Enjoy this email? We’d love you to forward it to someone else who may enjoy it.

Forwarded this email? You can sign up here. 

Here’s what you need to know today

• Iran and Israel’s conflict entered its fourth day as both sides traded missile strikes. Israel said it had hit 80 sites in Iran, including Iran’s defence ministry, and claimed it killed Iran’s chief intelligence officer, Mohammad Kazemi. Iran claimed it launched 200 missiles, striking central and northern Israel and killing at least three people in Tel Aviv. (CNN)
  
  

• Australian oil and gas giant Santos has received a $36 billion takeover offer from XRG, a company backed by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and US private equity giant Carlyle. The all-cash offer was at a 28% premium to Friday’s closing share price and, if completed, will be the largest ever all-cash deal in the energy sector globally. (AFR)
  
  

• The South Australian government has threatened to step in and stop the Santos takeover if it is “not in the interest of South Australians”. Santos is South Australia’s largest company. The Santos deal will also need to get approval from a number of other regulatory agencies, including the Foreign Investment Review Board and the ACCC. (ABC)
  
  

• Historical context is also important here. In 2001, Britain’s Shell was blocked from buying Australia’s Woodside after the Treasurer at the time, Peter Costello, said having the Australian oil giant fall under foreign control was not in the national interest. With Santos and Woodside being Australia’s only major oil and gas producers, the current Treasurer Jim Chalmers may have a similar view.
  
  

• Australia’s uranium miners also had a good day with Deep Yellow up 21%, Paladin up 16% and Boss Energy up 18% after the UK government announced a £14 billion investment in a new nuclear power plant in Suffolk and the world’s largest physical uranium fund, the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust, announced a US$100 million capital raise to further invest in the commodity. (Capital Brief)
  
  

• Corporate regulator ASIC has announced an inquiry into the ASX citing “serious failures” at Australia’s major stock exchange. Shares were down 7% as ASIC Chair Joe Longo released a statement explaining, “the decision to initiate an inquiry follows repeated and serious failures at ASX.” (Reuters)
  
  

• Foxtel is reportedly cutting more jobs at sports streaming service Kayo. Foxtel’s new owner, DAZN, acquired the company for $3.4 billion in April and immediately made 100 jobs redundant. Now reports are the company is making further cuts, although the exact number has not been reported. (Capital Brief)
  
  

• The alleged Minnesota assassin, Vance Boelter, was arrested after a two day manhunt. Boelter is alleged to have killed a Minnesota politician and her husband and also to have attempted to kill another Minnesota politician and his wife. (ABC)

What the…?

AI is already changing warfare. Ukraine’s recent attack on Russian military airfields highlighted the changing nature of warfare as drones become a key weapon in the military arsenal. Less visible, but just as important, was the role of artificial intelligence in the attack.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, the drones used in these attacks had AI-powered autonomous systems that allowed them to keep flying and attacking pre-planned targets even after losing signal as they flew out of range.

For years, military planners have discussed how the rise of autonomous systems will change warfare. Such debates are no longer theoretical. (Financial Times)

Investing is a lifelong journey

Here’s what you can learn today.

Why Mark Lamonica plans to never own property

This is an excerpt from our conversation with Mark Lamonica, Director of Personal Finance at Morningstar Australia, on Equity Mates Investing (Apple | Spotify | YouTube)

Question: What is your approach to property ownership and why?

Mark: Yeah, people obviously think I'm crazy with this whole thing. I wrote this article and I will say at the time, somebody else put a title on it, but it was ‘Why I Will Rent For Life’. They got all this attention, they put me in the AFR and somebody came and took some picture of me like ‘this idiot that is not going to buy a place’.

One of the problems with housing is that, of course, there's these huge cash flows that have to go into it. So not just mortgages, but also just the upkeep in maintenance - the low end of the estimates is 1% of the purchase price. So I don't think that's that attractive given the life I want to live. And the other problem is if I want to use my financial assets to generate income for my life, locking a bunch of them up in a house isn't a great thing, I think in my worldview. And it's nothing against people that buy houses and it's really thinking about what matters. Is that the way, if I'm totally focused on my net worth, is that the way to get rich? Yeah, probably because it's this huge leveraged bet on property. I don't use any leverage personally in my portfolio.

Want to watch the full conversation with Mark? Check it out on the Equity Mates YouTube channel.

Today’s sponsor is HBF

Smart investors plan for tax time.

If you're earning over $101,000 as a single or $202,000 as a family, and don't hold hospital cover, the Medicare Levy Surcharge could cost you extra at tax time.

By joining HBF health insurance and taking out hospital cover before 1 July, you could avoid the surcharge next year. You're not just covering your health, you could be saving hundreds or thousands in avoidable surcharge.

And the best part? You can get up to 14 weeks free with HBF if you take out hospital and extras cover by 17 July*.

For more details and a free tax calculator check out the HBF Tax Hub.

*New members who start eligible combined cover by 17 July 2025 on fortnightly monthly direct debit. 14 weeks free applied over 26 months. T&Cs apply.

Want more Equity Mates?