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The Big Picture
RBA lifts rates to a 15-year high. The Reserve Bank raised the cash rate to 4.6% yesterday, its highest since 2011, in a unanimous move to bring inflation back to target. It pointed to the Middle East conflict and higher energy prices, as well as prolonged lack of productivity within the Australian economy. Economists have flagged a fifth rate rise could come as soon as Melbourne Cup Day, which would take the rate to 4.85%. (ABC)
$1.2b Sydney data centre scrapped after backlash. Goodman Group has withdrawn its development on Sydney's north shore, citing a shifting regulatory environment. The Lane Cove project became a focal point for community opposition to AI infrastructure, sitting about 20 metres from the nearest home and 160 metres from a primary school. (ABC)
Australia cements world-leading solar position as oil prices bite. Households installed a record number of rooftop solar systems and home batteries in the first half of 2026, up 35% on a year earlier, the strongest six months since 2021, according to the Clean Energy Council. The council linked the surge to global instability, its chief executive noting "the sun cannot be blockaded in the Strait of Hormuz". (Bloomberg)
Companies in the news
Anthropic files for record-breaking IPO. The Claude maker's long-awaited prospectus reveals it is aiming to become a public company this year with a valuation of more than US$2 trillion, which would make it the largest IPO ever. The filing details the tough economics of frontier AI, as revenue jumped 12x to US$4.6 billion last year, but soaring computing costs drove an operating loss of more than US$8 billion. It also warns AI could pose "existential risks to humanity". (FT)
OpenAI addresses Medicare hack and halts new model. The ChatGPT maker has apologised for a rogue agent that breached Medicare's portal in June, admitting it "should have handled our response better". It said the breach came from an internal model that lacked the safeguards on its public products. OpenAI also announced it will scrap the planned October release of its next model, GPT-6.1 Astra, after testing found it fell short on staying within its authorised scope. (ABC)
Nvidia launches AI safety tools, but the Pope isn’t convinced. The world's most valuable company has released a platform to stop AI agents breaking out of their containment and hacking other systems. But Pope Leo XIV questioned CEO Jensen Huang's commitment to safety, noting he is "the same one" who argues there should be no limits or regulation. (CNBC | FT)
Firmus lands Meta deal to boost its IPO pitch. The AI factory developer's new deal with social media giant Meta is expected to add about US$750 million to its future annual earnings, lifting group EBIT roughly 15% from the US$5 billion pitched to investors during its recent roadshow. The uplift bolsters Firmus' bid to justify a US$50 billion valuation ahead of its planned ASX listing on 22 October. (Capital Brief)
AMD to buy start-up founded by AI "godmother" for $8.2b. The chip designer will acquire World Labs, founded in 2024 by Stanford researcher Fei-Fei Li also known as the ‘godmother of AI’, in a deal that pushes AMD beyond chips into cutting-edge AI. World Labs builds "world models", AI systems that understand and replicate 3D environments, seen as the next frontier beyond the large language models behind tools like ChatGPT, with uses in robotics and gaming. (FT)
SpaceX's largest rocket ever built launches. SpaceX’s Starship reached orbit yesterday, deploying 26 Starlink satellites before splashing down in the Pacific. The mission was cut from a planned 10 hours to three after an engine failed early, it is a key step towards SpaceX's lunar and Mars plans. (ABC)
Indonesia introduces fractional penny stocks
The world's worst-performing stock market has cut its minimum share price to a single rupiah, less than a third of a US cent, so its many distressed stocks can fall to levels that reflect what they are actually worth.
Indonesia's benchmark has lost a quarter of its value this year and already has 291 companies priced below a US cent, which is second only in the world to the US. The fix is an attempt by the Indonesian Stock Exchange to avoid being downgraded by index giant MSCI in November, which would trigger even more outflows. (FT)
Betashares is building new super and pension products and wants to understand what Australians actually want from their super.
More visibility into where your money is invested? More choice and control? Better tools to help you stay on track? Or simply an easier way to make decisions about your super?
Share your thoughts and help shape Betashares Super.
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Survey closes midnight AEDT, 30 September 2026.
Bendigo Superannuation Pty Ltd (ABN 23 644 620 128 AFSL 534006) is the trustee of the Bendigo
Superannuation Plan (ABN 57 526 653 420).
Before making a decision, read the PDS and TMD available at www.betashares.com.au/super.
The information in this email is general in nature and doesn’t take into account your financial
objectives, situation or needs.
What should you actually check inside your super fund?
We asked financial adviser Matt Ingram from Northhaven about the questions every Australian should be able to answer about their own super fund.
What should Australians actually check inside their super fund?
Matt: In initial meetings with clients, I tend to ask the same handful of questions every time.
The first is who is your super with? Most people can answer this, but if you don't know who holds one of your largest long-term assets, it's probably time to pay a bit more attention.
The second is: what investment option are you in? This is where things get vague. "Balanced" is a common answer, but few people know what that actually means in terms of shares, property, bonds or cash. Your investment option should reflect your risk tolerance and your time horizon. If you're 30 and won't access your super for another 30-plus years, being heavily invested in growth assets may make sense. If you're 60 and planning to retire soon, that same allocation could feel very uncomfortable. It's also worth knowing that many funds now offer indexed options alongside their traditional active ones, which can be substantially cheaper. Over decades, lower fees can make a meaningful difference to your final balance.
The third is about insurance. Do you have any cover through your super, and if so, how much? Most people do, thanks to default insurance applied when they join a fund, but many don't realise they're paying for it each year or how much cover they actually hold.
Beyond those three, everyone should have at least a rough understanding of fees. Super funds are very good at making fees hard to follow, with administration fees, investment fees, percentage-based fees, and sometimes additional costs layered in. It's rarely presented as one clean number, which makes comparison difficult and means people can end up paying more than they need to without realising it.
Finally, performance matters, but context matters more. Funds tend to have their time in the sun, and a strategy that outperforms for a few years can lag in the next cycle. Unless your fund has been consistently and materially underperforming over five years or more, making big changes based on short-term results is usually a mistake.
Want to work with an adviser like Matt to make sense of your super? Fill out the form on our website and we'll match you with one of our hand-picked advisers to help you get started.
Basis Points: Our guest today argues that AI will help more Australians receive financial advice, but he’s worried that many of today’s AI advice tools are unlikely to survive. You won’t want to miss this interview with Jason Entwistle, Director of strategic development at HUB24. (Spotify | Apple | YouTube)
