Australian Active Fund Managers are struggling, make no mistake. Hitting home the point yesterday were reports that Ox Capital Management — a boutique emerging markets specialist led by veteran investor Joseph Lai; had entered formal wind-up proceedings on March 27 2026.
This wind up was not the first, and likely won't be the last. So each…
Market news
ASX 200 Sinks in March: What Comes Next in April?
The S&P/ASX 200 closed March at 8,501.80, down approximately 7.5% for the month and its worst monthly performance since June 2022. The index sits roughly 8% below its all-time high of 9,202 set in late February. Three forces drove the selloff: an energy shock from…
The Koala IPO went off without a hitch. The furniture company hit the ASX boards earlier today (March 31 2026) and did well out of the gate, rewarding investors who secured an allocation in the offer as well as those who'd been around for years, one of whom was Steve Smith. As of 2.30pm Tuesday,…
After months of rumours, the possibility of a card surcharges ban was announced as a reality in 6 months time. The Reserve Bank of Australia published its long-awaited Conclusions Paper from the Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging this morning.
Now the headline ban on surcharges on debit, prepaid and credit cards across the…
Barossa has now shipped its first LNG cargo through Darwin LNG, Pikka phase 1 is nearing first oil, and Santos (ASX: STO) has just approved a Cooper Basin optimisation project aimed at cutting costs and extending field life.
That is the attraction. The tension is that energy prices remain cyclical, major projects still need to ramp…
Time to look at another company that is seeing AI-weary investors selling now and leaving the question asking until later, and today it is insurance broker Steadfast Group (ASX:SDF). Can't AI do insurance for us, taking into account our interest only and doing so at a fraction of the cost of humans? Investors think so,…
There are hard questions investors need to ask about their portfolio every now and again, because anyone telling you there's such a thing as a 'set and forget' investment is wrong. Markets evolve, company fundamentals shift, and macro conditions change, yet many portfolios are left largely unchecked. The most rational approach is to periodically interrogate…
America’s Iran War Bill Is Exploding
An Iranian strike, likely involving a drone, appears to have damaged a US E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control aircraft at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Reports suggest the hit landed near the radar dome attachment point, which matters because the E-3 is not just a surveillance…
Bab el-Mandeb Is the Real ASX Market Risk
Over the weekend, the Houthis formally entered the current Iran-Israel-US conflict by launching their first direct attacks on Israel since the war began. The group reportedly fired missiles and later carried out a drone strike, saying the attacks were in response to strikes on Iran and allied…
It was one of those weeks where the market gave with one hand and took with the other. The ASX 200 climbed 1.85% on Wednesday to 8,534 points when ceasefire hopes briefly lifted sentiment, then retreated sharply as those hopes collapsed by Thursday. By Friday, US futures were pointing lower, and investors were left asking…
