Market Reports

• Australian Market Report: The S&P/ASX 200 clawed back its early losses to close down just 6.4 points at 8927.5, propped up by three of the local market’s 11 industry sectors..... [more]

• U.S. Market Report: Wall Street's main indexes slid to over ​one-week lows on Thursday as another wave of hefty AI‑related spending announcements by mega‑cap tech companies rattled investors..... [more]

• European Market Report: European stocks were broadly higher on Thursday as a raft of upbeat earnings reports offset concerns over extended dollar weakness and escalating U.S.-Iran tensions..... [more]

• Asian Market Report: Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday, recovering some lost ground after a sluggish start as U.S.-Iran tensions escalated and tech earnings proved to be a mixed bag..... [more]

Australian Business News

• The inflation genie could be back out of the bottle, with experts warning households they will need to relearn the lessons of 2022. The Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday revealed the headline inflation rate was 3.8%.... [more]

• There’s a surprising and simple driver of December inflation jump.... [more]

• The Albanese government could make deep emissions cuts and restructure an ailing federal budget by taxing polluting companies more than $35bn a year for the damage they cause to the planet, according to a report .... [more]

• Major life insurer AIA Australia has raided the executive ranks of its competitor TAL as it seeks to step up its presence in the superannuation group life space..... [more]

• Major insurer Zurich is selling its investment management business to Russell Investments..... [more]

• "More bullish than ever" - the rise and rise of uranium and the ASX stocks to watch. Rising prices, tighter supply and policy change are reshaping uranium. Here’s what investors need to understand heading into 2026..... [more]

• ASX copper shares surge as commodity hits record high.... [more]

• Australian Critical Minerals secures $3 million to unlock Flint gold-silver potential.... [more]

• Paladin Energy Shares Add 37% YTD as Uranium Rally Powers Stock to 52-Week High.... [more]

• Ora Banda greenlights $63m for WA gold growth push.... [more]

• Venus Metals Corporation has kicked off a formal strategic review of its portfolio and has engaged a top corporate gun, Sydney-based amicaa Advisors.... [more]

• The Tasmanian government has appointed receivers and managers to protect the manganese ore stockpile paid for by taxpayers at the Liberty Bell Bay smelter in the state's north..... [more]

• Mining giant Gold Fields Limited is getting ready to fire up the rigs again at Great Southern Mining’s vast Edinburgh Park project in north Queensland, with drilling set to restart after the north Queensland wet season..... [more]

• Australian government fund to invest $75m in company producing material critical to AI supply chains.... [more]

• Golden Dragon consolidates prime WA goldfield.... [more]

• Electricity prices in eastern Australia fell sharply in the final three months of last year as record-breaking contributions from renewable energy and large-scale batteries reduced the need to call on fossil fuels to plug supply gaps..... [more]

• Deregistered Perth builder Nicheliving is being taken to the Western Australian State Administrative Tribunal over allegations it improperly released customer funds from a trust account..... [more]

• Wellnex Life reports improved cash flow and revenue growth in second quarter.... [more]

• Compumedics (ASX:CMP) has inked a fresh $4.2 million order to kick off CY26 with a sixth unit of its Orion LifeSpan magnetoencephalography (MEG) tech heading off to Shandong University in China via a Beijing-based dealmaker.... [more]

• Lumos Diagnostics lifts FebriDx momentum as US sales surge and CLIA waiver remains on track.... [more]

• Comment - Simonelle Mody: Why I avoid these ETFs. And before the chorus of platforms, apps and fintech founders get upset, let me explain. I do think it has never been easier to invest..... [more]

• Analysis - Nassim Khadem: Rate hike pain is on the way for Australian borrowers, but will they be able to tolerate it?.... [more]

World Business News

• Copper's ascent above $14,000 creates investor dilemma.... [more]

• Oil prices pop amid U.S.-Iran tensions, Wall Street selloff; Brent hovers near $70.... [more]

• U.S. Trade Deficit Widens Despite Trump’s Tariffs. The monthly trade deficit and imports rebounded in November after shrinking significantly in prior months, new data show..... [more]

• Average US long-term mortgage rate ticks higher, holding near lowest point in more than 3 years.... [more]

• President Trump said he intends to announce his pick to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell next week, ending weeks of speculation over who will lead the U.S. central bank after Powell’s term expires in May 2026..... [more]

• Why Microsoft’s stock is getting punished after earnings. Investors focused on the balance between AI spending and AI revenue wanted more juice from Microsoft’s cloud business in the latest quarter.... [more]

• Tech stocks were taking it on the chin on Thursday, with the impact particularly severe for software shares amid Microsoft's post-earnings plunge..... [more]

• Ethos Technologies (LIFE.O), clinched a valuation of $1.2 billion in its ​Nasdaq debut on Thursday, as insurance firms continue to find receptive investors ‌in a strengthening IPO market..... [more]

• General Motors is proving to be a star tightrope walker when it comes to balancing its profits, vehicle portfolio and political whiplashing under the Trump administration. The Detroit automaker’s 2025 results propelled GM’s stock.... [more]

• York Space Systems (YSS.N), clinched a valuation of $4.75 billion in its market debut, as investors bet on sustained Pentagon spending on ​space and defense to drive growth. The Denver, Colorado-based company.... [more]

• Meta Platforms stock jumped 9% on Thursday after earnings, erasing losses from the previous week. The stock is up 10% year-to-date..... [more]

• Zuck's vision for an AI-powered workforce.... [more]

• Tesla scraps Model S and Model X to build robots.... [more]

• First Brands Group founder Patrick James and his brother Edward have been indicted in New York for ​allegedly defrauding lenders out of billions of dollars before the auto parts supplier collapsed ‌into bankruptcy..... [more]

• SkyWest’s Growth Story Faces Test Amid Shutdown, Trimmed Forecasts.... [more]

• Russian oil company Lukoil plans to sell its international assets to U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group, Lukoil said Thursday, as it rushes to divest its global portfolio in the face of impending U.S. sanctions..... [more]

• Russia has sold one of the country's largest and most modern airports, Moscow's Domodedovo, to a subsidiary of another Moscow airport, Sheremetyevo, for 66 billion roubles ($869 million), a Russian state trading platform showed.... [more]

• The UK housing market is showing “early signs” of recovery, Crest Nicholson has said, despite warning over low levels of demand and after missing its profit expectations for the year..... [more]

• Rate-rigging convictions of five bankers referred to UK appeals court. Referral comes after supreme court overturned convictions of two other traders, Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo.... [more]

• AstraZeneca pledges $15 billion China investment during Starmer trip.... [more]

• The boss of Lloyds Banking Group has warned that bankers will need to “reskill themselves” to survive the oncoming AI boom that stands to transform the financial services sector..... [more]

• France's Sanofi (SASY.PA), among the world's largest vaccine makers, said on Thursday that its vaccines sales would be "slightly negative" this year, partly due to U.S. policy changes under President Donald Trump..... [more]

• French energy giant TotalEnergies resumes Mozambique $20 billion project as insurgency slows.... [more]

• BRICS laying first tracks for new global payment system. As India prepares to host the BRICS summit later this year, the focus will be on a payment system linking national digital currencies..... [more]

• At World’s Busiest Port, China’s Unbalanced Economy Comes Into View. The shipping traffic and factories never stop in China’s port city of Ningbo, but the local housing market has crashed and nearby restaurants sit empty..... [more]

• Alibaba Group Holding’s semiconductor design arm, T-Head, on Thursday unveiled details of its advanced artificial intelligence chip with capabilities said to be on par with Nvidia’s H20.... [more]

• Blackstone Inc. is in advanced talks to become the single largest shareholder of New World Development Co., according to people familiar with the matter, a move that would see one of Hong Kong’s richest families relinquish.... [more]

• The top U.S. envoy to China called Thursday for fair and reciprocal trade between the world’s two largest economies and expressed concern about projections that China’s dominance of global manufacturing will grow.... [more]

• ‘Crisis of Confidence’ Grips Indonesia Stocks After MSCI Warning.... [more]

• Foreign investors and private equity firms operating in India are making anxious calls to advisers and lawyers after a Supreme Court ruling earlier this month strengthened the government's hand in tax disputes..... [more]

• India's ITC quarterly profit falls 10% on higher expenses, one-time labour code charge.... [more]