Energy costs to fall; US-Iran peace deal teeters; weight-loss drug breakthrough

Energy costs to fall; US-Iran peace deal teeters; weight-loss drug breakthrough

News in brief

About three-quarters of Australian businesses have been negatively affected by higher fuel prices and supply availability, according to the Bureau of Statistics.

 

Property leader Goodman Group said data centres now account for almost three-quarters of the group’s $14.5 billion work in progress portfolio.

 

The Bureau of Meteorology is working through more than 750,000 pieces of “feedback” about last year’s controversial website changes, which chief executive Stuart Minchin called a “very long list”.

 

The US military yesterday launched new strikes on southern Iran, targeting missile sites and boats attempting to place mines. US Central Command said the strikes were taken in "self-defence” and were designed "to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces".

 

Big pharma group Eli Lilly has released data from its latest experimental GLP-1 drug, and patients who took it lost the most weight ever recorded in a medication trial. The study still needs to be peer reviewed, but the new formulation, known as “retatrutide”, looks more effective than anything before it.

Fear-o-meter

Westpac on the federal budget and housing market:

 

“The changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing remove the relative attractiveness of new investment in housing. ‘Grandfathering’ for existing investors limits near-term impacts while an exemption for new investments in newly built dwellings will make this a more attractive option for investors.

 

“Combined with recent and expected interest rate increases, the changes are expected to see a 34 per cent fall in new investor activity near-term with the mix skewing towards newly built dwellings.

 

“Total housing market turnover is in turn expected to decline 20 per cent. Dwelling price growth is now expected to stall flat on average across the major capital cities for calendar 2026.

 

“The main risk near-term is of a more significant ‘air pocket’ for markets with the potential for sharper price movements as the slowdown in turnover combines with uncertainty about tax changes and higher interest rates. This risk is mitigated somewhat by grandfathering provisions and positive price expectations.”

Fear & Greed Q+A today

On the outlook for the aviation sector in Australia, including why the now-delayed Project Sunrise (direct flights from Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York) matters so much to Qantas:

 

"I think what we’ve seen since the outbreak of COVID, and more recently with the conflict in the Middle East, that desire to do point-to-point travel for Australians — especially with the tyranny of distance that we’ve got — I’d argue has probably increased.

 

Probably the ability to bypass the Middle Eastern hubs, depending on how long disruption goes in the Middle East, but more importantly to get to your destination as expected without disruption. So I’d say on the appeal to the consumer, it’s definitely gone up.

 

In terms of Qantas, it’s probably their main growth avenue. There’s a lot going on in fleet renewal at the moment. The domestic fleet renewal is very much about steadying the base and making sure they’ve got the most efficient aircraft operating domestically. But the big prize and the big growth path for Qantas moving forward outside of just market share gains is Project Sunrise."

Electricity prices should fall for most households and small businesses from 1 July, after record output from wind farms and batteries contributed to pushing down the cost of generating electricity.

 

The Australian Energy Regulator lowered the default market offer price by up to 11 per cent across NSW, Queensland and South Australia. Victoria’s default offer has also been lowered by an average five per cent. It is now up to the retailers of electricity to pass through the lower offers to consumers and businesses.

 

It comes after the share of renewable energy in the national electricity market passed 50 per cent for a period late last year, for the first time ever.

Greed-o-meter

	Film	Year	US Box Office (USD)
1	Lilo & Stitch	2025	182.6m
2	Top Gun: Maverick	2022	160.5m
3	Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End	2007	139.8m
4	Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull	2008	126.9m
5	X-Men: The Last Stand	2006	122.8m
6	The Little Mermaid	2023	118.8m
7	Fast & Furious 6	2013	117.0m
8	Aladdin	2019	116.8m
9	X-Men: Days of Future Past	2014	110.6m
10	The Hangover Part II	2011	103.4m

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The Mandalorian and Grogu - the first new Star Wars film in eight years - hit cinemas on the weekend, taking $US102 million at the US box office. That's the lowest opening weekend for a Star Wars movie since the franchise was bought by Disney. The Memorial Day weekend in the US is traditionally a very big weekend for blockbuster film openings, with last year's Lilo & Stitch breaking the record, while The Mandalorian and Grogu isn't even in the top ten.

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Source: Screen Rant, The Guardian