Next Week At A Glance – 13-17 Apr 2026

The week that was in Australian finance:

-President Trump and Iran hit the pause button on the war, well at least in theory and for two weeks starting on April 8, just ahead of the most recent US President’s deadline. Pakistan brokered the ceasefire, albeit for several reasons, the deal remains on shaky footing, including the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

-Saturday morning Australian time, a US delegation, including US Vice President Vance, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, is scheduled to meet in Islamabad with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf to thrash out a workable peace plan.

-Markets have looked through the details and rallied sharply post the initial ceasefire announcement. Commentators have compared the recovery in US markets to April 2025 when President Trump did an about-face on the Liberation Day tariffs and sent the markets off to the races.

-The ASX200 is tracking broadly up around 4% over the last five trading days and remains just under -3% below its 52-week high. Not bad for apparently the worst energy crisis on record and a hiking cycle for the RBA. US markets are approaching their 52-week highs, so for now investors seem content to take the cup half full approach to corporate earnings and possible higher inflationary impulses from elevated energy prices.

-Notably the big sector rotation characterised the Australian market over the week with Energy off over -4% and Materials, including the Golds, up over 5% with Financials a winner, rising some 6% followed by more interest-rate sensitive sectors like Consumer Discretionary, Info Technology and Real-Estate.

-On the topic of potential inflationary impacts, Goldman Sachs is warning of a potential global gas crisis, with Qatar supply disruptions possibly taking years to fix and prices up 50–70%.

-While the IMF warned the Iran war has the potential to permanently impact the global economy even if a standing peace deal can be reached. Kristalina Georgieva said there would be “scarring effects” and, “But now, even our most hopeful scenario involves a growth downgrade. Even in a best case, there will be no neat and clean return to the status quo.”

-US earnings season starts again next week for the banks and March CPI is due out Friday, April 10 (EST).

-Back home, the quarterly updates are accelerating with analysts and market participants looking for any hints on guidance and costs, for possible flow-on impacts to FY26 earnings forecasts. On Thursday, April 16, the March unemployment rate is expected (11.30am AEST).

-Andy Jassy, Amazon CEO, “We’re not investing approximately US$200 billion… on a hunch. Of the AWS capex we expect to spend in 2026, much of which will be monetised in 2027-2028, we already have customer commitments for a substantial portion of it.”

The team at FNArena wishes everyone a great weekend.

Corporate news in the week that was:

-Barrenjoey’s $45m pre-merger dividend reduces the value of the Magellan Financial ((MFG)) tie-in

-BlueScope Steel ((BSL)) prepares potential sale of its US business valued at more than half of group earnings

-RBA card fee cuts may reduce credit card reward travel perks

-CEFC and Australian Ethical launch $600m private equity fund with investments including Neoen and Repurpose It

-Ellerston Capital takes $100m pre-IPO stake in Winning Group

-Whiteoak invests in Zeus Street Greek to support expansion

-NSX upgrades its platform to compete with ASX and Cboe Australia

-ACCC calls for tighter mortgage checks following fraud concerns

-Former COO at Accolade Wines pushes for board changes at Treasury Wine Estates ((TWE))

-Nvidia increases investment as Firmus approaches $7b pre-IPO valuation

-HSBC’s Australian retail banking business sale draws interest from Blackstone and other bidders

-Lincoln Place halts planned $1b sale due to market conditions and cost pressures

-KKR explores sale of $1b Synergis disability housing portfolio

-Bank of Queensland ((BOQ)) forms $3.7bn partnership with Challenger ((CGF)) to boost funding and returns

-CSL ((CSL)) expects minimal impact from new US tariffs

-NextDC ((NXT)) raises $1bn in hybrid bonds to support expansion via Canada’s La Caisse

-Macquarie Capital ((MQG)) prepares local super fund for SpaceX $2.9trn IPO

-DigiCo Infrastructure REIT ((DGT)) cancels LA data centre project due to approval uncertainty

-Taurus Funds Management prepares IPO or sale of Abra Mine and Endurance Mining two years after collapse

-a2 Milk ((A2M)) settles class action for -$62m

-Texas based Swipejobs hires Barrenjoey for $2bn IPO

-High fuel prices drive record Australian EV sales

-T&G Global weighs up the break-up of its T&G Fresh division

-Pro Medicus ((PME)) secures $23m imaging contract with UMMS

-Lumonus partners with New York cancer centre to expand AI oncology platform

-Oxford Properties considers $1.5bn sale of build to rent business Indi in Australia

-ASIC investigates sale of Interprac Financial linked to Shield and First Guardian schemes

-Chalmers approves CC Capital’s $3.3bn takeover of Insignia Financial ((IFL))

-American Ocean Minerals to merge with Odyssey Marine Exploration in $1.4bn deal

-Morrison and Future Fund join bidding for Ausgrid’s $3bn Plus Es smart meter business

-Coinbase receives ASIC licence to expand in Australia

-Flight Centre Group ((FLT)) shares rise after selling -47% stake in Pedal Group

-Beetaloo Energy ((BTL)) raises over $60m as gas production approaches

-Perenti ((PRN)) secures $180m contract extension with Regis Resources ((RRL))

-Tamboran Resources ((TBN)) raises $200m amid strong oil prices

-DroneShield ((DRO)) CEO and chair exit wipes -$500m off market value

-Praetorian Aeronautics raises over $30m at valuation above $100m for AI drones

-Alibaba and China Telecom launch 10,000 chip AI data centre using domestic technology

-Ampol ((ALD)) to sell -37 stations to address ACCC concerns on $1.1bn EG deal, still below 54-site threshold

-Australian M&A reaches $28.4bn in Q1 2026, driven by mega-deals; Goldman Sachs leads advisory

-Paraway Pastoral receives multiple bids from domestic and global investors

-ACCC approves 90% of mergers within 20 days under new framework

-Bendigo Bank ((BEN)) flags workforce restructuring following Infosys and Genpact deals

-Omers is preparing to bid $4bn for Victorial land titles registry

-Element 25 ((E25)) and BluGlass ((BLG)) preparing capital raises

-Australia accelerates renewable and hydrogen projects under pilot scheme

-Corporate Travel ((CTD)) misses deadline for KPMG review

-Charter Hall ((CHC)) wins $1.2bn property mandate

-Kia plans software-defined vehicles by 2027 and humanoid robots in US factories by 2029

-Keyview adds Berkshire Global Advisors; CEO exits after five months

-TPG drops Qscan pursuit, shifts focus to Everlight Radiology

-MSA National seeks private equity backing for growth

-OpenAI pauses UK Stargate AI project amid cost and regulatory issues

-DroneShield ((DRO)) pipeline falls -$100m to $2.2bn amid management changes

-Racing NSW receives $58m grant without deadline or oversight

Next week’s Corporate Calendar

For a calendar of upcoming events, see FNArena’s Corporate Calendar:

https://fnarena.com/index.php/financial-news/calendar/