K64 Auxiliary Finance and Insurance Services

El Nino to affect interest rates and some ASX stocks

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Original article by Gus McCubbing
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 26-Aug-26

The current El Nino weather event in the Pacific Ocean began in June and is expected to last well into 2027; it is likely to put upward pressure on food prices, and therefore Australia’s inflation rate. There are fears that it could become a ‘ Super El Nino’, and Citi commodity strategist Arkady Gevorkyan says this is the firm’s highest-conviction agricultural risk. Citi notes that Australian crops such as wheat, barley, and canola are most at risk from an El Nino event. On the other hand, Morgan Stanley says the metals market could be boosted if copper production in Chile and Zambia is impacted by El Nino.

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Investors screwed over as BHP keeps rising

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 26-Aug-26

BHP’s share price has risen by 13 per cent so far in August, reaching a new record high yesterday. The resources giant now accounts for nearly 12 per cent of the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index, compared with just 7.4 per cent at around this time last year. In contrast, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s shares have fallen by 11 per cent so far this month, and its weighting in the ASX 200 has fallen from nearly 12 per cent to 10.5 per cent in the last year. Fund managers who missed out on CBA’s stellar rise in 2025 are now facing the same issue with BHP.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX

Housing slide to lift ASX, but banks face risk

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Original article by Grace Lagan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 7-Jul-26

House prices fell 0.4 per cent nationwide in June, while the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 gained about 0.5 per cent. Historical analysis by Morningstar suggests that the Australian bourse is likely to benefit from the latest housing market weakness. The firm notes that excluding the global financial crisis, there have been five housing market downturns since 1980 that have resulted in dwelling prices falling by at least five per cent; the ASX 200 has in turn gained 7.5 per cent on average during each of these downturns. Looking ahead, Challenger’s chief economist Jonathan Kearns says the nation’s banks are likely to record lower growth in new home loans as an expected rise in the unemployment rate results in increased mortgage arrears.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD, CHALLENGER LIMITED – ASX CGF

ETF giants rush to cash in on SpaceX hype

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 11-Jun-26

Data from Reuters shows that investors have sought to buy $US250bn worth of shares in SpaceX via its highly-anticipated IPO. In constrast, the Elon Musk-backed space technology group is seeking to raise just $US75bn from investors. Meanwhile, a growing number of companies that offer exchange-traded funds are seeking to capitalise in the SpaceX float. Global X has launched its Space Tech ETF in Australia ahead of SpaceX’s sharemarket debut this week, while Betashares established its Space Industry ETF in May. However, VanEck and ETF Shares have both ruled out launching a similar product in Australia.

CORPORATES
SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, GLOBAL X ETFS AUSTRALIA, GLOBAL X SPACE TECH ETF – ASX MOON, BETASHARES CAPITAL LIMITED, BETASHARES SPACE INDUSTRY ETF – ASX RCKT

Big banks, miners increase dominance in risk to investors

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Original article by Cecile Lefort
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 22-Apr-26

The list of Australia’s 10 biggest stocks is now dominated by banks and mining companies; CLS, Wesfarmers and Goodman Group are now the only top-10 stocks in the S&P/ASX 200 Index that are not in these sectors. The four major banks and BHP top the list, and collectively account for 35 per cent of the sharemarket. Lachlan Halloway from Morningstar notes that resources groups have benefited from rising commodity prices due to the Iran war, while investors still regard banks as ‘safe haven’ stocks.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CLS LAWYERS PTY LTD, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, GOODMAN GROUP – ASX GMG, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

32 scam websites deleted each day

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Original article by Kathleen Skene
The Australian – Page: 15 : 8-Apr-26

Data from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission shows that it has used its ‘take-down’ powers to order the removal of more than 25,000 phishing and investment scam websites since 2023. This includes 11,964 sites in 2025, which is 90 per cent higher than the previous year. ASIC commissioner Alan Kirkland notes the growing use of artificial intelligence technology to generate scam ads, including professional videos and fake endorsements. The National Anti-Scam Centre has reported that Australians lost a combined $2.18bn via scams in 2025.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, NATIONAL ANTI-SCAM CENTRE

Profit season off to unusually strong start

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 18-Feb-26

Banks and resources stocks have been the key drivers of a strong earnings performance so far in the February reporting season. However, there have been mixed earnings outside of these sectors, which has been reflected in share prices; Cochlear and Temple & Webster are the stocks that fell sharply after their latest financial results were below expectations. Hasan Tevfik from MST Marquee notes that overall, there has not been such a strong start to the earnings season since February 2021, when the market was recovering from the impact of the pandemic.

CORPORATES
COCHLEAR LIMITED – ASX COH, TEMPLE AND WEBSTER GROUP LIMITED – ASX TPW, MST MARQUEE

Big deals put bourse at risk of shrinking

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 29-Jan-26

MST analyst Hasan Tevfik says that several big merger proposals mean that the Australian sharemarket is risk of ‘de-equitising’ in 2026 . This occurs when the value of shares removed from the market via buybacks, takeovers and de-listings exceeds new capital raised by listed companies and via IPOs; this has not happened since 2005, when News Corporation moved its primary listing from the ASX to New York. BlueScope Steel and Qube Holdings are among the companies that are currently the subject of takeover bids, while Tevfik notes that the ASX’s equitisation would take a big hit if Rio Tinto acquires Glencore and opts to scrap its dual listing in Australia.

CORPORATES
MST MARQUEEBLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSLQUBE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX QUBRIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIOGLENCORE PLC

BHP closes in on CBA’s crown as ASX king

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Original article by Cecile Lefort
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 13-Jan-26

Shares in BHP have risen by 30 per cent in the last six months, lifting its market capitalisation to $236bn. The resources giant is now just 8.5 per cent shy of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s market cap of $258bn, and a continued strong run could see it reclaim the title of the ASX’s biggest company. CBA’s shares peaked at $192 in mid-2025; Peter Gardner from Plato Investment Management believes that CBA is still a bit overvalued at its current price of about $154 per share. Meanwhile, BHP has been buoyed by strong commodity prices, which has prompted investors to rebalance their portfolios in favour of mining companies rather than banks.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, PLATO INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED

Bankers hoping busy year will see M&A cash roll in

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis, Joanne Tran
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 7-Jan-26

Data from Dealogic shows that $US92.8bn worth of mergers and acquisitions targeting Australian companies were announced during 2025; this eight per cent higher than in 2024, and the highest level of activity since calendar 2021. Australia-based companies in turn pursued $US11.82bn worth of deals offshore. Marissa Freund from Goldman Sachs and Tim Joyce from Macquarie Capital are amongst those who expect M&A activity to remain strong in 2026. Meanwhile, global M&A activity totalled $US5.1trn in 2025, which is 42 per cent higher year-on-year.

CORPORATES
DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA GROUP HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD