and restaurants will be redirected to Uber Eats.

So how likely is it this delivery driver deal will become law? How much would it improve delivery workers’ lives? And what impact could it have on the price and experience of getting a home delivered meal?

What’s proposed and why it matters

On Tuesday, the Transport Workers Union, Uber and DoorDash announced they had made a joint submission to the Fair Work Commission for a new set of minimum standards for contract “gig” workers.

The proposed standards would include legally enforceable new protections for those workers, including:

• minimum safety net pay rates for all classes of transport types, such as bicycles and cars
• new dispute resolution processes
• new engagement and feedback mechanisms
• representation rights, and
• accident insurance for injured workers.

That accident insurance is really significant. It would make it easier for families of dead or injured drivers who get hurt on the job to get compensation.

‘The guts of a future standard’

There are currently four cases before the Fair Work Commission to do with digital labour platform workers and road transport contractors.

Having the union and two of the biggest companies in this area agreeing is a significant step forward.

The commission still has to go through its usual processes. But it is now more likely to say yes to this proposed deal. Even if it ends up deciding to impose other conditions, this submission is likely to be the guts of a future standard.

If that happens, it would deliver major improvements in pay and conditions for one of the most vulnerable and fast-growing workforces in Australia.

Better pay could improve safety and deliveries

Pay is extremely important for safety. If you’re on low pay, you have to work faster and for longer hours.

The Australian Financial Review has reported the new safety net payment under this proposed deal would be 25% more than now: a minimum of $A31.30 up to $32 an hour.

That rate would depend on the transport used for delivery (less for a bike, more for a car). It would be enforced based on those hourly rates.

Under the current method of pay per delivery, riders and drivers have a strong incentive to rush to get the work done. This deal would address that pressure to engage in dangerous practices.

Reducing that pressure to rush each delivery could also lead to improved service.

And if anything does go wrong, there would be better mechanisms for the workers to talk to the company about what happened and improve future deliveries too.

What it means for delivery price rises

Uber Eats and DoorDash have been reported as saying they wouldn’t expect significant price rises as a result of this deal.

It’s worth noting this has happened just as Menulog – which had about a quarter of the Australian food delivery market, only behind Uber Eats – is exiting Australia.

There is an argument the remaining delivery companies now have an opportunity to offset higher costs for drivers by winning some of Menulog’s market share.

But even if there did end up being a small price rise as a result of this deal, customers could feel better about ordering home delivery, knowing workers would be getting a fairer, safer deal.

A precedent beyond food deliveries

This is a world-leading proposal.

It would mean people working as contract workers don’t have to be found to be an employee by a court to have minimum pay and conditions like this.

We’re expecting to see a similar approach come up at the Fair Work Commission in other areas soon, including on “last mile delivery” – such as Amazon Flex deliveries – and for rideshare drivers.

It could also be relevant for other types of contractors hired through digital labour platforms, such as aged care or disability care. An estimated 14% of Australian workers have been engaged through digital labour platforms in some form already.

This proposal would set a precedent for all those areas.

The oil market received a boost from a broader risk-on move, with equities rallying and the market pricing in a higher probability of the US Federal Reserve cutting interest rates on 10 December. As a result, ICE Brent settled almost 1.3% higher on the day. However, the market continues to pay close attention to how peace talks to end the war in Ukraine develop. Reports suggest that there have been significant changes to the proposed peace plan, with the US and Ukraine essentially drafting a new one. The more contentious points, such as those related to territory, will need to be ironed out by President Trump and President Zelensky. Obviously, Russia must agree on any deal. For oil markets, a deal could remove significant supply risk, leaving participants to focus on bearish supply fundamentals through 2026.

European gas prices came under further pressure yesterday, with the Title Transfer Facility (TTF) trading below EUR30/MWh to its lowest level since May 2024. Ukrainian peace talks weighed on prices somewhat, while weather forecasts for December suggest milder-than-usual temperatures after a recent cold spell. The colder weather in recent days has led to gas storage in the EU falling more rapidly. It’s now 79% full, down from a 5-year average of 89%. The large investment fund gross short in the market still leaves plenty of positioning risk, particularly as we move deeper into winter. For now, funds seem to believe that the supply outlook is comfortable, with growing LNG supply.

Around the world, doctors, nurses and pharmacists are turning to evidence-based integrative approaches such as acupuncture, yoga, exercise, massage and nutrition counseling to help people with cancer manage the harsh side effects of treatment.

New research led by the University of California, Irvine shows just how widespread that shift has become and how much work remains to make these therapies accessible to all.

Published this month in BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, the study surveyed more than 300 oncology professionals from the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer and the Society for Integrative Oncology across eight regions. About 70 percent said they had used or recommended at least one integrative approach to help patients manage cancer-related symptoms such as pain, fatigue, anxiety and gastrointestinal distress.

Despite this widespread support, nearly 80 percent of respondents said these services remain underused in cancer care. Cost, lack of insurance coverage and limited training opportunities were cited as major obstacles, particularly in parts of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where access is lowest. Most patients still pay for these services out of pocket. Training opportunities were most available in North America.

The research was led by Alexandre Chan, professor and founding chair of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy Practice at UC Irvine’s School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, with major contributions from Reem Nasr, a Pharm.D. candidate who helped design and conduct the study, analyze data and prepare the publication.

“We found that cancer professionals across the globe value these approaches not as alternatives but as essential modalities to work alongside conventional cancer care,” Chan said. “At the same time, the inequities we identified show that too many patients still face barriers to getting the support they need to heal not only physically but emotionally and spiritually.”

The study focused specifically on managing symptoms that occur either during active treatment or after therapy through an integrated approach. It explored how supportive care including acupuncture, exercise, nutrition and mindfulness can help patients cope with physical, emotional and psychological challenges that often persist long after cancer treatment ends.

By gathering data from clinicians in eight regions through the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer and the Society for Integrative Oncology, the study was able to create a road map for improving patient-centered care. The authors recommend expanding training programs across medical, nursing and pharmacy schools to ensure that future clinicians are equipped to safely and effectively implement integrative practices.

The findings also highlight opportunities for healthcare organizations, educators and policymakers to develop funding mechanisms, training programs and policy frameworks that promote equitable, evidence-based supportive care for all cancer patients.

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 24 (Reuters) – Amazon suggested its engineers eschew AI code generation tools from third-party companies in favor of its own, a move to bolster its proprietary Kiro service, which it released in July, according to an internal memo viewed by Reuters.

In the memo, posted to Amazon’s internal news site, the company said, “While we continue to support existing tools in use today, we do not plan to support additional third party, AI development tools.”

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“As part of our builder community, you all play a critical role shaping these products and we use your feedback to aggressively improve them,” according to the memo.

The guidance would seem to preclude Amazon employees from using other popular software coding tools like OpenAI’s Codex, Anthropic’s Claude Code, and those from startup Cursor.

Kiro is Amazon’s homegrown AI tool for code generation, the technique for creating websites and apps using just plain English commands. It relies in large part on versions of coding tools from Anthropic, but not specifically Claude Code.

“To make these experiences truly exceptional, we need your help,” according to the memo, which was signed by Peter DeSantis, senior vice president of AWS utility computing, and Dave Treadwell, senior vice president of eCommerce Foundation. “We’re making Kiro our recommended AI-native development tool for Amazon.”

The internal guidance comes on the heels of Amazon widening Kiro’s availability last week to a worldwide audience along with some new features.

Spokespeople for Anthropic, OpenAI and Cursor did not immediately respond to requests for comment. An Amazon spokesperson confirmed the memo.

In October, Amazon revised its internal guidance for OpenAI’s Codex to “Do Not Use” following a roughly six month assessment, according to a memo reviewed by Reuters. And Claude Code was briefly designated as “Do Not Use,” before that was reversed following a reporter inquiry at the time.

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TAMPA, Fla. — An order for Oman’s first geostationary communications satellite has lifted the global tally for this year to six, matching all of 2024 with a month still to go but still well below the industry’s former double-digit annual pace.

Space Communication Technologies (SCT), Oman’s state-backed operator, announced a contract Nov. 24 with Airbus for OmanSat-1.

The Ka-band satellite will be based on Airbus’ software-defined OneSat platform, enabling reconfigurable connectivity over the Middle East, East Africa and Asia.

Financial details were not disclosed. The contract includes a knowledge-sharing partnership as Oman joins other Middle Eastern nations pursuing greater space sovereignty and a more diversified economy in anticipation of a post-oil future.

“We will work hand in hand with Oman’s Space Communication Technologies to help them deliver their national satellite programme and develop their sovereign capabilities to serve their future customers,” Alain Fauré, head of space systems at Airbus, said in a statement.

Oman hailed its entry into the space sector last year after a Chinese rocket launched OL-1, a remote-sensing optical satellite developed jointly by China and local startup Oman Lens.

An earlier Omani satellite developed with Poland’s SatRev was lost in the failed 2023 launch of Virgin Orbit’s now-defunct LauncherOne rocket.

SatRev has remained closely engaged with Oman since then, including developing a ground station to support the country’s expanding space ambitions.

In February, Spain’s PLD Space also signed an agreement to launch its Miura 5 small launch vehicle from a new spaceport in Oman as soon as 2027.

Global tally

There have been five other commercial orders this year for communications satellites destined for geostationary orbit (GEO), Novaspace senior consultant Alix Rousseliere confirmed:

Chungwha-1 and Koreasat-7 were ordered from a new breed of GEO manufacturer producing smaller, more tailored satellites closer to the size of a dishwasher than a school bus. Half of the six commercial GEO communications satellites ordered last year were 1,000 kilograms or less.

Still, this level of activity remains a far cry from when manufacturers routinely secured 15 to 20 large, multi-ton GEO orders annually.

The shift reflects declining demand for TV broadcasts from space, the rise of flexible digital payloads and growing competition from broadband megaconstellations in low Earth orbit.

Related

By Cam Hui

Potential Fed rate cut in December could ignite a ‘risk-on’ flame – but only for a short time

Many investors believe AI stocks are in a bubble – how long then before it pops?

The possibility of Fed easing and short-term technical rotation patterns raise the odds of a growth rebound.

Is it all over for growth stocks? AI market leader Nvidia (NVDA) reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results last week, and CEO Jensen Huang characterized demand for its Blackwell chip as “off the charts.”

The stock staged a brief reflex rally but the price faded to close in the red. The market overall adopted a risk-off tone, with market leadership showing a clear growth-to-value rotation across the board on all market-cap bands and internationally.

So, is the AI and tech rally done? I analyzed the market through the lens of leadership rotation, and here’s what I found.

Sector strength and weakness

My primary tool for market leadership analysis is the RRG chart. Relative Rotation Graphs, or RRG charts, are a way of depicting the changes in leadership in different groups, such as sectors, countries or regions, or market factors.

RRG charts are organized into four quadrants, seen in the chart below. The typical group rotation pattern occurs in a clockwise fashion. Leading groups (top right) deteriorate to weakening groups (bottom right), which then rotate to lagging groups (bottom left), which change to improving groups (top left), and finally complete the cycle by improving to leading groups (top right) again.

A conventional RRG chart of S&P 500 SPX sectors (above) currently reveals a curious pattern – no sectors are in the top right leading quadrant. Technology had rotated from the leading to weakening quadrant. While the typical rotation pattern calls for it to eventually move to the lagging quadrant in the bottom left, its tight clockwise rotation may put it back up to the leading quadrant.

A scan of the “improving” quadrant (below) reveals the up-and-coming sectors consisting of energy, healthcare and utilities. These are sectors with individual idiosyncratic characteristics that don’t fit into a conventional value-growth or risk-on/off narrative.

Emerging leadership

An analysis of improving sectors from the RRG charts shows that the three emerging leadership candidates each have their own idiosyncratic risk and return patterns.

Utilities stocks – as measured by the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF XLU – bottomed in April and have been in an uptrend. The relative return chart shows a saucer-shaped bottoming pattern. Relative breadth (bottom two panels) has also been strong.

That’s positive, right? But utilities are a hybrid AI play based in the expectation of rising electricity demand from data centers. Should the strength of utilities be interpreted as bullish for AI exposure and a growth sector or bearish because of its defensive characteristics?

Meanwhile, healthcare stocks – as measured by the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF XLV – are enjoying a recovery from a multi-year capitulation and washout. The sector has rallied to test a major resistance level, though it did stage a relative breakout (second panel), which is promising. While the sector has a promising intermediate-term outlook, price action appears extended in the short run.

Energy – measured by the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF XLE is another sector with signs of emerging leadership. It’s been in an uneven uptrend since April and its relative return chart shows a promising saucer-shaped bottom pattern. Relative breadth has also been strong.

However, the outlook for the energy sector depends on oil prices, which have been in a downtrend but on the verge of testing support at the $60-$62 zone.

Follow the chart leaders

Investors can use RRG charts for different perspectives of market behavior. The chart below analyzes factor leadership against an equal-weighted S&P 500. As the chart shows, leading and improving factors can be characterized as value and fundamentally driven factors, namely large-cap value, quality, dividend growth and low volatility.

By contrast, the factors in the bottom half of the chart can be characterized as high-octane factors, such as price momentum, speculative growth, high-beta, IPOs and large-cap growth. Viewed against such a prism, this foreshadows a period of sloppy price action or correction for the stock market.

For a top-down macro perspective, the chart below shows rotation analysis of selected asset classes against a U.S. 60/40 stock-bond portfolio benchmark. From that perspective, equities are weakening in all regions, with the exception of emerging-markets ex-China. U.S. equities fell from the top-right leading quadrant to the bottom-right weakening quadrant. The most prominent market leaders are commodities and gold, followed by bonds in the improving quadrant.

That said, investors shouldn’t just accept these results without some degree of cross-asset analysis. The strength in gold (GC00) and commodities is partly attributable to recent U.S. dollar DXY weakness. As well, emerging-markets ex-China stocks have also shown an inverse correlation to dollar movements.

Federal Reserve to the rescue?

In addition, BCA Research pointed out that the Nasdaq COMP is highly sensitive to real interest rates. This makes the FOMC December decision an enormous wildcard in the short-term outlook for stock prices and value-growth outlook.

Read: Crypto, the dollar, stocks and credit are telling the Fed it needs to cut, popular strategist says

In the absence of official economic data, hawkish Fedspeak from regional Fed presidents, and indications of a divided committee from the latest FOMC minutes, the December rate decision will be a close call. But the news that New York Fed President John Williams would back another rate cut is an indication that the Fed leadership will be trying to build a consensus for a cut. As a consequence, the market-derived odds of a December cut rose to almost 70% last Friday.

Putting this all together, a market leadership review currently shows a gradual rotation to value from growth. There’s also a move to fundamentally driven investment factors such as quality and dividend growth, and away from high-octane momentum names.

Yet the possibility of Fed easing and short-term technical rotation patterns raise the odds of a growth-stock rebound.

Finally, I leave you this dot-com-era bubble analog from analyst Jurrien Timmer at Fidelity Investments.

With the exception of dislocations from Russia and LTCM (Long Term Capital Management), the current market is tracking the analog fairly well. With the caveat that the magnitude of the current returns are not as large (bottom panel), we are somewhere in early 1999. I interpret this to mean that the U.S. stock market is undergoing an AI bubble – but it’s not over just yet.

Cam Hui writes the investment blog Humble Student of the Markets, where this report first appeared. He is a former equity portfolio manager and sell-side analyst.

More: Why the once-invincible Nvidia can’t save the AI trade

Also read: A Fed rate cut in December seemed doubtful. Here’s why it’s now likely to happen.

-Cam Hui

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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Up to 3m low-skilled jobs could disappear in the UK by 2035 because of automation and AI, according to a report by a leading educational research charity.

The jobs most at risk are those in occupations such as trades, machine operations and administrative roles, the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) said.

Highly skilled professionals, on the other hand, were forecast to be more in demand as AI and technological advances increase workloads “at least in the short to medium term”. Overall, the report expects the UK economy to add 2.3m jobs by 2035, but unevenly distributed.

The findings stand in contrast to other recent research suggesting AI will affect highly skilled, technical occupations such as software engineering and management consultancy more than trades and manual work.

Research from King’s College published in October estimated that “higher-paying firms” suffered job losses of roughly 9.4% between 2021 and 2025, with much of this period falling after the release of ChatGPT in late 2022.

The UK government lists management consultants, psychologists and legal professionals among the occupations “most exposed to AI”, whereas “sports players”, “roofers” and “bricklayers” are less likely to be replaced.

Last week, the law firm Clifford Chance revealed it was laying off 10% of business services staff at its London base – about 50 roles – attributing the change partly to AI. The head of PwC also publicly walked back plans to hire 100,000 people between 2021 and 2026, saying “the world is different” and artificial intelligence had changed its hiring needs.

Jude Hillary, one of the report’s authors, said that NFER’s work – which is based on longer-term economic modelling of the UK labour market – suggests predictions about AI-driven job losses may be premature.

He suggested layoffs attributed to the uptake of AI may be driven by a sluggish UK economy, factors such as rising national insurance costs and employers being risk-averse.

“There’s this general uncertainty about where things are going, how long it takes to improve. There’s lots of talk about AI and automation without any real substance about it. Lots of employers are worried about it,” Hillary said.

“And probably what’s happening is a lot of employers are just sitting tight, I would say.”

Hillary said he expected the overall effects of AI on the UK workforce to be complex: increasing the demand for some professional roles; decreasing the demand for many entry-level roles; and eroding the demand for many lower-skilled professions. This latter, he said, was most concerning, as it would be difficult for people who lost lower-skilled jobs to reskill appropriately in a changing economy.

“The additional jobs that we’re getting in the labour market tend to be professional and associate professionals … Displaced workers, the one to three million that we talk about in our report, face significant barriers to get back into the labour market,” he said.

A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after reports revealed the Trump administration considered extending the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies. These subsidies, which are government financial aids to help people pay for health insurance, are crucial for insurers as they maintain a stable customer base. An extension would ensure continued revenue for companies with significant exposure to the ACA marketplace. The news prompted a strong positive reaction from investors, with Centene (CNC) shares jumping as much as 8%, Molina Healthcare (MOH) rising over 3%, and Oscar Health (OSCR) soaring 18%. The potential for a two-year extension reduces regulatory uncertainty for the sector, which investors view as a significant positive for the industry’s outlook.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

Myriad Genetics’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 43 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 3 days ago when the stock gained 7.2% on the news that comments from a key Federal Reserve official bolstered hopes for an interest rate cut. New York Federal Reserve President John Williams stated he sees “room for a further adjustment” in the near term, sparking a significant market rally. Following his remarks, the probability of the central bank cutting rates at its December meeting jumped from 39% to over 73%, according to the CME FedWatch tool. This positive sentiment provided relief to markets amid concerns over high valuations, particularly in AI-related stocks.

Myriad Genetics is down 42.8% since the beginning of the year, and at $7.73 per share, it is trading 53.7% below its 52-week high of $16.69 from December 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Myriad Genetics’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $424.22.

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