Will the AI boom spike your power bill? Australia wants to be an AI leader, but data centres are absolute energy vampires. Which raises a big question, who pays for all that power?

Australia’s Prime Minister just announced a plan where under the proposed new rules AI data centres would legally have to put at least as much energy back into our grid as they take out. In addition they have to cover their own connection costs so households don’t take the hit.

The plan goes to Parliament next year, so it is too early to say if this will work, and there is a risk that if the rules are too tight, those data centres will go elsewhere.

#AI #Australia #tech #albanese #data

HiTech Group Australia (ASX:HIT) enters a binding agreement to acquire the Australian operations and selected business assets of Hudson Global Resources Australia, significantly expanding its national workforce solutions platform.

🤝 Transformational acquisition: HiTech Group Australia agrees to acquire Hudson`s Australian operations, representing approximately $190 million in pro forma FY26 revenue, for an upfront consideration of $7 million.

📈 Broader national platform: The acquisition expands HiTech Group Australia`s footprint across Australia, diversifies its business beyond information and communication technologies (ICT) recruitment into professional services and workforce solutions, and strengthens its Government and private sector capabilities.

🚀 Growth strategy: HiTech Group Australia expects the transaction to be earnings accretive following integration, and to provide a larger platform for future organic growth and disciplined acquisitions.

“We believe the Group will be exceptionally and uniquely well positioned like no other to participate in the continued consolidation of Australia`s fragmented professional services and workforce solutions industry while delivering sustainable long-term value for shareholders.” – HiTech Group Australia Managing Director and CEO Elias Hazouri

Remember DeepSeek, the Chinese AI that wiped billions off tech stocks overnight? It just happened again. A start-up called Moonshot AI just released a new model, Kimi K3, and it’s already ranked fourth in the world by independent testers.

Here`s why markets are spooked. KIMI K3 is “open weight” - this means that Moonshot AI plans to make the model itself free, so that anyone with enough compute can host it.

So is this a false alarm, or the moment the AI trade cracks? That`s the trillion-dollar question.

#AI #China #tech #WallStreet #money

What are the biggest misconceptions about ETFs, and why are they becoming a core portfolio building block? Betashares Founder and CEO Alex Vynokur explains why ETFs have become an increasingly popular choice for investors looking to build diversified, long-term portfolios.

📈 Instant diversification
📊 Low-cost market access
🌏 Broad investment options
🔍 Flexible and transparent
🚀 Suitable for long-term investing

Broken Hill Mines (ASX:BHM) is delivering strong operational momentum in Australia`s iconic mining region, with record quarterly production and the successful restart of the Pinnacles Mine marking significant milestones in its growth strategy. As the company ramps up high-grade ore from both the Main Lode and Pinnacles, while progressing initiatives to unlock the full capacity of its 750,000tpa Rasp Processing Plant, it is positioning itself for further production growth in silver, lead and zinc. Ahead of presenting at the Noosa Mining Conference, Executive Chair Patrick Walta joins The Stock Network`s Lel Smits to discuss record quarterly production, operational momentum and how Main Lode and Pinnacles are expected to drive the next phase of growth.

🪓 Record quarterly production and operational momentum
⚒️ Main Lode and Pinnacles driving the next phase of growth

Activeport Group (ASX:ATV) signs Asian telecommunications carrier GOIP to its Global Edge platform, marking the third major international carrier to join the network within its first week of launch.

🌏 Major carrier signed: GOIP adopts Activeport`s Global Edge platform to purchase Direct Internet Access and Data Centre Interconnect services across Australia, with an initial 36-month agreement.

🔗 Expanding connectivity: GOIP`s network spans more than 300 cities across Asia-Pacific, Greater China, the United States, Japan and Germany, strengthening Activeport`s international reach.

📈 Recurring revenue opportunity: The agreement supports Activeport`s strategy to grow recurring revenue by automating network purchasing and management for large international carriers.

"GOIP is a significant win for Global Edge. Landing another major Asia-Pacific carrier so soon after Spark and ViewQwest tells us this strategy is the right product at the right time. Carriers of GOIP’s scale are exactly who we built Global Edge for." – Michael Glynn, Chief Commercial & Operating Officer

PlaySide Studios (ASX:PLY) announces that MOUSE: P.I. For Hire surpasses one million units sold across all platforms in less than three months since its global digital launch, generating an estimated US$28.7 million in gross platform sales.

🎮 One million sales: MOUSE: P.I. For Hire reaches more than one million units sold across PC and console platforms, with consoles accounting for around 50% of total unit sales.

💰 Strong commercial performance: The game generates estimated gross platform sales of US$28.7 million (A$41.4 million), with approximately US$17.6 million (A$25.4 million) in net revenue received by PlaySide Studios before Fumi Games` royalties.

🚀 Growth continues: Physical editions are now rolling out globally, while the development of the game`s first paid downloadable content (DLC) aims to attract new players and re-engage the existing community.

"We have been really pleased to see MOUSE: P.I. For Hire sell over one million copies in less than three months since its global digital launch, and the recent Steam Summer Sale provided the catalyst for the title to achieve this milestone.” – PlaySide Studios CEO Benn Skender

Have you heard about the company investing US$100 billion into the US? TSMC stands for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE:TSM) and it’s one of the world`s largest non-U.S. companies by market capitalisation, valued at almost US$60 trillion.

TSMC is investing another US$100 billion dollars in America for two reasons. The plan follows a major trade and investment deal between the US and Taiwan. In TSMC’s own words, to meet “strong multi-year demand” from its big American tech customers, who can`t get enough of the company`s chips. The money will be used to create new semiconductor plants in Arizona, bringing TSMC`s total US commitment up to US$265 billion.

If you`ve got a super fund, you almost certainly own a slice of TSMC and the AI boom your investments are riding on runs through this one company`s factories.

#AI #wallstreet #tech #stocks #money