Market Reports

• Australian Market Report: The Australian sharemarket closed in the red on Friday the S&P/ASX 200 fell 69.4 points or 0.8 per cent, to 8428.40 at the close after another rollercoaster night on markets..... [more]

• U.S. Market Report: Stocks have moved mostly lower during trading on Friday, extending the downward move seen over the two previous sessions. With the extended slump, the major averages have dropped to their lowest intraday levels in several months..... [more]

• European Market Report: After a fairly good start Friday morning, the major European markets turned weak and ended the day's session with notable losses as oil's climb and concerns that major central banks will soon hike interest rates.... [more]

• Asian Market Report: Asian stocks ended mostly lower in thin trading on Friday, with Japanese markets closed for a holiday. A cautious undertone prevailed as strikes targeting infrastructure in Iran, Qatar and Saudi Arabia stoked concerns.... [more]

Australian Business News

• Australia has seen the sharpest rise in fuel prices in the developed world since the start of the Iran war. Prices for unleaded 95 petrol rose 31.8 per cent between February 23 and March 16, figures collated by GlobalPetrolPrices show.... [more]

• Rental affordability has slumped to a record low as the price of securing shelter surged twice as fast as incomes rose. According to the REA Group rental affordability report.... [more]

• How is the Middle East war affecting Australian superannuation funds?.... [more]

• The Federal Court has deemed that Macquarie Investment Management Limited’s (MIML’s) failure to place the now-collapsed Shield Master Fund on a watch list for “heightened monitoring” is in breach of the Corporations Act..... [more]

• ASX dividend champions. Lessons from a list of 20 ASX shares that have delivered over the last decade..... [more]

• Higher rates be damned: 9 property hotspots investors are targeting now. Rate hikes won’t kill the market but they will make house hunting more selective. Here are the suburbs experts are tipping for growth..... [more]

• Labor has not ruled out raising a tax on gas companies profiting from the global energy crisis, but exporters warn it would leave Australia "more exposed" to future shocks..... [more]

• NT cattle station Aroona sells to Argentinian family for $44 million.... [more]

• Ampol (ASX:ALD) has has deferred a scheduled major maintenance program at the Lytton refinery from early June to the start of August CY26, to enable increased domestic oil production..... [more]

• St George Mining Ltd (ASX:SGQ, FRA:S0G, OTC:SGQMF) recently outlined the significance of its inclusion in the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index, with executive chairman John Prineas describing the milestone as recognition.... [more]

• Aguia Resources has drawn a line under its Atocha silver project in Colombia, banking a final C$1M (A$1.028M) to sell its retained equity and completing the clean exit it began late last year..... [more]

• Major companies across Australia, including Qantas and Virgin, are hiking prices as global energy security and supply chains continue to be threatened amid the Middle East conflict..... [more]

• Australia’s AI infrastructure push gathers pace as new data centre models emerge.... [more]

• Jacob Mitchell is finding value in places AI can't touch. The Antipodes CIO talks about mispricings in structural growth trends and why the benchmark is the biggest risk to your portfolio..... [more]

• Reproductive biotechnology company Memphasys (ASX: MEM) is confident its commercial operations across the Middle East and North Africa will continue to be unaffected, despite ongoing geopolitical instability.... [more]

• Billionaire retailer Solomon Lew’s internal investigation into former Smiggle boss John Cheston, who was sacked over allegations of serious misconduct, has expanded beyond Australia..... [more]

• Analysis - Nick Bonyhady: How one CEO’s chatbot could cost his company $355 million.... [more]

• Opinion - Natalie Peng: How does your super balance compare to other people your age? If you have ever checked your super balance and wondered whether you are “behind” for your age, you aren’t alone..... [more]

World Business News

• Oil prices on Friday saw a choppy trading session, reversing losses and overcoming some whipsaw action to move higher, after a report that the U.S. was potentially preparing to deploy ground troops in Iran..... [more]

• Energy fallout from Iran war signals a global wake-up call for renewable energy.... [more]

• Goldman Sachs said on Thursday that risks to oil prices remain skewed to the upside both in the ​near term and into 2027. The bank added that the persistence ‌of several past large supply shocks highlights the possibility that.... [more]

• BofA isn't ruling out a rate hike this year, but says it would take 3 things for that to happen.... [more]

• Pentagon: Anthropic's foreign workforce poses security risks.... [more]

• The White House on Friday released its long-awaited national artificial intelligence legislative framework, a move to prevent states from enacting their own laws and enforce the Trump administration’s light-touch approach to AI.... [more]

• Goldman Sachs sees the potential for more pain in the stock market and warns that investors may have fewer options as they seek safe havens. In a note to clients on Thursday.... [more]

• FedEx on Thursday reported strong fiscal third-quarter results that beat Wall Street’s expectations. The company also raised its guidance for fiscal 2026, projecting revenue growth of 6% to 6.5% compared with analyst estimates.... [more]

• Tesla (TSLA.O), is looking to buy equipment worth $2.9 billion for manufacturing solar panels and cells from Chinese suppliers including Suzhou Maxwell Technologies (300751.SZ),.... [more]

• Tesla’s push to expand its self-driving technology hits another speed bump. Tesla further pushes back its expectations for when FSD technology could get approved by Dutch regulators.... [more]

• Amazon plans smartphone comeback more than a decade after Fire Phone flop.... [more]

• Chipotle’s stock is due for a reboundfrom ‘slop bowl’ malaise. A more measured approach to pricing this year — along with new menu items and an effort to ride the high-protein craze — could help demand, Mizuho analysts say.... [more]

• CBS News lays off 6% of staff and shutters radio division, kickstarting a Bari Weiss-led overhaul.... [more]

• Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s potential payout of more than $800 million from the Paramount Skydance deal highlights an obscure tax rule originally designed to limit CEO pay..... [more]

• Nexstar says it has acquired Tegna as state AGs push to block the merger.... [more]

• Argentina’s economy grows 4.4% in 2025, slightly below forecasts.... [more]

• The UK's borrowing costs have hit their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis as the energy price surge sparked by the US-Israel war with Iran has raised fears over the state of the public finances..... [more]

• Lowering speed limits among contingency plans to curb UK oil demand. International Energy Agency recommends emergency measures, including working from home, as Iran war hits fuel supply.... [more]

• FCA investigates collapsed lender MFS amid £1.3bn mortgage scandal. Move follows the granting of a worldwide asset-freezing order on company’s founder, Paresh Raja.... [more]

• UBS asset management tells unions it needs to cut one fifth of Italy staff.... [more]

• The Vatican on Friday launched a campaign to encourage divestment from mining industries, saying the Catholic Church should invest its money in ways that are consistent with its ecological teachings..... [more]

• Unitree Robotics, a Hangzhou-based maker of quadruped and humanoid robots, has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on Shanghai’s Star Market, seeking to raise 4.2 billion yuan (US$610 million) as revenue and profits surge.... [more]

• Electric car maker Xpeng aims to double overseas sales, to launch EVs in Mexico.... [more]

• OpenClaw, an open-source artificial intelligence (AI) agent formerly known as Moltbot and Clawdbot, has gone viral in China in recent weeks, partly boosted by promotional campaigns from Tencent and Alibaba..... [more]

• Gas shortage caused by Iran war may push India back to dirtier fuels.... [more]

• Opinion - Robert Pozen: Crypto’s ‘shadow banks’ don’t want to play by the rules — setting the stage for a major crisis With help from Washington, new crypto trust-banks are bypassing guardrails governing traditional banks.... [more]