Under intense pressure, Albanese moves on antisemitism crackdown

Good morning. Here's what happened overnight and what you need to know today.

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Crisis response: Under pressure from political opponents and Jewish leaders, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unveiled a five-point plan to combat antisemitism, admitting “more could have always been done”. The measures include a crackdown on hate preaching, expanded visa powers for Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, and a one-year education taskforce on Holocaust and antisemitism awareness, to be led by David Gonski. Albanese also said the government would “fully” adopt the Segal report but avoided confirming whether he backed its more contentious recommendations, including powers to monitor universities, impose fines and withdraw funding from institutions that fail to address antisemitism. The report’s proposed definition of antisemitism is also considered contentious. Meanwhile, yesterday afternoon, heavily armed NSW Police intercepted two Victorian-plated cars in Liverpool and arrested seven men after receiving information that a violent act “was possibly being planned”. The men were reportedly on their way to Bondi, but police said no connection had been identified with the Bondi terror investigation and there was no ongoing threat to the public. Islamic State described the Bondi attack as a “source of pride” on its Telegram channel but did not claim responsibility. (Capital Brief)(SMH)(AFR)

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Trump’s fusion: US President Trump’s media company, Trump Media & Technology Group is entering the nuclear fusion sector through an all-stock merger valued at over USD6 billion ($9.1 billion) with TAE Technologies, a privately held fusion developer backed by Google, Chevron and Goldman Sachs. The combined company plans to begin building the world’s first utility-scale fusion power plant in 2026, with first power expected in 2031. Trump Media will invest up to USD300 million in TAE, with the deal expected to close by mid-2026. It will give shareholders of each company roughly 50% of the new entity, which will include Truth Social, TAE Power Solutions and TAE Life Sciences. Devin Nunes and Michl Binderbauer will become co-CEOs, with Donald Trump Jr joining the board. Shares in Trump Media climbed as much as 39.4%. The companies said they plan to begin construction on a 50MW utility-scale fusion power plant in 2026 as well as additional fusion power plants to supply 350MW to 500MW in the future. (TAE)(Capital Brief)(Bloomberg)

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Data distortions: US stocks jumped after data showed US inflation cooled at a surprising pace in November, even as economists urged caution due to distortions caused by the government shutdown. The consumer-price index rose 2.7% over the year, down from 3% in September and well below the 3.1% forecast, while the core CPI increased 2.6%, the slowest annual rate since early 2021. The shutdown prevented the collection of October data, limiting the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ ability to calculate monthly changes and potentially biasing the annual figures downward. Data collection was also delayed until mid-November and potentially skewed by Black Friday discounts. Ground beef prices reached a record USD6.78 per pound. Despite those caveats, the S&P 500 was 1% higher in afternoon trading, the Nasdaq was 1.77% higher and the Dow up 0.42%. Lululemon shares jumped after the WSJ reported Elliott Management built a stake worth over USD1 billion. And The Financial Times reported that a Warner Bros Discovery shareholder approached Soo Kim’s hedge fund, Standard General, about potentially buying or investing in the company’s cable networks, which include CNN. (Bloomberg)(WSJ)(Reuters)(Capital Brief)

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Hovering editor: The director of Politico’s European operation visited Australia twice this year amid mounting intrigue over whether the publication favoured by policymakers in Washington and Brussels is considering expanding in Australia. Jamil Anderlini, regional director of Politico Europe, visited Australia earlier this month for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Sydney Dialogue event, where he was a speaker alongside a crop of influential global policy figures. Anderlini told Capital Brief the publisher has no “imminent plans” to expand its operations to Australia, adding that Politico’s recent expansion into Spain and the Nordics will keep the publication “very busy”. The publication was reportedly considering a move to expand its coverage to Australia in 2022, but instead opted to broaden its US coverage. Politico’s plans for a possible tilt at the Australian market became the subject of renewed speculation in August this year, when the company’s CEO Goli Sheikholeslami joined Anderlini for a visit to get “a sense of the market”. (Capital Brief)

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Micron turn: Micron shares jumped nearly 17% at one point after the company’s profit forecast that nearly doubled Wall Street expectations, driven by a global memory chip shortage and strong AI data centre demand. It reported adjusted first-quarter earnings of USD4.78 per share on USD13.64 billion in revenue, beating LSEG estimates of USD3.95 and USD12.84 billion, respectively. Guidance for the current quarter came in at USD8.42 per share on USD18.70 billion, also well above forecasts. “We are more than sold out,” said chief business officer Sumit Sadana. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra has said he expects memory markets to remain tight past 2026. Morgan Stanley called the result the strongest revenue and profit upside in US semiconductor history outside Nvidia. The result and bullish outlook stood in sharp contrast to the recent selloffs in Broadcom and Oracle, which had been fuelled by investor scepticism about AI-driven growth. Micron shares are up over 160% this year. It raised its 2026 capital spending to USD20 billion. (CNBC)(Reuters)

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Climate tech push: Hong Kong-based private equity firm Audacy will launch its first fund early next year as it focuses on helping decarbonise the APAC region. The firm is looking to raise up to USD100 million ($151 million) for the new fund, which will launch with five investments, including Melbourne-based climate tech startup Conry Tech. Conry raised $3 million in seed funding in October. Co-founder and general partner Toby Chan told Capital Brief that Audacy has invested USD25 million into 12 climate tech companies. Three of the companies — Conry Tech, Jet Zero and Edge Zero — are Australian. The new fund will target institutional investors that have a fund of funds allocation. Chan said it already has a soft commitment from an Australian climate fund of funds investor and is looking for further interest in the country. The fund intends to deploy at least 50% within APAC. (Capital Brief)

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Cannabis moves: Donald Trump signed an executive order to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under federal drug laws, reducing restrictions on cannabis research but not legalising the drug. The order also authorises a pilot program for Medicare to reimburse patients for CBD products, including those used by cancer patients, according to media citing senior administration officials. Trump said the reclassification would allow research that has so far been blocked under existing rules. The order follows Biden-era efforts to reschedule marijuana and has drawn opposition from 18 Republican senators and 26 House Republicans. Meanwhile, 25 Democratic lawmakers have asked the Commerce Department’s inspector general to examine whether Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick improperly advanced AI data centre projects that could benefit his family. The New York Times reported consistent overlaps between Lutnick’s actions and ventures linked to his former companies. Separately, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released 68 undated photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate ahead of a legal deadline requiring the Trump administration to release all Epstein-related files. The images include high-profile figures such as Bill Gates and Noam Chomsky but show no evidence of wrongdoing. Ghislaine Maxwell has also filed to overturn her conviction, citing new evidence. (NYT)(Forbes)(The Guardian)

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Constructive criticism: ANZ faced blisteringly honest feedback from shareholders and staff over its sweeping restructure, as the board was forced to defend its record and its fees at its AGM on Thursday. “My question is, when are you going to retire? Seriously, you’ve stuffed it”, one shareholder asked chair Paul O’Sullivan. The AGM saw O’Sullivan comfortably re-elected to the board for his final term, alongside Jeff Smith and Alison Gerry. That result came despite significant pressure on ANZ’s directors and management following a record $240 million settlement with ASIC over widespread misconduct, a string of regulatory failures, and amid thousands of staff cuts. Even before the AGM formally got underway, proxy votes had already delivered a second strike against the board, though a full board spill was avoided. O’Sullivan wouldn’t rule former CEO Shayne Elliott’s remaining $8 million bonus in or out as he sues the bank, nor rule out CEO Nuno Matos receiving his incentives while regulatory issues remain unresolved. (Capital Brief)