Markets

Inflation soared to a near three-year high of 4.6 per cent during the first full month of the Iran war that drove fuel prices to all-time highs. Fuel prices rose by a record one third in March alone.

US share markets hit record highs on Friday even as global investors worry an inflation shock from the Middle East will damage consumers and the economy.

The worries around the energy supply shock stoking inflation and the cost of living sent the S&P/ASX 200 down 1.7 per cent over the week.

One in three Australians can’t live without cash a new Reserve Bank report has revealed, along with very surprising new data about banknote transactions.

Petrol supplies out of Viva Energy’s Geelong Refinery will be slashed up to 60 per cent over the short term, as it recovers from a huge fire on April 15. 

A Washington H. Soul Pattinson-led consortium has returned with an improved offer, which the target is considering after rejecting its previous bid.

One of the world’s top-ranked airlines says it will cut flights from mid-May until the end of June, citing soaring jet fuel costs triggered by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

A series of government-funded ads will be rolled out on television, radio, online and on billboards, urging Australians to conserve fuel.

Westpac has updated its forecast to have inflation in March — during the first full month of the Iran war - reaching a new three-year high.

An ASX-listed gas producer said its free cashflow has doubled as European gas prices soar, but the shares have barely moved.

Bendigo Bank shares jumped this week on its cost out plans linked to advances in AI, as banks jump and tech sinks in the fast unfolding world of new AI services.

Glass bottle and aluminium can manufacturer Orora has halted production at its facility in the United Arab Emirates amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East, with the company also warning an earnings hit.

Donald Trump’s backdown on threats against Iran — including that a ‘whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back’— have lit a fire under Australian stocks

Risk assets rocketed on Wednesday as traders cheered in relief at a potential deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

While the rest of the Australian share market is riding a wave of euphoria as a two-week ceasefire eases tensions in the Middle East, a subsequent fall in oil prices is now smashing energy stocks.