Market Reports

• Australian Market Report: S&P/ASX 200, edged down slightly on Friday, closing 8.1 points lower at 8946.9, and adding to a weaker showing the day before..... [more]

• U.S. Market Report: The benchmark ​S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq touched all-time highs on Friday, while the blue-chip Dow hit its highest ‌level since late February, as investors cheered Iran's decision to open the Strait of Hormuz..... [more]

• European Market Report: European stocks closed on a strong note on Friday, buoyed by news that Iran has declared the Strait of Hormuz completely open to commercial traffic on the heels of the 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon..... [more]

• Asian Market Report: Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Friday, snapping a three-day rally as investors sought more clarity regarding further developments in a potential U.S.-Iran peace deal ahead of the expiry of a two-week truce next week..... [more]

Australian Business News

• Consumers are cutting back on spending amid higher risk of global recession.... [more]

• Thousands of Australians entered the workforce at the start of the year, but experts warn it could be the calm before the storm and rates may rise again..... [more]

• Fixes to improve housing supply to make home ownership more affordable are "going to take decades to filter through", with the federal government's 1.2 million new home target "not going to be met",.... [more]

• Australian rents jump again as vacancy crisis deepens and households spend record share of income on housing.... [more]

• Can MySuper work for MyRetirement? Actuaries are backing a default-style MySuper approach to the retirement phase of superannuation – a ‘MyIncome’ product which is a pre-set account-based pension.... [more]

• Super funds seek to coordinate sector's cyber threat response.... [more]

• Advice firm Esencia Wealth has expanded into Queensland through simultaneous mergers with Financial 3 Wealth and Marsden Wealth Advisers, adding about 300 clients and four advisers to its national business..... [more]

• 3 catalysts, dividend upside, no macro required. The ASX energy stock this fundie is buying. Markets are holding up, but risks are building. One fund manager reveals where pricing hasn’t caught up and where opportunity sits..... [more]

• Lithium price, ASX lithium stocks, global lithium stocks — the bull is back, so what's moving the most now?.... [more]

• Titanium Sands has bolstered its war chest and is racing into the home stretch, with environmental studies wrapping up and the mining approvals process now gathering pace in Sri Lanka..... [more]

• Gold Fields and Great Southern Mining are sharpening the diamond bits in preparation for a return to the duo’s expansiveEdinburgh Park gold grounds in north Queensland, with diamond drilling set to begin.... [more]

• ASX lithium shares rally as oil shock highlights EV appeal.... [more]

• Forrestania Resources is officially on the move after trucking the first load of gold ore from its British Hill deposit to its recently acquired and soon-to-be-refurbishedLake Johnston processing facility.... [more]

• Australian billionaire mining magnate Andrew Forrest is asking a US federal court in Silicon Valley to hold Meta accountable for scam ads using his likeness without permission..... [more]

• SKS Technologies Group expands data centre contract to $210M.... [more]

• Eden Innovations has launched a dedicated defence and infrastructure push under its new EdenShield division, alongside a $4.05m capital raise to support commercialisation..... [more]

• 4DMedical Shares Pull Back as Profit Taking Cools Rally, and RSI.... [more]

• Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) did what it needed to on the numbers this week — but that wasn’t enough to steady the stock. The healthcare giant reported a solid first-quarter result, with steady growth across its core businesses. .... [more]

• Australia is being urged to improve ticketing transparency after a US federal court found Live Nation Entertainment had a harmful monopoly over big concert venues. One insider estimates Australians pay A$10 in fees per ticket.... [more]

• Beverage giant Coca-Cola has suggested it could pull out of Queensland's container refund scheme if major reforms are implemented..... [more]

• Controversial dental scheme leaves Australians toothless and stripped of retirement savings. A bombshell investigation has revealed a devastating and widespread practice that’s targeting Aussies and leaving them broke..... [more]

• Cigno Australia, BSF Solutions and directors fined $7 million over payday lending scheme.... [more]

• Comment - Mark LaMonica: A top performing ‘AI share’ accidently ended up in my portfolio. Trying to make sense of a share caught up in irrational exuberance..... [more]

• Analysis - Colin Kruger: If you have any property dealings in Australia, chances are you have had a relationship with the group formerly known as CoreLogic, a data giant which feeds the entire real estate ecosystem.... [more]

World Business News

• Oil prices plunge on claims Strait of Hormuz is open.... [more]

• Oil drops, stocks soar to wrap up a wild week. What just happened in markets?.... [more]

• Gasoline could drop below $4 in coming days.... [more]

• Software stocks have bounced back after the first-quarter SaaSpocalypse, but investing pros say the rally could be short-lived. Software popped as risk-on sentiment was reignited on Wall Street following the US-Iran ceasefire.... [more]

• Mohamed El-Erian has warned investors of problems in private credit, but he also sees trouble brewing in the market for US government debt..... [more]

• White House chief of staff Susie Wiles plans to sound out Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei about the artificial intelligence company’s new Mythos model, which has attracted attention from the federal government.... [more]

• Finance ministers, central bankers and financiers have expressed serious concerns about a powerful new AI model they fear could undermine the security of financial systems..... [more]

• Drone maker AEVEX's (AVEX.N), shares jumped 15% in their debut on the New York Stock ​Exchange on Friday, signaling growing investor appetite for defense-linked businesses as ‌governments ramp up military spending.... [more]

• Talen Energy prices $4 billion in senior notes for power plant acquisition.... [more]

• Viatris Inc. stock rises Friday, outperforms market.... [more]

• For years, Netflix top brass would tell investors they were builders not buyers. Now, that sentiment toward growth may be changing. On Thursday Netflix reported its quarterly earnings..... [more]

• Reed Hastings to Step Down as Netflix Chair. The co-founder of the streaming giant will leave its board in June, the company said..... [more]

• Meta (META.O), intends ​to conduct a first wave of sweeping layoffs planned for this year on May 20, with more ‌coming later, three sources familiar with the plans told Reuters. The Facebook and Instagram owner will lay off.... [more]

• Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. IFF +5.30% advanced 5.30% to $75.88 Friday, on what proved to be an all-around great trading session for the stock market.... [more]

• The former chief executive and chief financial officer of iLearningEngines, which provided AI-driven business automation technology, were indicted on charges they ​defrauded investors and lenders by fabricating "virtually all".... [more]

• IMAX appoints interim CEO during Gelfond’s medical leave.... [more]

• Canadian housing starts decrease 6% in March.... [more]

• Systematic hedge funds boughts stock at a record pace in the last five ​trading sessions, adding $86 billion of stock exposure, said ‌a Goldman Sachs note published late Thursday and seen by Reuters on Friday shows..... [more]

• Macron and Starmer welcome Hormuz reopening and push for permanent navigation security.... [more]

• European natural gas prices slump after temporary Hormuz reopening announced.... [more]

• UK economy grew faster than expected in February ahead of Iran war.... [more]

• EasyJet has announced the conflict in the Middle East cost it about £25 million in higher jet fuel prices last month. The Luton-based airline said it expects to report a headline loss before tax of between £540 million and £560 million.... [more]

• The media tycoon Richard Desmond has vowed to appeal after a resounding defeat in his claim for up to £1.3bn in damages from the Gambling Commission over its decision not to award him the 10-year licence.... [more]

• Recruiter Hays has revealed further hefty cuts to its workforce as it ramped up cost cutting in the face of a difficult jobs market. The firm said it had slashed its worldwide consultancy staff numbers by 14% in the year.... [more]

• OnlyFans, the UK adult video platform, is in talks to sell a minority stake to a US investor that will value the business at more than $3bn (£2.2bn). The London-based company is in advanced talks to sell a stake of less than 20% to.... [more]

• Italy saw modest growth in Q1, supported by Olympics, central bank estimates.... [more]

• A 58% jump in TSMC’s quarterly profit, announced on April 16, should change how investors think about the AI economy. Those numbers are not speculative, based on projections or optimistic. They’re realized profits.... [more]

• China’s leading LED chipmaker and its Malaysian partner have abandoned their US$239 million cash offer to purchase Dutch technology company Lumileds Holding after opposition from US authorities, marking the latest setback.... [more]

• Japan says recent yen moves driven by speculative trade.... [more]

• India is rapidly strengthening its position in global electronics trade, now supplying about 40 per cent of the smartphones imported by the United States that were previously sourced from China..... [more]

• Sagarmala Finance Corp., India's first maritime-focused non-banking financial company, plans to raise as much as 100 ​billion rupees ($1.08 billion) in financial year 2027 to expand ‌lending for ports, shipbuilding, and waterways.... [more]

• Analysis - Allison Morrow: Private credit is worrying Wall Street. Here’s how it might affect everyone else. On top of everything else pummeling consumers right now — spiking gas prices, soaring grocery bills, an uncertain job market.... [more]

• Analysis/Comment - Bloomberg: What Centuries of Mistakes Can Teach Us About Saving For Retirement. From hoarding cash to buying stocks, a new book traces 300 years of financial advice and shows why what feels safe.... [more]