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- 📈 House prices fall for fifth consecutive month | Qantas faces ground crew strike
📈 House prices fall for fifth consecutive month | Qantas faces ground crew strike
Here's what you need to know today
Ned Stewart
September 02, 2026
Presented by
The Big Picture
August marks fifth consecutive month of falling house prices. Sydney led the nation with a 1.4% decline, with Melbourne and Canberra each sliding 1.1%. Capital cities are seeing the widest declines, with 93% of capital city suburbs now seeing house prices fall. The number of people attending inspections has also been cut in half, dropping from an average of four to two. (ABC)
Australian government borrowing costs hit 15-year high. The 10-year treasury bond yield hit 5.18%, the highest point since 2011, as global inflation fears were reignited by renewed conflict in the Middle East and oil prices rising back above US$90 per barrel. Australia isn’t alone: US treasury yields are at pre-GFC levels, and Japanese treasury yields hit a three-decade high. (AFR)
Finally fracking: Beetaloo gas reaches NT grid. Eight years after the Northern Territory lifted its ban on fracking, gas fracked from the Beetaloo Basin will begin powering the grid in the NT. This marks a major social and economic milestone for the NT as cooperation between native title holders and the gas industry has created jobs and revenues that will help pay down the NT’s $11 billion of debt. (ABC)
Treasury reveals slow Australian AI adoption. Less than one in 10 Australian businesses have meaningfully adopted AI, according to new Treasury data. Treasurer Jim Chalmers called AI the “biggest economic transformation in our lifetime” and is pushing for Australian businesses to adopt the new technology so Australia doesn’t miss out on the productivity gains. (AFR | ABC)
“Let Data Reign”: Trump attacks data centre critics. Despite Republicans promising to slow down data centre development, the US president has said opposing these projects will lead Americans to be “backwards and poor”. Voter sentiment towards data centres has soured, but Trump has made his position clear, telling his followers on Truth Social to “let Data Reign.” (FT)
Companies in the news
Qantas faces regional ground crew strike. The Transport Workers Union said 97% of the 350 regional ground crew workers who voted were in support of industrial action, including work stoppages, in pursuit of job security and wage increases. A strike could come with as little as three days of notice, and would follow the 14% drop in Qantas profits that was recently announced. (ABC)
Tim Cook exits as Apple CEO. After a legendary 15-year stint that saw Apple’s market cap grow by 2,400%, CEO Tim Cook has left the top spot, becoming Apple’s executive chairman. Cook penned a memo to Apple staff thanking them for their contributions, saying that he will miss the work, and that he has absolute confidence in successor John Ternus. (AFR)
Amazon joins Big Tech foray in Australian bond market. After Google launched a $5.5 billion Australian bond issuance, Amazon is expected to follow with a similarly sized deal. Australia’s corporate bond market is now the third-largest behind the US and Europe, and Australian fixed income managers expect other hyperscalers to continue to enter the so-called kangaroo market. (AFR)
Shein stock falls in Hong Kong debut. The fast fashion giant saw its shares drop 10% on its first day on the Hong Kong market. This comes after earlier attempts to go public in New York and London fell through. Shein went public at a valuation of $26.5 billion, down 73% from its peak private valuation of $100 billion in 2022. (CNBC | Stocks Down Under)
CSL cuts US drug prices under Trump pressure. The Australian biotech giant will reduce prices on some medications in the US after the Trump administration inked a new deal to make healthcare more affordable for Americans. CSL was one of nine pharmaceutical companies who will now have to charge Medicaid the same prices they charge in other developed countries. (AFR)
Legendary fund manager Bill Ackman is joining FinFest 2026. Are you?
Yes, you read that right. Founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Bill Ackman will sit down with Bryce and Ren for an exclusive pre-recorded conversation to be aired at FinFest 2026.
If you want to hear Bill unpack all things markets, investing and the opportunities he’s seeing in the world, this is your chance to see it.
Who knows, Ren may even Boost Bill’s Budget while they’re at it.
Expelled US congressman receives lifetime ban from Kalshi for insider trading
George Santos can’t stay in the good books. The former US congressman, who lost his job following a series of fraud and identity theft charges, has now been kicked off of popular prediction market Kalshi for insider trading.
Kalshi’s compliance team determined that Santos had placed bets on his own attendance of President Trump’s State of the Union address. Santos took to X to thank Kalshi and said “Let's see how much longer you guys are around for”. (BBC)
Dovetail, Ramp and Writer spend 82% less time on audits.
That’s what Vanta does - automates the busywork of compliance. Meaning your team can prep for SOC 2 or ISO 27001 in a fraction of the time and run enterprise GRC without drowning in evidence collection. Less audit prep, more time closing deals.
Ask An Adviser: Debt Recycling
Financial adviser Jelena Koncar from Shaw and Partners answered community member Sophia’s question about the popular strategy known as debt recycling.
I’ve heard a lot of people discuss debt recycling. What is it?
Jelena: The term debt recycling is a financial strategy of moving your debt from being non-tax deductible to being tax-deductible throughout your working life, with the goal of reducing the interest you pay, and accelerating wealth creation.
For example, you can do this as you build equity in your home [note: the interest on your home loan is not tax deductible because it’s not generating an income]. You can borrow against that home equity and invest into an investment property or share portfolio, which is an investable asset, and the interest on that debt then becomes tax-deductible.
The idea is that as the asset grows and generates an income, it allows you to pay off your non-deductible debt faster.
Want to work with an adviser like Jelena to find out if debt recycling is right for you? Fill out the form on our website and we’ll match you with one of our hand-picked advisers to help you get started.
