- Equity Mates
- Posts
- 📈 Oil falls as US and Iran pause strikes | Chinese chipmaker CXMT surges 470% in debut
📈 Oil falls as US and Iran pause strikes | Chinese chipmaker CXMT surges 470% in debut
Here's what you need to know today
Presented by
The Big Picture
Oil falls as US and Iran pause strikes amid talks. Oil dropped 4% after the US and Iran paused strikes over the weekend. US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said Trump was "giving the negotiation talks some space" before deciding whether to resume strikes. A sustained fall in oil prices would offer the president some welcome relief ahead of midterm elections in roughly 100 days. (FT)
Victorian Labor leadership in turmoil as deputy premier moves against Allan. Victorian Deputy Premier Ben Carroll has confirmed he will contest the party leadership, a direct challenge to Premier Jacinta Allan. A group of ministers and MPs told Premier Allan she had lost majority support and urged her to step down. (ABC)
Supermarkets selling Chinese tomatoes mislabelled as Australian or Italian. Forensic testing conducted for a Four Corners investigation has found that dozens of tomato paste products sold by Leggo's, Coles and Aldi claiming to be from Australia or Italy are actually from China. About half identified were sourced from Xinjiang, a region known for the use of forced labour. (ABC)
Moody's warns AI spending is threatening credit quality of tech giants. Moody's has flagged that AI infrastructure spending is eroding free cash flow and increasing balance sheet risk at the world's biggest tech companies. Capital expenditure is projected to hit US$785 billion in 2026 and around US$1 trillion next year. The surge is forcing even cash-rich giants like Alphabet and Microsoft to lean on debt, marking a fundamental break from the asset-light model that built Silicon Valley. (CNBC)
Indonesia's central bank governor unexpectedly resigns. Perry Warjiyo has stepped down as the central bank governor of Southeast Asia’s largest economy after more than seven years in the role. Analysts say the move could rattle investors already concerned about the central bank's independence and the country's fiscal management. (CNBC)
Companies in the news
Chinese chipmaker CXMT surges on IPO to become China's most valuable listed company. CXMT shares soared more than 470% in their trading debut, making it China's most valuable listed company, ahead of Tencent. The surge reflects booming investor appetite for memory chip exposure, with CXMT the world's fourth-largest producer of DRAM chips behind SK Hynix, Samsung and Micron. (BBC)
Myer shares fall 9% as consumer spending slump erodes margins. Myer warned of a "volatile and significantly more challenging" retail environment in the second half of FY26. The retailer flagged a deterioration in consumer sentiment in June and July forcing heavier discounting that eroded margins despite total sales rising 11.3%. (AFR)
Kogan accused of using clone website to inflate discounts. The ABC has revealed that Kogan operates a secondary website selling the same products as its flagship site at significantly higher prices. Kogan is said to be using the inflated prices on the clone site to offer shoppers on its flagship site large "standard retail price" discounts. (ABC)
Shein posts quarterly loss ahead of Hong Kong IPO. Ultra-fast fashion company Shein has reported a US$99m quarterly loss as US tariffs bite into its core market. American revenue declined sharply after the closure of a duty loophole that had allowed packages under US$800 to enter the country tax-free. (CNBC)
SAP bucking the ‘SaaS-pocalypse trend with forecast revenue beat. SAP posted Q2 revenue of €9.88 billion, up 9.4% year-on-year and slightly ahead of analyst forecasts, with cloud revenue growing 22% to €6.28 billion. However, the German business software giant missed operating profit expectations, citing slowing revenue growth and accelerated R&D investment. (WSJ)
Tokyo tells men to wear shorts to the office
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is encouraging office workers to swap suits for shorts, t-shirts and trainers designed to help workers cope with record heat. The policy has sparked backlash as some of their female colleagues have said they are still expected to wear tights when showing their legs. Others have said they are experiencing ‘leg hair harassment’ to describe how they feel being subjected to their colleagues' leg hair.
As a result, some men are now booking laser hair removal appointments at clinics, with one doctor reporting a spike in clients seeking treatment as a matter of "social etiquette when wearing shorts." (BBC)
Super is anything but boring.
It certainly doesn’t spark as many debates as crypto. But boring doesn’t mean it isn’t powerful – it's often the quiet achiever.
Thanks to potential tax advantages and decades of compound interest doing its thing, super could be one of the most powerful investments Aussies ever own.
From the first super contribution to fine tuning their strategy, MLC's tools (and obviously their experts) can help build a plan with confidence.
Products issued by NULIS Nominees (Australia) Limited (ABN 80 008 515 633, AFSL 236465) as trustee of MLC Super Fund (ABN 70 732 426 024). General information only. Visit mlc.com.au for PDS & TMD. Consider if it’s right for you.
The Next Billion Consumers: 5 Companies to Watch
We explore the rise of the global middle class and the investment opportunities emerging across India, Southeast Asia and Latin America in the latest instalment of the Decade Ahead series on Equity Mates Investing. (Spotify | Apple | YouTube)
4.4 billion people are now in the global middle class, spending US$53 trillion a year. That is two thirds of all global consumer spending. China drove the previous surge. The next one belongs to India, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
India alone is expected to add 200-300 million middle class consumers in the next five years. Indonesia has 288 million people with more than half sitting just below the middle class threshold. Brazil's middle class already exceeds 400 million.
In this episode we came away with five companies that are positioned to benefit from the boom.
In Southeast Asia, Grab (NASDAQ: GRAB) and Sea Limited (NYSE: SE) are the two major apps competing for the digital dollar across ride hailing, e-commerce, food delivery and FinTech. Both are growing revenue at double digits. Both are down around 35% this year, which Ren sees as an opportunity rather than a warning sign.
In India, HDFC Bank (NYSE: HDB) is the direct play on hundreds of millions of people entering the formal banking system for the first time. It has added 30 million customers in four years and has barely scratched the surface of India's total population.
In Latin America, MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) is the Amazon and PayPal of the region combined, growing revenue at 49% year on year. And Nu Holdings (NYSE: NU), a digital only bank with 135 million customers across Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, is growing revenue at 44% with a 44% profit margin, trading at just 18 times earnings.
For investors with a 10 to 20 year horizon, these could be some of the most compelling growth stories available on public markets today.
