Southern Cross Media to Cut 250-300 Jobs Amid Cost Reduction Program

Southern Cross Media (SCA), which acquired Seven Network this year, has confirmed that 250 to 300 full-time employees will be made redundant following its announcement of "a significant Group-wide cost reduction program".

The job losses are primarily in the back office — the company aims to remove duplication, streamline and automate its processes, according to the company.

In an email to its staff, seen by the ABC, Rohan Lund, SCA managing director and CEO, said the decision had not been taken lightly.

"There is strong momentum in audience and revenue share and every one of our businesses is outperforming in their markets.

"But we need to be honest with ourselves that those markets are under immense pressure.

"To protect and supercharge what makes this place great, we have to look at our operating environment objectively.

"We are navigating a demanding market, with a tightening advertising sector and global macroeconomic pressures impacting all businesses."

SCA has also posted its group revenue for FY26, now expected to be $1,860 to $1,870 million, down from previous guidance of $1,910 to $1,920 million.

We'll keep you updated once we have more.

Rate tracking by Canstar has shown that while all lenders in the database have now passed on the May RBA rate hike in full, 11 have also cut select variable rates for new customers in the past six weeks.

This includes ING, BOQ, Community First and Queensland Country Bank.

As a result, there are now 40 lenders offering at least one variable rate under 6%, following the May RBA hike.

So, what would be the impact if we have another 0.25 cash rate hike in 2026?

According to Canstar, for someone with a $600,000 mortgage and 25 years remaining at the start of the hikes, a 0.25 percentage point cash rate hike in August, as Westpac predicts, would increase a borrower’s monthly repayments by $92.

Across what would then be four hikes for the year in February, March, May and potentially August, the total monthly increase would be $364.

Here's a list of lenders with at least one variable rate under 6%.

JB Hi-Fi Group will refund more than $250,000 in total, to about 200 customers over alleged misleading pricing.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says it monitored JB Hi-Fi's online product pricing from March to September 2025 and alleges the company may have misled consumers with advertised pricing claims.

It's alleged the retail giant promoted 17 products as discounted from a previous higher price, when the products were either never offered for sale at the higher price, or only offered at the higher price for a short period, or at a higher price long before the promotion.

"Businesses must not mislead consumers with incorrect pricing displays, including listing incorrect 'was' prices when advertising promotions, whether online or in store," ACCC Commission Luke Woodward said.

"JB Hi-Fi's conduct deprived consumers of the opportunity to make informed purchasing decisions based on accurate information, as they may have decided not to buy the products if they knew the claimed discount was not genuine."

The company has provided some refunds automatically and contacted affected customers directly to arrange a refund.

The ACCC says the misleading prices were largely due to system errors or human error, some of which JB Hi-Fi proactively took action on prior to the consumer watchdog's investigation.

The ACCC has decided to resolve this matter without taking further formal enforcement action.

MSCI's global equities index fell 1.5% on Wednesday after economic data showed US inflation was high but in line with expectations.

Oil prices rose as hopes for Middle East peace progress dwindled after Iran and the United States exchanged strikes and threats.

Oil prices extended gains after US President Donald Trump threatened that the United States would attack Iran "very hard" if no peace deal is reached.

Earlier, Trump wrote in a social media post that Iran would "pay the price" after taking too long to negotiate.

US crude settled up about 2.1% at $US98.03 a barrel.

Reporting with Reuters

Hello everyone and happy Thursday!

Welcome to another day on the finance blog! Business reporter Yiying Li here to guide you through all the business, finance and economics news of the day.

And to start with, the ASX 200 futures are pointing to a lower open, down 0.8% to 8,601 points. That's after Wall Street closed down, with the S & P 500 losing 1.6%, the Dow Jones falling 1.8%, and the NASDAQ declining 2%.

Overnight, President Donald Trump said the US military was "going to be attacking" Iran if no peace deal was agreed, claiming Tehran was "playing us for suckers".

Gold also plunged 4.5%.

But for now, grab yourself a warm coffee, tea or juice and see you back here soon!

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