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The Big Picture
US and Iran trade strikes as oil nears $100. Iran fired missiles at two US Navy ships, which the ships avoided and no sailors were harmed. In retaliation, the US struck three Iranian oil tankers. As a result of these strikes, Brent crude oil is at its highest level since July, now at $96 a barrel. (FT)
US economy shows resilience as it adds 162,000 jobs in August. This was three times what economists were forecasting, and came alongside July’s loss of 23,000 jobs being revised to a 21,000 gain. This year, the US economy has added an average of 80,000 jobs a month, up from an average of 10,000 a month last year. If AI is coming for our jobs - it hasn’t arrived yet. (FT)
Strong US jobs report makes an interest rate hike more likely. Markets increased the likelihood of a rate rise in September from 52% to 58% after the strong jobs report. President Trump disagrees, arguing on Truth Social, “Lower the interest rates because the U.S.A. is a much stronger credit than it was just a short time ago! A STRONG COUNTRY MEANS A LOWER INTEREST RATE - IT’S A BETTER CREDIT…Very simple!” (Reuters | Truth Social)
Trump threatens new weapon in trade war. The President warned that he would cut off trade with nations that have a trade surplus with the US unless the Federal Reserve lowered rates. He posted, “LOWER THE RATE OR I’LL STOP TRADING WITH COUNTRIES WITH WHICH WE HAVE A DEFICIT, which the U.S. Supreme Court, in its ridiculous and very costly Tariff decision, strongly acknowledged “the President” has an absolute right to do.” Dozen of US allies have a trade surplus with the US. (CNBC)
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund sells US government bonds. The $2.3 trillion fund plans to sell $80 billion worth of US government debt as it reduces US Treasuries from 34% of its bond portfolio to 22%. This follows China cutting holdings in US Treasuries by nearly half from its peak in 2013 and Japan recently selling some of its Treasuries. (Reuters)
Companies in the news
Tesla has launched its Cybercab, a robotaxi with no steering wheel. The two seater car is pitched as the first car designed for full self-driving. Before it can hit the roads, Tesla must get approval from regulators for a car with no human-operated controls. If approved, Tesla will use its vehicle for the robotaxi service it currently operates in six US cities including Dallas, Houston and Miami. (AFR)
ASIC opens another investigation into KPMG. In 2024 and 2025, the auditor lodged transparency reports with ASIC that claimed it had not received any whistleblower complaints. This has proven false as investigations into KPMG’s audit leaks have progressed. (Capital Brief)
Anthropic prepares for IPO in the next month. The AI giant behind Claude is reportedly eyeing off late September or early October for its share market listing. The FT reports that Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are likely to take the company public, with a valuation target of around $2 trillion - more than double its $900 billion valuation at its latest raise earlier this year. (FT)
Firmus also aims to double its valuation. Australian data centre operator Firmus Technologies is preparing for an ASX-listing at a $30 billion valuation, almost double the $15.5 billion valuation it raised money at earlier this year. If successful, a $30 billion valuation would be the largest ASX listing this decade and put it in the ASX’s 30 largest companies. (The Australian)
Lululemon had another rough quarter. Revenue dropped 4%, same store sales dropped 9% and the activewear company forecast a 10% drop in revenue for the coming quarter. Shares dropped 17% in its worst day since September 2025. Shares are down 80% since December 2023. (CNBC)
Legendary fund manager Bill Ackman is joining FinFest 2026. Are you?
Yes, you read that right. Founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Bill Ackman will sit down with Bryce and Ren for an exclusive pre-recorded conversation to be aired at FinFest 2026.
If you want to hear Bill unpack all things markets, investing and the opportunities he’s seeing in the world, this is your chance to see it.
Who knows, Ren may even Boost Bill’s Budget while they’re at it.
LIV Golf may not have long to live
The Saudi-backed professional golf league is expected to file for bankruptcy in the coming days. When it launched in 2022, it challenged the PGA Tour by luring star golfers with massive contracts.
In August, after spending $5 billion, Saudi Arabia announced it would no longer support the league financially. Players have been leaving back to the PGA and the tournament hasn’t been able to find a backer to fill the Saudi-sized hole in their balance sheet. LIV may be able to find a buyer to take them out of bankruptcy, but the days of it being a viable challenger to the PGA are over. (The Economist)
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The solution for high prices
This is an except from Ren’s weekly column on the Equity Mates website. (Read it in full)
There’s an old saying in economics, the solution for high prices is high prices.
The US beef industry has just given us a case study in why government efforts to control the cost of goods can often be counter productive.
President Trump is worried about the price of beef. Specifically, the price of beef burgers. So he has temporarily raised the amount of ground beef that can be imported into the US without a tariff. He also claimed that this imported beef would cost 25% less than the current market price.
That is a short-term win for consumers. But it could keep prices higher for longer.
Ground beef prices in the US have been rising as drought has decimated US cattle numbers, now at their lowest level since 1951.
Higher beef prices create an incentive for farmers to rebuild herds. Government policies to keep prices artificially low can dull that incentive.
In other words, a cheaper burger today may mean tighter supply tomorrow.
Sometimes the solution for high prices is high prices.
Want more? Check out EquityMates.com to read more from the Equity Mates team.
Equity Mates Investing: What are some of the big themes investors should be focusing on for the remainder of 2026? On today’s episode of Equity Mates we spoke to Tom Wickenden, Investment Strategist at Betashares, about the three themes he thinks will matter most for the rest of the year. (Spotify | Apple | YouTube)
