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- 📈 Property investors leave the market | Anthropic grows revenue 20-times
📈 Property investors leave the market | Anthropic grows revenue 20-times
Here's what you need to know today
Emily Croker
August 17, 2026
Presented by
The Big Picture
Debate over Australia’s GST heats up. WA Premier Roger Cook called a Productivity Commission report on Australia’s Goods and Services Tax “dodgy, deceitful, and dumb.” Meanwhile NSW Premier Chris Minns accused WA of acting like a “gulf state”. The states are fighting over how the Federal Government distributes the almost $100 billion it collects each year. The Productivity Commission believes the government should unwind a special deal Scott Morrison negotiated with WA in 2018. Since then, WA has produced 8 consecutive budget surpluses while eastern states are mired in debt. (AFR)
New Australian home loans keep falling. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported the number of new mortgages fell 5.4% in the June quarter and the value of new mortgages dropped 5.2%. Investors led the fall, dropping 8.6%, increasing from a 4.7% drop in the March quarter. NSW, Victoria and Queensland saw the three biggest falls, down 15.5%, 14.2% and 10.1% respectively. (Capital Brief)
Oil drifts higher as Iran war enters sixth month. The US government threatened a fresh wave of economic sanctions against Iran as ongoing military strikes fail to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Two UAE oil tankers were attacked on Thursday, once again bringing traffic to a standstill. Brent crude oil rose 2% to sit around US$88.50 a barrel. (NBC)
US economy weakens, US stock market strengthens. The divergence between Main Street and Wall Street continued last week. Consumer spending dropped 0.6% between June and July, its first decline in 9 months, and consumer sentiment dropped 4 points to 51 in July. Yet, the US stock market registered its 3rd week of gains with aggregate earnings growth for the S&P 500 sitting at 52% for this latest earnings season. (Axios | Reuters | Finimize)
US borrowing costs hit their highest level in 25 years. Last Thursday, the US Treasury sold $25bn of 30-year bonds at a 5.22% yield. That is up from 5.06% in July and is the highest since 2001. Investors are asking for higher yields over concerns about high US inflation and the government’s $40 trillion debt. (FT)
France blocks social media ban for under-15’s. A court has ruled that France’s Australia-style social media ban would infringe children’s freedom of speech and communication. Emmanuel Macron’s office has confirmed his government will work on a new law that takes into account the Court’s ruling ready for implementation in early 2027. (BBC)
Taiwan expects 11% GDP growth on AI boom. The country’s statistics office reported that demand for AI chips has exports poised to rise 21.3% in 2026. Economic growth has been accelerating in Taiwan with 5.3% in 2024 and 8.8% in 2025. It expects growth to moderate in 2027, however, with a forecast of 6%. (Capital Brief)
Companies in the news
Anthropic’s quarterly revenue grows 20-fold. The AI company behind Claude made $16.2 billion revenue in the second quarter of 2026, compared to $787 million in the same period last year. It is also up from $4.7 billion for the first quarter of 2026. Anthropic’s revenue overtook OpenAI’s earlier this year. (AFR)
Canva’s AI challenges lead to a 17% markdown. Blackbird Ventures and Airtree have both written down the value of Canva from $42 billion to $35 billion. This comes as Canva faces threats from AI design tools like Claude Design. (Capital Brief)
KPMG’s executives turn on each other. Leaders of the troubled accounting firm are airing their dirty laundry in a parliamentary hearing into the firm’s use of confidential client information. Multiple partners and senior executives have accused others in the firm of misbehaviour. Meanwhile, directors from Macquarie, Westpac, Dexus and Optus told the inquiry they were reviewing their relationships with KPMG. (AFR)
Reddit is joining the S&P 500. Shares in the social media company jumped 13% after it was announced it would be replacing AvalonBay Communities in America’s benchmark index. It will be the second pure play social media company in the index alongside Meta, with Pinterest and Snap not large enough to make it in. (CNBC)
Jeff Bezos buys a stake in Liverpool Football Club. The Amazon founder leads a group of investors buying a 30% stake in Liverpool in a deal valuing the team at US$7 billion. The current owner, Fenway Sports Group, bought the team for $400 million in 2010. According to Forbes, the deal makes Liverpool the fourth most valuable club in the world behind Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United. (WSJ | Forbes)
Get your question answered at FinFest 2026!
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A dangerous shift from investing to betting
According to new data from Betterment, over half of Gen-Z Americans have redirected funds from investing to sports betting in the past year. Over a quarter of them see sports betting as a deliberate part of their long-term financial strategy.
This comes as risky investing is on the rise, with levered single-stock ETFs and margin trading accounts becoming more popular due to their massive potential returns despite their huge risk. Financial nihilism is rising among younger generations as heavy inflation, housing crises, and tight job markets make financial success and stability feel out of reach, leading to riskier financial decisions in an effort to keep up. (X)
Is it time to get back on the Life360 rollercoaster?
Australian-listed family tracking app Life360 was a favourite in Australia before falling out of favour. In the latest Buy or Sell, Ally Selby speaks to two expert fund managers to get their thoughts on the volatile stock. (Apple | Spotify | YouTube)
Life360 is a family safety and connection app, offering location tracking for loved ones, important items and pets. For years it was a favourite of Australian fund managers. And it’s not hard to see why, between October 2022 and October 2025, the family tracking app Life360 grew 1,000%.
But the past year has been a tough one. The company lost two-thirds of its value in the SaaSpocalyse sell off. Then, just as things were starting to recover, last week it had a shaky report and the stock dropped 14% in a week. So, where does the stock go from here?
Brittany Isakka from Spheria Asset Management sees the stock as a sell. Despite strong 38% revenue growth and nearly 100 million active users, margins compressed last quarter as sales and marketing costs surged over 60%. Her concern is whether that investment level is needed just to maintain growth.
Claudia Kwan from NorthStar Impact is more optimistic, pointing out that the Life360's international growth is accelerating faster than their US growth. It’s paying user growth is strong, and average revenue per user is growing at high single digits. Claudia thinks that growth is sustainable.
Want to hear their full debate? Check out the latest episode of Buy or Sell as Brittany and Claudia unpack 5 of the ASX's fastest-growing stocks.
