The Big Picture
Saudi Arabia East-West pipeline to be reopened. Brent crude fell to a two-week low after Saudi Arabia said it would restart the the crucial East-West pipeline by the end of the week. The pipeline had been shut for a fortnight due to drone strikes. Oil prices had spiked near US$110 after the closure forced Saudi oil onto the blockaded Strait of Hormuz route. Traders are also betting that diplomatic talks between Iran, China and the US could bring a breakthrough in the conflict. (FT)
US and Iran hold talks as Trump threatens to "annihilate" Tehran. American and Iranian officials held what Trump called a "very productive" three-hour meeting on the sidelines of the UN yesterday. It came hours after Trump used his UN address to threaten to "annihilate" Iran if no deal is reached. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was also at the UN, where he snapped a selfie with Trump while defending Australia's social media reforms against recent US criticism. (BBC | ABC)
US sign deal to build military bases in Greenland. Donald Trump has signed a defence pact with Denmark and Greenland allowing the US to build two new Arctic bases, ending more than a year of tension. The deal reaffirms Danish sovereignty and cedes no land, a climbdown from Trump's earlier annexation talk, though it hands Washington an expanded military presence and prevents non-NATO forces from the island. (BBC)
Australian data centre funding hits record $35b. Operators building AI infrastructure have raised at least $35 billion so far this year, up 46% on all of 2025 and more than seven times the 2020-to-2024 average. RBA Governor Michele Bullock warned the surge is adding to demand and inflation before delivering any supply benefits, and flagged that central banks are watching the risk of a disorderly AI bubble unwinding. (ABC)
Companies in the news
Myer records $276m loss with hefty writedowns. The department store was dragged into a net full-year loss by about $319 million in impairments and one-off costs, mostly a $280 million writedown on goodwill, brand value and stores. By removing those, underlying profit was $42.5 million, down roughly 3% on last year, while total sales held at $4.1 billion. Myer scrapped its final dividend, but its shares rose 4% as investors looked past the non-cash charges towards the underlying profit. (ABC)
Qantas confirms non-stop Sydney to New York flights from 2028. The airline will start the 18-hour direct service from mid-2028, with tickets on sale from August 2027. Qantas says demand for New York has nearly doubled since 2023, and the direct route would cut at least three hours off the current trip via Auckland. (AFR)
Meta's Muse spooks stocks that rely on consumer habits. After becoming the most downloaded free app on the Apple store, Meta’s new AI assistant is sending shock waves in the world of banking, insurance and travel. Shares in these industries fell yesterday on fears that it could erode businesses that profit from ‘customer inertia’, the tendency to keep buying from the same provider even when a better deal exists. Insurer Allstate fell 5.5% and Booking Holdings fell 2.6%. (AFR)
Anthropic and OpenAI cut prices as AI war heats up. Both AI labs released cheaper versions of their top models yesterday, with Anthropic's new Claude Opus 5.5 about 40% cheaper to run than previous models and OpenAI's Sol and Luna models roughly half the cost of other models. The push reflects growing competition on price, as cost-conscious business customers weigh cheaper Chinese rivals that are steadily taking market share. (FT)
Royal Caribbean nears $6b deal for Sandals resorts. The cruise giant is closing in on a majority stake in all-inclusive operator Sandals, valuing the couples-focused chain at more than US$6 billion in what would be the largest deal in Royal Caribbean's history. The move would give the group 20 Caribbean resorts and let it cross-sell holidaymakers on land as well as sea. Royal Caribbean shares fell nearly 6% on the news, and are down 16.7% this year as Middle East instability impacts cruise demand. (FT)
DoorDash admits fined over underpaid workers. The food delivery giant will pay New York City regulators US$131.5 million after admitting it underpaid roughly 264,000 workers, mostly over how it calculated compensation for the time drivers spend waiting between orders. The bulk of the payout, US$83 million, settles that idle-time dispute, a flashpoint across the gig economy since New York rules began requiring pay for all time logged into the app. (BBC)
Flying private costs less than Jetstar for AFL Grand Final
With the Fremantle Dockers and Brisbane Lions both booking their spots in the AFL grand final in Melbourne this weekend, fans of the two interstate teams began the mad scramble for flights. Perth-Melbourne fares hit $1800 one way as airlines jacked up prices to match the surge in demand.
But one group found a way to save cash and fly in style. The fans snapped up an "empty leg" on a private jet from Melbourne to the Gold Coast for $833 a head, cheaper than the $867 Jetstar was charging for the same Sunday flight. The quirk is that charter fares stay flat while commercial prices surge on demand. (AFR)
Cathie Wood: Why Healthcare Is The Biggest Opportunity in the AI Trade
This week on Equity Mates Investing Bryce and Ren sat down with Cathie Wood, co-founder and CEO of Ark Invest, to talk AI, disruption and where the world is heading. (Spotify | Apple | YouTube)
Everyone is talking about AI in tech stocks but Cathie Wood thinks the real opportunity is somewhere far less crowded.
Cathie thinks healthcare is the most underestimated and inefficiently priced part of the market when it comes to AI. She believes that tech analysts don’t want to deal with healthcare because it is slow, regulated and political. And healthcare analysts are not built to move fast with how the industry has been structured historically. That divide, she argues, leaves breakthroughs sitting unpriced.
She mentions CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CRSP) that are developing a one-time gene edit that in trials has reduced blood lipid levels by roughly 50%, a potential cure for bad cholesterol. Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NTLA), which holds some of the most robust patents in the space, once traded at a US$200 billion market cap in 2020 and today it sits under US$5 billion.
Cathie's broader point is about what AI combined with gene sequencing makes possible. Diagnosing cancer before stage one through a simple blood test rather than invasive procedures. Curing rare diseases like sickle cell that once meant a lifetime of emergency hospital visits. And dramatically cutting the cost and time of drug discovery, from US$2.4 billion and 13 years today to potentially US$600 to US$700 million and eight years within five years.
She points out that some analysts argue curing disease is a bad business model because you lose the recurring revenue of a daily pill. But Cathie's view is that anything that is good for humanity is going to be highly valued.
Equity Mates Investing: What does Australia look like in 40 years? We unpack the governments intergenerational report to find out. Plus we break down Canva’s shocking run and for anyone that’s been to South East Asia recently and sat on the back of a vespa, this ones for you. Mr. Beat Up is back to give his verdict on Grab Holdings. (Spotify | Apple | YouTube)
