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- 📈 First-time home buyers storm back into market | BHP hits record high
📈 First-time home buyers storm back into market | BHP hits record high
Here's what you need to know today
Riley Terriff
August 26, 2026
Presented by
The Big Picture
First home buyers storm back into property market. After dropping 3% in July, first-time home buyer loan applications jumped 10% in the first half of August. The budget’s tax changes appear to be working as intended, as investors continue to withdraw from the property market while first-time home buyers move in. Demand is concentrating on properties eligible for the government’s 5% deposit scheme for first home buyers. (Guardian)
Over half of apprentices dropping out of trades. Low pay, poor treatment and long travel times were among the reasons that 52% of apprentices and trainees didn’t complete their apprenticeship training. A lack of new workers is a major factor behind the soaring cost of construction in Australia, which recently saw condo construction costs surpass $1 million in Sydney. (ABC)
Australian personal bankruptcies rise 13%. Nearly 3,600 new personal insolvencies were recorded in the quarter ended June, up 13% from 2025. AFSA warned that borrowers are being given poor or harmful advice that puts them into unsuitable and eventually harmful debt arrangements. Credit cards, personal loans, and buy-now-pay-later agreements were among the problematic debt agreements identified. (AFR)
Labor looks to override Queensland on data centre energy usage. The federal government intends to legislate “causer pays” rules, requiring data centres to purchase power from new renewable energy projects so power prices don’t get pushed up for the rest of the population. Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has sworn to stand against these rules, but the Commonwealth would be able to overrule him and other dissenters. (ABC)
Companies in the news
Battle of the Biggest: BHP hits record high as CBA slumps. Surging copper prices drove BHP’s stock price to a record $68.15, pushing its market cap over $344 billion. The miner typically battles Commonwealth Bank for Australia’s largest company, but slowing mortgage demand has sent the bank down 12% so far this month, putting BHP confidently in first place. (AFR)
Samsung sinks as dividend disappoints shareholders. Despite offering up a record $111 billion in shareholder returns, Samsung’s stock price fell over 8% as analysts reported this number was less than they had expected. The shareholder returns would include roughly $30 billion in cash dividends in the third quarter, and Samsung committed to returning 50% of free cash flow to shareholders. (Reuters)
Bathla collapse sparks Australian private credit headache. The embattled Sydney-based developer has entered administration after months of financial struggles as it is unable to repay loans totaling over $3.5 billion. Its creditors are mostly major Australian private credit funds, and over 15,000 properties under construction are hanging in limbo following the collapse. (AFR)
Viva Energy posts record first-half on oil supply crunch. The oil refiner saw profits rise by nearly 500% year-on-year as ongoing conflict in Iran tightens oil supplies and drives up prices. Its refining margin increased by 156%, meaning each barrel refined earned roughly double and a half more than last year. (Motley Fool)
Coles posts profit growth despite legal provision. Statutory profit grew 1% to $1.1 billion despite $235 million being set aside in relation to a Federal Court judgement against Coles pertaining to underpayment of employees. Excluding one-off items, profit was up 13%. (ABC)
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Eagle-eyed Redditor sparks viral rush for discounted Coles liquor
Coles took their website and app offline after a viral Reddit post highlighted what appeared to be an 80% discount on premixed alcoholic drinks. A 24-pack of Jack Daniel’s & Cola was listed for $27, down from $130, sparking a rush of online sales for what appears to have been a mistakenly priced offer.
A Coles spokesperson blamed a technical issue and said certain products had been mispriced. Though it’s unclear how many customers managed to sneak away with the discounted booze, the Reddit account noted the post had received over 180,00 views. (Guardian)
Investors want income without taking on excessive risk and fixed income could be the answer. With yields still elevated relative to recent history, bonds are once again offering attractive returns alongside genuine diversification benefits.
PIMCO believes investors can now potentially earn equity-like returns from high quality fixed income, without relying solely on equities. It's why many are reassessing the role bonds can play in a portfolio today. PIMCO is one of the world's leading active fixed income managers, with a broad range of Australian solutions, including actively managed ETFs, designed to help meet different investment objectives.
To learn more about PIMCO's range of income and fixed income solutions, including their active ETFs, visit pimco.com.au. Read the PDS and TMD and consider whether the product is right for you. PIMCO Australia Management Limited is the issuer
Ask An Adviser: Childcare Subsidies
Financial adviser Matt Ingram from Northhaven gave us a helpful insight for making the most of childcare subsidies as a parent.
The childcare subsidy is income-assessed, starting at around 90% for households earning under $88,000 per year and tapering from there. Most families know the headline numbers. What catches people out is how the subsidy interacts with additional days of work.
Legislation guarantees three subsidised days per week for every family, but beyond that a fortnightly cap on subsidised hours applies, meaning a fifth day of childcare can attract no subsidy at all. That alone is a cost blowout. But the real trap runs deeper.
When a parent picks up an extra day of work, their income rises, which triggers a lower subsidy rate. That lower rate then applies across every day their child attends, not just the additional one. Factor in the extra income tax and any lost Centrelink entitlements such as Family Tax Benefit, and the numbers deteriorate fast. Matt found that running these scenarios, some parents net as little as $10 per hour for that extra day of work, sometimes less.
His advice is to model it properly before committing. Take gross pay for each additional work day, subtract childcare costs after subsidy, subtract tax, and account for lost Centrelink payments.
Want to work with an adviser like Matt to sort out your financials for your kids? Fill out the form on our website and we’ll match you with one of our hand-picked advisers to help you get started.
