Crypto News: Lithium frenzy

Good morning, it's Georgie here in Sydney. Here's what you need to know today...

Today's must-reads:
• Lithium rush heats up with SQM's $1 billion Azure buy
• RBA staff threaten strike over pay
• US stocks drop on a rout in Big Tech, Aussie futures flat

Australia's lithium frenzy continues with mining giant SQM winning over Perth-based Azure Minerals with a sweetened A$1.6 billion cash offer. It's the latest deal in the sector as companies including Rio Tinto and Tesla chase firms with even early-stage or pre-production projects.

Inflation is proving so sticky in Australia that the institution responsible for taming prices, the Reserve Bank, is itself facing the threat of strike action by staff demanding fatter pay checks. The union says workers at the RBA deserve a "decent pay rise" instead of the current offer.

Private equity firm Partners Group has shown initial interest in Hamilton Island as the family owners of the holiday destination in the Great Barrier Reef conduct a strategic review for the asset, according to people familiar.

Hamilton Island resort, Queensland. Photographer: Jack Atley

Australian police have arrested seven people and seized more than A$50 million in property and vehicles, as a result of a 14-month investigation into alleged money laundering by an organized crime syndicate.

Now that China and Australia are back on solid footing, Canberra's policy of diplomacy and deterrence could help others reset ties with Beijing, writes Bloomberg Opinion's Karishma Vaswani. While the US's relationship with the China is far more fractious, Canberra's approach could provide a template for Washington.

US stocks dropped on a rout in Big Tech, with the S&P 500 edging closer to a 10% "correction" from its July peak. Amazon pared an initial gain after third-quarter revenue topped estimates, buoyed by rising sales in its retail and cloud computing units. Treasuries yields fell across the curve, oil dropped more than 2% and the dollar was narrowly mixed. Aussie equity futures are little changed.

Israel's military said it killed Hamas's deputy head of intelligence, claiming he'd helped plan the Oct. 7 attacks. The UN is rationing fuel supplies for facilities in Gaza, including food and health centers, after a limited number of aid trucks entered. Israeli security services are using Pegasus software to help track hostages in Gaza, people familiar said.

The US economy blew past estimates in the third quarter, on a consumer spending burst that may not last. GDP accelerated to a 4.9% annualized rate. A closely watched measure of underlying inflation cooled a bit more than expected to the slowest pace since 2020.

Sam Bankman-Fried's widely anticipated testimony to the jury was delayed by a judge minutes before the FTX co-founder was expected to take the stand Thursday. Judge Lewis Kaplan sent the jury home to decide how much of Bankman-Fried's testimony about the role of lawyers around allegedly fraudulent FTX transactions was relevant to the case.

All times Sydney
• 11 a.m.: Australia to sell A$800 million 0.5% 2026 bonds

Taylor Swift has vaulted into the billionaire ranks. The success of her Eras tour — a Super Bowl-sized event spanning numerous cities that has shattered records, sparked ticket frenzies and even caused the equivalent of a small earthquake — has propelled the pop star's net worth past $1 billion, according to a Bloomberg News analysis.