Today’s News

The Big Picture

• US Navy seizes Iranian cargo ship, sending oil prices up. The US Navy intercepted, disabled, and took custody of an Iranian vessel attempting to get through the US blockade in the Gulf of Oman. Iran vowed retaliation, saying the US had engaged in piracy. Oil markets reacted immediately, with Brent crude rising 6%. (FT) 
  
  

• Labor taps super funds for Defence’s $53bn build-up. Private investors and super funds will provide capital for off-budget defence spending, prompting critics to accuse Labor of using accounting tricks. Roughly $15 billion of the $53 billion defence spending increase will be funded off-budget through special government investment vehicles. (AFR)
  
  

• Fundies fail to produce return in first quarter. All but one actively-managed Australian equities fund generated a negative return in March, with the sole winner returning 0.86%. Only 8% of funds have produced a positive return in the first quarter of 2026, with the top returner producing a 7% return — 0.5% less than its benchmark index. (Capital Brief)
  
  

• $292m DeFi hack sparks crypto selloff. A $292 million exploit of Kelp DAO's rsETH token triggered a bank-run-style panic across decentralised lending platforms, with Aave seeing deposits drop from $26.4 billion to $20 billion in hours. Crypto sentiment soured, with one post on X stating “DeFi is dead”. (Bloomberg | Coindesk)
  

Companies in the news

• Victoria greenlights controversial Tabcorp tablets. The tablets, called TAB Live, will roll out in the next few weeks and allow punters to tap their phones and place bets during live sport and racing events. This was previously restricted to protect problem gamblers, yet the Australian Communications and Media Authority recently decided the new service was legal. (AFR)
  
  

• NAB flags $706m in debt impairments. Australia’s top business lender is bracing for financial distress among customers amid the ongoing energy crisis. Impairments are up 45% from $485 million in 2025, with an additional $300 million set aside for potential bad debts caused by an economic downturn. (AFR)
  
  

• Apple lifts China market share with 20% rise in Q1 iPhone shipments. Total smartphone shipments in China dropped over the first quarter, highlighting the strong gains made by Apple. Huawei maintained its spot at 20% market share, but Apple closed the gap, now making up 19% of China’s smartphone market. (CNBC)
  
  

• NextDC doubles down with new $2.2bn capital raise. Week after announcing a $1 billion century bond, the data centre builder announced it will raise a further $1.5 billion in equity and $700 million in debt, as well as increasing its capital expenditure forecast to $3 billion for the year. (AFR)
  
  

• ASX successfully implements first release of CHESS replacement. The ASX announced it has released its upgraded clearing services system, which came online ahead of market open. This is the first release of the CHESS replacement project, with the second expected to come in 2029. (Capital Brief)
  
  

• 4D Medical inks supply agreement after UK approvals. The medical imaging business signed a one-year agreement with pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline to supply lung imaging analytics. This comes after its flagship software received approval for use in the UK last month. (Capital Brief)

What the…?

Lego stores beware: There’s an im-pasta in California. A man was charged with grand theft and booked into Orange County jail last week after he allegedly bought valuable Lego kits, took out desirable pieces, replaced them with pasta, then return the kits back to the retailers.

The rising value of Lego collectibles allowed our linguini lawbreaker to allegedly obtain $34,000 of ill-gotten gains, with one of his targeted kits being a Marvel Avengers kit that retails for $500. Some rare Lego kits now fetch up to $15,000, and valuable Pokémon cards are being targeted by break-ins — are we on the verge of a collectibles crime wave? (NYT)

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Today’s Insight

Offset vs. HISA

We asked financial adviser Matt Ingram from Northhaven about the pros and cons of putting cash in an offset account versus a high-interest savings account.

Should I keep cash in an offset, HISA, or both? 

There are plenty of considerations, but for me it usually comes down to three main things: return, tax, and practicality. The first is the effective return you’re getting. An offset account is almost always going to offer you a better outcome than a high-interest savings account (HISA). Your home loan interest rate will almost always be higher than the interest rate they pay you on savings.

The second factor is tax. If the offset is linked to your principal place of residence, the return is effectively tax-free. You’re not earning interest, you’re simply avoiding paying it. By contrast, interest from a HISA is assessable income and taxed at your marginal rate.

The third consideration is practicality. Where I most often see people use a HISA is for day-to-day spending or to keep money separate from a partner they own property with. Some people simply prefer having a clearly defined “spending” or “short-term savings” bucket that’s psychologically separate. That said, offsets can generally serve the same function and from a purely financial perspective, keeping as much cash as possible in the offset and only what you need elsewhere is usually the more efficient approach.

Want to run the numbers and figure out if a HISA or offset account is the better options for you? Fill out the form on our website and we’ll match you with one of our hand-picked advisers like Matt to help make sure you’re making the most of your cash.

Today in Equity Mates