An anonymous junior on Reddit has spilled on life at a US firm in London. Expect 11pm finishes, regular weekends and brutal unpredictability. And quiet weeks don’t make up for peak chaos, apparently. The A$360k NQ salary eases the pain, but optics definitely matter — leave too often, even with strong work, and promotions can quietly disappear: Legal Cheek

⚖️ Employment: In Mining and Energy Union v OS MCAP, the Federal Court penalised OS MCAP Pty Ltd (BHP’s in-house labour hire arm) for breaching the Fair Work Act by rostering employees to work Christmas Day and Boxing Day without first requesting them to do so. The Full Court confirmed that fixed rosters and contract clauses anticipating public-holiday work do not amount to a valid request under s 114. Even though employees were paid to work public holidays, the Court awarded compensation for loss of the opportunity to refuse, ordering OS to pay $83,700 to 85 workers plus a $15,000 penalty. The case underscores that employers must make a reasonable, case-by-case request to work public holidays: Piper Alderman

⚖️ Governance: The Federal Government has opened consultation on exposure draft legislation to overhaul Australia’s Director Identification Number (DIN). Under the proposed reforms, companies would be required to report directors’ DINs at key points (including registration, annual reviews and director changes) from 1 July 2027, with new enforcement powers, and the ability for ASIC to contact directors to verify their appointments. The changes will modernise business registers run by Australian Business Registry Services and enhance privacy by limiting public access to residential addresses. Consultation on the draft Bill is open until 10 February 2026: Clayton Utz

⚖️ Corporate: ASX has clarified how two key Listing Rules interact for employee incentive schemes. Listing Rule 7.2 exception 13 allows a listed entity to issue equity under an approved employee incentive scheme without using up its 15% annual placement capacity under Listing Rule 7.1. Listing Rule 10.14 requires separate securityholder approval for issues of securities to directors or their associates. ASX has now confirmed that where a director issue is approved under Listing Rule 10.14, those securities will no longer count toward the maximum number approved under Listing Rule 7.2 exception 13—recognising that securityholders have already given specific consent to the director issue: ASX

AI hasn’t just clogged feeds with “slop” — it’s supercharged corporate jargon. From “AI Maturity Matrix” and “Client Zero” to “promoted outwards” (aka fired), firms are pumping out ever more elaborate jargon to dress up ordinary ideas. The AFR’s annual Eye-roll Awards suggest AI isn’t making work clearer or smarter, just louder, longer and more unintelligible: AFR

An app called Are You Dead? is now China’s most-downloaded paid app. The app will alert an emergency contact if users don’t check in every two days. Built for people living alone, it’s taken off amid a loneliness crunch, with 200 million solo households forecasted by 2030. Made by Moonscape Technologies, it taps a very real fear: dying unnoticed: AFR

📈 Australia’s ECM market increased to $33.7bn in 2025, up 11.8%, as miners and data centres drove cap raisings despite a softer M&A market. Goodman, Virgin and Gemlife led the charge, while gold juniors feasted on soaring prices. Bankers reckon 2026 will be even busier, with momentum in tech, AI and REITs: The Australian

📺 Netflix is reworking its Warner Bros Discovery bid, considering a shift to an all-cash offer to speed things up. The original US$72bn cash-and-scrip deal has drawn political heat and sparked a hostile counterplay from Paramount Skydance. Going all-cash may be Netflix’s move to lock it down: Bloomberg