Presented by
The Big Picture
Australia’s $10 billion blow out. Borrowing costs for the government are rising as the yield on Australia’s two-year bond rose above 5%, its highest level since mid-2011. Over the next four years, this is expected to add $6 billion to the Federal government’s interest bill and another $4.5 billion for the State governments. This is on top of the record $265 billion in interest payments the Federal and State governments were already budgeting to make over the next 4 years. (AFR)
Queensland downgraded by S&P Global. The state’s finances have been squeezed by higher interest costs for its debt, lower stamp duty from a weaker property market and big infrastructure spending ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. As a result, S&P Global downgraded Queensland’s credit rating from AA+ to AA. (ABC)
US inflation raises expectations of another rate rise. Annual inflation came in at 3.4% for August, above America’s 2% target, raising expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise rates when it meets this week (15-16 September). After the inflation data was released, markets priced in an 85% chance of a 25-basis points rise, up from 70% before the release. (NY Times)
Saudi oil disrupted on two-fronts. Houthi rebels seized Perim, an island in the Bab al-Mandeb strait - a key trade route for Saudi oil. Separately, Saudi Arabia closed its East-West oil pipeline following attacks from Houthi rebels that targeted Saudi energy facilities in Abha, Najran and Jazan. Brent crude rose as high as US$110 a barrel on Thursday, before settling around $104 over the weekend. (The Guardian | NY Times)
Iran and Russia used Claude for weapons research. Anthropic, the company behind Claude AI, shared that users from Iran, Russia, China and Yemen had been flagged for misusing the AI in attempts to use it for military applications. This included developing kamikaze drone swarms, missile navigation systems and researching potential biological weapons. (Reuters)
Companies in the news
Domino’s Pizza chases its customers. By one estimate, the pizza chain has lost 1 in 10 of its Australian customers over the past year. To get them back it is simplifying its menu - cutting about 25% of the range - and is betting on larger pizzas, with its New Yorker range measuring 16-inches rather than its standard 10-inch pizza. (AFR)
BHP and Rio Tinto fall as copper price drops. Copper reached a new record high on Thursday, before dropping almost 4% to end the week. BHP dropped 4% and Rio dropped 3% as both of Australia’s largest miners see a larger share of their profit coming from copper. (Capital Brief)
Oracle’s strong result eases AI fears. The tech company reported total revenue up 30% and a backlog for its cloud business up 46% in a year to $664 billion. The growth in demand for its data centres saw AI infrastructure stocks rally, led by Dell and Hewlett Packard rising 12% and HP gaining 8%. (Reuters)
Fund manager GQG suffers from anti-AI bet. Last year, the ASX-listed fund manager was vocally against the AI trade calling it “Dotcom on steroids”. Despite softening their stance earlier this year, the fund has seen outflows with assets under management dropping 8% so far this year. Shares are down 38% in 2026 and it was recently removed from the ASX 200 index. (Financial Standard)
FinFest: Less than 100 tickets remaining!
We are just 6 weeks away from FinFest and tickets are almost sold out!
So if you want to come to Australia’s best finance event make sure you secure your ticket today.
You’ll hear from some of Australia’s best investors and entrepreneurs and leave with actionable next steps take the next step in your investing journey.
Free money for everyone!
Trump is back with another massive promise: a US$5,000 “dividend” for every adult American if his Republicans win the House of Representatives and the Senate in the upcoming midterm elections. The program would cost roughly US$1.2 trillion.
Trump’s approval rating is sitting at historic low, and the US$5,000 promise is one of his most populist moves yet. He previously made a similar promise to distribute money from savings found by the Department of Government Efficiency as well as a tariff dividend for every American — yet neither of those checks have arrived. (FT)
A diversified approach to Australian commercial real estate investing.
Debt. Equity. Income.*
The Metrics Real Estate Multi-Strategy Fund (ASX: MRE) is designed to access both real estate debt and equity investments through a single ASX-listed vehicle, providing diversified exposure to Australian commercial real estate.
The Fund seeks to generate returns from multiple sources, including monthly cash income from commercial real estate debt investments and distributions from equity investments as development projects are completed. It targets a return of 10-12% p.a (net of fees) through the economic cycle.*
*Income payments depend on the success of underlying investments and are at the responsible entity's discretion. The target return may not be achieved. Issued by The Trust Company (RE Services) Limited ABN 45 003 278 831 AFSL 235 150 as responsible entity of the Metrics Real Estate Multi-Strategy Fund (a stapled structure consisting of the Metrics Real Estate Multi-Strategy Passive Trust (ARSN 679 413 293) and the Metrics Real Estate Multi-Strategy Active Trust (ARSN 679 413 695)) (MRE). This is general information only and does not take into consideration your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before making an investment decision, consider the PDS and TMD and full disclaimer at metrics.com.au/mre and other periodic and continuous disclosure announcements at www.asx.com.au.
The Robotaxi Race: Does the Cybercab change anything?
Equity Mates analyst Ned Stewart has looked into Tesla’s release of the autonomous Cybercab and unpacked what it means for the world’s robotaxi race.
Tesla's Cybercab launch made headlines, but the more important story for investors is who's actually winning the robotaxi race right now — and it isn't Tesla.
Waymo (Alphabet/Google) leads in the US with 4,000 vehicles across 14 cities completing 500,000 paid trips weekly. Baidu leads globally, with 23 million cumulative rides across 28 cities. Tesla, by comparison, has 432 vehicles registered for autonomous commercial use in Texas, including just 45 Cybercabs.
The market opportunity is significant. Goldman Sachs forecasts the global robotaxi market growing from US$2.7 billion in 2025 to US$415 billion by 2035, as the commercial fleet scales from roughly 7,000 to six million vehicles.
Tesla's bull case rests on its camera-and-neural-network approach being more scalable than the sensor-heavy, city-by-city mapping model used by Waymo. If that thesis plays out, its current lag may be temporary.
The key risks are regulatory and reputational. Cruise's collapse after a single fatal incident despite GM investing more than US$10 billion, and is the clearest precedent for how quickly sentiment can turn.
The industry is early. The winners are not yet decided.
Check out the full article on our website.
