7h agoThu 26 Feb 2026 at 8:45pmMarket snapshotASX 200: FLAT at 9,174 pointsAustralian dollar: FLAT at 71.05 US centsS&P 500: -0.6% to 6,905 pointsNasdaq: -1.3% to 22,845 pointsFTSE: +0.4% to 10,846 pointsEuroStoxx: -0.1% to 633 pointsSpot gold: FLAT at $US5,187\/ounceBrent crude: -0.3% to $US70.48\/barrelIron ore: +0.1% to $US98.30\/tonneBitcoin: -0.4% to $US67,222<\/p>\n
Price current around 12:30pm AEDT<\/p>\n
Live updates on the major ASX indices:<\/p>\n
55m agoFri 27 Feb 2026 at 3:35am<\/p>\n
Bapcor stock sinks<\/p>\n
Bapcor’s stock price is down 48% to 90 cents at 2:30pm AEDT.<\/p>\n
1h agoFri 27 Feb 2026 at 3:25am<\/p>\n
Rio Tinto inks deal with world’s largest copper producer<\/p>\n
British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has signed a deal with Chile’s Codelco to explore development and investment opportunities.<\/p>\n
The two companies agreed to join together to identify pilot projects. Rio Tinto currently partners with Chilean state-owned Nuevo Cobre, a copper and lithium project in Chile.<\/p>\n
1h agoFri 27 Feb 2026 at 3:20am<\/p>\n
AusPost parcel bonanza \u2014 3,075 parcels every minute<\/p>\n
Australians love their parcels it seems.<\/p>\n
Australia Post has reported: “Parcel volumes increased by 5.1% [in the first half], driving revenue of $3.61 billion, up 4.1% on the same period last year.”<\/p>\n
During the “peak”, Australia Post delivered 3,075 parcels every minute* \u2014 around one million additional parcels per week compared with last year, while achieving record service levels.<\/p>\n
However, intensive competition in the eCommerce market has led to tighter pricing and compressed margins.<\/p>\n
*Calculation based on Australia Post deliveries during the period\u00a0 November 1 \u2013 December\u00a031,\u00a02025 over 12-hour days, excluding Sundays and public holidays.<\/p>\n
1h agoFri 27 Feb 2026 at 3:08amFewer than 3% of letters sent by individuals: AusPost<\/p>\n
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Australia Post’s letters service runs at a loss.<\/p>\n
The letters service saw an interim loss of $2.1 million for the half driven by continued structural declines in letter volumes.<\/p>\n
This is an improved outcome due in part to a $0.20 increase to the Basic Postage Rate (BPR), which came into effect in July 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Here’s what the postal group had to say about this service today:<\/p>\n
As Australians continue to send fewer letters, the letters service is expected to record a large loss for FY26.<\/p>\n
In December, Australia Post lodged a draft notification with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), proposing a $0.15 increase in the BPR from $1.70 to $1.85.<\/p>\n
Further price increases will be required to help mitigate the impact of the continued structural decline in the letters service.<\/p>\n
With fewer than 3% of letters sent by individuals, the average cost to Australian households would be less than $1 extra per year.<\/p>\n
1h agoFri 27 Feb 2026 at 2:48am<\/p>\n
Australia Post profit result: ‘surging eCommerce demand’<\/p>\n
Following a record-breaking peak, Australia Post has reported an interim profit of $50.4 million, “while significantly accelerating investments to transform its network and meet surging eCommerce demand,” the government-owned corporation said.<\/p>\n
This result is $198.7 million lower than the prior corresponding period.<\/p>\n
The result, Australia Post said, “highlights increased costs for energy, enterprise agreement wage increases and property”.<\/p>\n
“The letters service continues to run at a loss and volumes remain in decline.”<\/p>\n
Increased demand for eCommerce during “peak” drove a 5.1% rise in parcel volumes for the half, compared with 1H25, with more than 283 million parcels delivered.<\/p>\n
1h agoFri 27 Feb 2026 at 2:37am<\/p>\n
Australia Post profit falls<\/p>\n
Australia Post has published its earnings performance for the half year to 31 December 2025:<\/p>\n
The key points are as follows:<\/p>\n
Group revenue $5.06 billion, up 1.1% on same period last year (1H25)Group profit before tax $50.4 million, down $198.7 million from $249.1 million in 1H25Parcels and Services revenue $4.11 billion, up 1.1% on 1H25Letters revenue $952.2 million, up 0.9% and volumes down 11.5% compared to 1H25Investment of $219.9 million to transform the business, up 53.6% on 1H25<\/p>\n
2h agoFri 27 Feb 2026 at 2:16am<\/p>\n
Private debt growth stalling?<\/p>\n
There’s evidence the enthusiasm for private credit may be cooling.<\/p>\n
Here’s an excerpt from a JPMorgan note that just dropped in my inbox:<\/p>\n
Private-sector credit rose 0.5%m\/m in January, two-tenths below both J.P. Morgan and consensus expectations (+0.7%m\/m).<\/p>\n
The softer print hints at an emerging stabilisation in credit growth into 2026 and is consistent with the RBA\u2019s shift to a hiking bias.<\/p>\n
In annual terms, credit growth held at 7.7%oya \u2014 unchanged from December but still elevated by historical standards.<\/p>\n
From here, we expect a moderation in rate\u2011sensitive segments, while tailwinds for first-home buyers should keep housing credit relatively firm.<\/p>\n
That last line is not-such-great news for anyone hoping for a cooling in property price growth.<\/p>\n
2h agoFri 27 Feb 2026 at 2:08am<\/p>\n
Why are retail stocks getting slammed?<\/p>\n
The economy’s trying to push ahead in top gear, right?<\/p>\n
So why are retail stocks on the nose today?<\/p>\n
Marcus Today market analyst Henry Jennings has shared some of his insights with the blog.<\/p>\n
Bapcore’s results, he said, were “woeful”.<\/p>\n
Coles’ earnings results were “not great, and clearly it’s Woolworths’ turn to be in the buyers’ sights”.<\/p>\n
Harvey Norman “has been on the nose for a while”.<\/p>\n
More broadly, he said, “higher interest rates [are] not helpful for retail.”<\/p>\n
You can “never disappoint” in this earnings climate, he said.<\/p>\n
“There’s plenty of results fatigue out there too.”<\/p>\n
As always, this is not intended as financial advice.<\/p>\n
2h agoFri 27 Feb 2026 at 2:02am<\/p>\n
CBA suspects almost $1 billion in home loan fraud<\/p>\n
Commonwealth Bank has referred itself to police and regulators after a spike in suspected home loan fraud.<\/p>\n
Australia’s largest bank fears that almost $1 billion worth of loans were obtained through forged documents, created with AI.<\/p>\n
The bank became aware of the potential fraud last year and is working with authorities to determine which loans may have been impacted.<\/p>\n
Reporting with Bloomberg.<\/p>\n
2h agoFri 27 Feb 2026 at 1:41am<\/p>\n
Market snapshotASX 200: FLAT at 9,174 pointsAustralian dollar: FLAT at 71.05 US centsS&P 500: -0.6% to 6,905 pointsNasdaq: -1.3% to 22,845 pointsFTSE: +0.4% to 10,846 pointsEuroStoxx: -0.1% to 633 pointsSpot gold: FLAT at $US5,187\/ounceBrent crude: -0.3% to $US70.48\/barrelIron ore: +0.1% to $US98.30\/tonneBitcoin: -0.4% to $US67,222<\/p>\n
Price current around 12:30pm AEDT<\/p>\n
Live updates on the major ASX indices:<\/p>\n
2h agoFri 27 Feb 2026 at 1:37am<\/p>\n
Netflix drops out of Discovery bid<\/p>\n
Netflix has backed away from its proposal to buy Warner Bros Discovery, clearing the way for Paramount Skydance to win a months-long takeover battle for one of Hollywood’s most storied studios.<\/p>\n
2h agoFri 27 Feb 2026 at 1:30am<\/p>\n
Harvey Norman shares sink despite profit growth<\/p>\n
It seems investors weren’t happy with Harvey Norman’s half-year pre-tax profit of $466.31 million.<\/p>\n
Despite being up 16.5% on the same time last year, the share price sank 6.5% on the news.<\/p>\n
The growth was mainly bolstered by strong overseas figures; increasing profit by 35.6% in offshore markets which include New Zealand, Ireland, Slovenia and Croatia.<\/p>\n
Its property arm delivered $178.81 million in earnings over the previous half year.<\/p>\n
3h agoFri 27 Feb 2026 at 1:12am<\/p>\n
‘Customers fully compensated’: Auto and General<\/p>\n
By By the Specialist Reporting Team\u2019s Lucy Kent<\/p>\n
Auto and General says it has paid more than $3.8 million in remediation to affected customers after ASIC launched legal action today claiming customers had been overcharged.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Auto and General, the underwriter for Budget Direct, said the company had self-reported the incident to ASIC and apologised to customers.<\/p>\n
In a statement the company said affected customers had now been fully compensated.<\/p>\n
“In the past two years, Auto and General has invested more than $70 million in improvements to its systems and processes for managing its risk and compliance obligations and to prevent such an issue recurring,” it said.<\/p>\n
“In addition, since this issue commenced, there has been a significant program of transformation to improve our culture of accountability and compliance.”<\/p>\n
ASIC alleges more than 39,000 Budget Direct customers were misled, amounting to about $3 million in lost discounts.<\/p>\n
The regulator will seek further civil penalties from the court.<\/p>\n
Budget Direct insures around 3 million Australians across the country and is overseas-owned.<\/p>\n
3h agoFri 27 Feb 2026 at 12:53am<\/p>\n
Coles outdoes Woolworths on margin: analyst<\/p>\n
Here’s an excerpt from a note from eToro market analyst Josh Gilbert:<\/p>\n
“Like Woolworths, the headline profit number is dragged down by a significant items charge related to the wage remediation ruling, so investors should look past that to the underlying performance, where Coles delivered underlying profit of AU$676 million, up 12.5%, and a supermarket EBIT margin of 5.8%, comfortably ahead of Woolworths’ 5.5%.<\/p>\n
“That margin advantage has been a consistent theme over the past 18 months and keeps Coles ahead in the supermarket wars.<\/p>\n
“A dividend of 41 cents per share, up nearly 11% on last year, gives income-focused investors something to smile about.”<\/p>\n
3h agoFri 27 Feb 2026 at 12:43am<\/p>\n
eCommerce ‘accelerating’<\/p>\n
It’s worth noting that Coles reported eCommerce sales growth of 27.0%, noting “digital engagement accelerating”.<\/p>\n
Could it be that online grocery shopping will dominate purchasing trends in the years to come?<\/p>\n
3h agoFri 27 Feb 2026 at 12:39amTop and bottom movers in early trade<\/p>\n
Block\u00a0surged 27.9% after announcing a workforce overhaul which would see the company to cut nearly half of the employees.<\/p>\n
PEXA\u00a0jumped 7.5% as the digital property exchange firm posted swing to half-year group NPAT of $15.4 million, compared with $29.5 million loss from a year ago.<\/p>\n
On the way down…<\/p>\n
Coles\u00a0was the worst performer in early trade, down 8.1%, after posting a 11% fall in half-year profit.<\/p>\n
Harvey Norman\u00a0fell 6.5% after reporting a pre-pax profit of $466.31 million in the first half, up 16.5% on same time last year.<\/p>\n
It will pay an interim dividend of 14.5 cents per share, fully franked.<\/p>\n
TPG Telecom\u00a0lost 2.5 per cent after posting an annual profit after tax of $52 million in 2025 from a loss of $140 million from a year earlier.<\/p>\n
Annual revenue rose 3% to $5.04 billion.<\/p>\n
It declared an interim dividend of 9 cents per share.<\/p>\n
Virgin Australia\u00a0was down\u00a00.5% posted a 27.9% fall in statutory net profit to $341 million for the six months to December.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/lcimg-401845d9-299f-4be2-8580-389845c87a97.jpeg\")
(LSEG)<\/p>\n
3h agoFri 27 Feb 2026 at 12:38am<\/p>\n
Consumer staples on the nose<\/p>\n
The negative investor reaction to Coles’ results is dragging the broader consumer staples sector down.<\/p>\n
The sector is down 3.2% at 11:35am AEDT.<\/p>\n
Coles’ result was hurt by accounting for significant items relating to historical underpayments.<\/p>\n
Liquor sales were also weaker early in the reporting period.<\/p>\n
4h agoFri 27 Feb 2026 at 12:29am<\/p>\n
Coles shares dive<\/p>\n
Shares in Coles have slumped 7% to $20.67 at 11:30 AEDT.<\/p>\n
It follows the release of the company’s half year results.<\/p>\n
The blog will have more posts on this.<\/p>\n
4h agoFri 27 Feb 2026 at 12:20am<\/p>\n
Quiet markets<\/p>\n
David Taylor stepping into the blog.<\/p>\n
I’ll take you through the afternoon.<\/p>\n
It’s a little quiet so far on the markets front: equities, Australian dollar, treasuries, oil, precious metals … not a lot happening.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"7h agoThu 26 Feb 2026 at 8:45pmMarket snapshotASX 200: FLAT at 9,174 pointsAustralian dollar: FLAT at 71.05 US…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":506801,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[3675,2001,37156,64,29217,63,41885,166,99,2003,2005,160,2007,5463,5464,41884,2004,1996,1491],"class_list":{"0":"post-506800","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-asian-markets","9":"tag-asx","10":"tag-asx-200","11":"tag-au","12":"tag-aud","13":"tag-australia","14":"tag-australian-company","15":"tag-australian-dollar","16":"tag-business","17":"tag-dollar","18":"tag-dow-jones","19":"tag-live-blog","20":"tag-nasdaq","21":"tag-sp-500","22":"tag-shares","23":"tag-stockmarket","24":"tag-stocks","25":"tag-tech","26":"tag-wall-street"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=506800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/506801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=506800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=506800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=506800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Samuel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/lcimg-88845843-c895-43aa-823f-5fd752ee0e60.jpeg\")
ASX 200: FLAT at 9,174 pointsAustralian dollar: FLAT at 71.05 US centsS&P 500: -0.6% to 6,905 pointsNasdaq: -1.3% to 22,845 pointsFTSE: +0.4% to 10,846 pointsEuroStoxx: -0.1% to 633 pointsSpot gold: FLAT at $US5,187\/ounceBrent crude: -0.3% to $US70.48\/barrelIron ore: +0.1% to $US98.30\/tonneBitcoin: -0.4% to $US67,222<\/p>\n![\"David](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/lcimg-2df95ae4-9506-4940-bbd7-9ade9e2e308c.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n