Market Reports

• Australian Market Report: The S&P/ASX 200 fell 11.9 points or 0.1 per cent, closing at 8617.10, capping off another negative week for the bourse, as investors worried about the surge in oil prices and what it could mean for inflation..... [more]

• U.S. Market Report: U.S. stocks ended down on Friday, capping a week in ‌which erratic crude oil prices whipsawed equities, as investors gauged how the war in Iran was affecting the global oil supply..... [more]

• European Market Report: European markets closed lower on Friday, extending losses to a third straight session, as investors stayed reluctant to engage in any significant buying due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.... [more]

• Asian Market Report: Asian stocks declined on Friday as rising crude oil prices linked to geopolitical tensions rattled investors. Brent crude prices rose more than 1 percent toward $102 a barrel in Asian trading.... [more]

Australian Business News

• U.S. inflation data this week could test whether energy-driven price pressures broaden. The Middle East conflict is causing an energy-led supply chain shock, with very different effects around the world..... [more]

• A widely-tipped interest rate hike on top of the ongoing global fuel crisis is spelling doom and gloom for household budgets as Jim Chalmers warns Treasury thinks inflation could rise close to 5 per cent..... [more]

• Under-fire Energy Minister Chris Bowen has been accused of being "asleep at the wheel” as regional and rural Australians face what he has labelled “unacceptable” fuel shortages..... [more]

• The New South Wales government will introduce new laws this week to force property sellers to publish a price guide on all advertising, and impose a fivefold increase to fines for underquoting real estate agents..... [more]

• Australian trade in jeopardy as Middle East 'war risk' costs surge.... [more]

• Weak real returns on cash-based investments due to sticky inflation have prompted Australian retirees to ditch local blue-chip shares and instead invest in global dividends, according to chief executive officer of GSFM, Damien McIntyre..... [more]

• Radical tax overhaul proposed to shift burden from wages to asset wealth. Australia’s tax system would be reset to help workers take home more of their pay while getting investors to contribute more under an MP’s bold plan..... [more]

• AI fears are hitting insurance stocks IAG, SUN and QBE — but is the market overreacting?.... [more]

• Gold rating for global share ETF. Efficient exposure to global equities at a compelling price. Vanguard’s International Shares (ASX: VGS) strategy provides investors efficient exposure to global equity markets..... [more]

• Horizon Minerals is lining up a low-risk run for its planned Black Swan gold processing hub restart in WA’s Goldfields..... [more]

• Lodestar Minerals has identified visible copper sulphides in core from its maiden drill hole at its Three Saints copper and gold project in Chile, which is targeting a geophysical anomaly.... [more]

• Autism diagnostic specialist BlinkLab (ASX: BB1) has entered into a new partnership with the US-based SHANK2 foundation..... [more]

• Coles Group CTO is leaving after a year.... [more]

• Comment - Kerry Sun: It's getting bearish out there. Oil prices are soaring, the Iran conflict is intensifying, so what gives?.... [more]

• Opinion - Robyn Greaves: There’s a hidden job market for over 50s, but you’ll need to do this to get in. One of the greatest challenges people face in their third chapter of working life isn’t capability, relevance or motivation..... [more]

• Analysis - Gareth Hutchens: Is Australia about to say goodbye to its experiment with low unemployment? The latest war in the Middle East has created the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market,.... [more]

• Opinion - Aston Brown: ‘Cruel hoax’ or ‘work-life balance nirvana’: whatever happened to the four-day work week? It has been years since the four-day work week was floated as a solution to everything from traffic congestion to burnout..... [more]

• Comment - Bernd Struben: Buying ASX shares? Here's what to expect from Tuesday's RBA interest rate decision. ASX investors are increasingly pricing in another RBA interest rate increase on Tuesday. Will it happen?.... [more]

World Business News

• Wall St Week Ahead Investors await Fed rate outlook as Iran war keeps markets on edge.... [more]

• Oil prices could extend gains at Monday's open as the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran entered a third week, putting oil infrastructure at risk and keeping the Strait of Hormuz shut in the world's largest supply disruption..... [more]

• JPMorgan says higher oil prices could spark a 'domino effect' that tanks the S&P 500 by 15%.... [more]

• The Iran war is a new test of America's economic superpower.... [more]

• The worst global oil crisis in decades could become a major problem for the Federal Reserve, whose policymakers meet this week to determine the next moves for the US economy..... [more]

• Panic is slowly gripping the stock market. Expect the selling to pick up next week. Options traders are signaling trouble, and systematic funds are expected to cut their exposure to U.S. stocks.... [more]

• Trump seeks to close $1.6 trillion revenue gap with raft of new tariffs.... [more]

• Representatives from Beijing and Washington began their economic and trade talks in Paris on Sunday, paving the way for U.S. President Donald Trump’s state visit to Beijing to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in about two weeks..... [more]

• Adobe reaches $150 million settlement of US lawsuit over termination fees, subscription cancellations.... [more]

• Asia-Pacific allies sign $57 billion in deals with U.S. firms, Burgum says.... [more]

• Hollywood could soon have a new king of the box office. With Paramount Skydance set to take over Warner Bros. Discovery, the combined film studios could dominate the theatrical slate..... [more]

• Live Nation, Ticketmaster trial to resume after 7 states join a Justice Department settlement.... [more]

• How exposed are European insurers to private credit and equity?.... [more]

• Sterling drops vs euro and dollar after weak economic data.... [more]

• Warning Middle East conflict could worsen Scotland’s ‘costs crunch’. Total sales in Scotland last month were flat compared with February 2025 – a year-on-year decrease of 1.1% when adjusted for inflation..... [more]

• 'Gruesome' war bets fuel calls for crackdown on prediction markets.... [more]

• Wealthy individuals are looking to shift assets from the Gulf region to ​Switzerland as a result of the escalating conflict in the Middle East following the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, bankers and ‌financial advisers say..... [more]

• US easing of Russia oil sanctions draws criticism. The US has loosened sanctions preventing other countries buying Russian oil and petroleum already loaded on vessels at sea to try to ease the energy supply crunch.... [more]

• Moonshot AI is seeking to raise as much as US$1 billion in an expanded funding round that would value the start-up at about US$18 billion, more than quadrupling its valuation in just three months and underscoring growing interest.... [more]

• Edtech firm Upgrad has signed a term sheet to acquire rival Unacademy in an all-stock transaction, founders of the two companies said in separate posts on X on Saturday.... [more]

• Sinomine Resource Group (002738.SZ), is in talks with ​Zimbabwean authorities to resume ‌its lithium exports, the Chinese mining group said on ​Friday, weeks after the ​African country halted the export ⁠of lithium concentrates..... [more]

• The Iran war threatens to deal significant blows to the Gulf’s biggest economies, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, if it doesn’t end soon. Qatar and Kuwait could each see their gross domestic product contract.... [more]