Here’s what you need to know today

The Bigger Picture

• Investors “Sell America”. As tensions escalate over Greenland and Trump threatens a 200% tariff on French wine, investors dumped US stocks, bonds and the US dollar. Safe haven assets gold and silver hit all-time highs. (AFR | Guardian)
  
  

• Australians leaving Big Super. 8 of the 10 largest Superannuation funds saw negative net rollover last year (where more Australians switch out of a fund than switch into it). This reflects increasing competition across the Super industry. (Capital Brief)
  
  

• Davos delivers blunt warnings. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei likened selling advanced AI chip to China to selling nuclear weapons to North Korea, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink warned AI could further increase the global wealth gap, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella warned the AI bubble could pop unless adoption spreads beyond Big Tech and wealthy economies. (Yahoo Finance | Yahoo Finance | FT)
  
  

• Japanese bond sell-off spikes yields, shakes global markets. Investors are dumping Japanese bonds on expectations of heavy government borrowing, causing yields to hit record highs; Japanese 40-year bonds hit 4.2%. The sell-off went international, with long-term yields jumping in the US, UK, Canada, and more. (TD Economics)
  
  

• Saudi banks borrow abroad at record pace. The kingdom is ploughing oil profits into assets like EA Sports, Heathrow Airport and LIV golf, but high spending and weak oil prices have created a liquidity crunch. As a result, Saudi banks borrowed $33 billion from foreign lenders in 2025. (FT)
  
  

• Central bank independence fears hit Indonesia. Indonesia’s currency dropped nearly 2% as President Subianto nominated his nephew as deputy governor of the central bank, sparking independence fears and a selloff of the rupiah. (FT)
  
  

• Kiwis flock to Australia in record numbers. More than 1% of New Zealand’s population left the country in the 12 months ending in October, the most since the 2008 GFC. Over half of them came to Australia, driven by higher salaries, lower cost of living, and better career advancement. (NYT)

Companies in the news

• Australian quantum computing firm breakthrough. Q-CTRL claims to have solved GPS jamming with its quantum-powered navigation systems, delivering GPS-like accuracy without satellite signals. More than 1,000 commercial flights are disrupted by GPS jamming each day, mostly by Russia. (Capital Brief)
  
  

• Netflix falls despite strong earnings. Netflix grew revenue 18%, ahead of expectations, and reached 325 million subscribers but forward-looking estimates came in below forecasts and a higher bid for Warner Bros Discovery caused Netflix stock to fall 4%. (Capital Brief)
  
  

• Demand for rare earths drive deal. America’s Energy Fuels will acquire rare earths miner Australian Strategic Metals for $450 million. ASM’s share price more than doubled yesterday, up 120%. (AFR)
  
  

• China stockpiles iron ore. Rio Tinto shipped a record volume of iron ore in the past quarter but flagged rising inventories at Chinese ports. The build-up suggests pre-buying ahead of possible US tariffs, risking weaker demand for Australian iron ore as Chinese mills draw down stockpiles and trim new orders. (AFR)
  
  

• US regulators still want to break up Meta. The Federal Trade Commission is appealing its lost case, arguing Meta built an illegal monopoly by acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp. The agency is asking the court to split the company up. (Yahoo Finance)

What the…?

The rich ask for higher taxes, on themselves. Nearly 400 millionaires and billionaires signed an open letter, including Mark Ruffalo, warning wealth is buying political influence and deepening social exclusion. The letter was timed to coincide with the World Economic Forum and follows a similar push last year, which helped launch the group Proud to Pay More. (Guardian)

What’s got us thinking?

Investing is a lifelong journey. Here’s what you can learn today.

Four big investing themes for 2026

On our most recent episode of Equity Mates Investing, we sat down and went over what we think will be the biggest trends for Australian investors in 2026. Here’s what we think:

1. Resources and commodities are setting up for a big year. Gold, silver, copper, and platinum are all at or near all-time highs, with uranium, lithium, and tin also looking strong. As Australia is a commodity-heavy market, this could be the biggest macro tailwind of the year.
   

2. Healthcare is shifting from treating sickness to engineering longevity, and there’s plenty of investment upside in that shift. GLP-1s have revolutionised weight loss, and surgical robotics are an increasingly popular yet difficult-to-enter market.
   

3. The experience economy is moving wealthy consumers away from goods and towards scarce services and experiences. Ultra-luxury services and experiences like prime sports tickets, luxury hotel stays, and Michelin-star dining are growing in popularity, and there are investment opportunities to ride this trend.
   

4. China’s economy appears to be on the rise, with Chinese AI stocks booming recently and Chinese influence proliferating through Western countries via cultural touchpoints like TikTok, Labubus, gaming, and micro dramas.

A message from PocketSmith

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