Live: Inflation eases even as supermarket profits soar

A perceived shift in the Iran war from a military conflict to an economic one has seen the oil price and Treasury yields dive and shares rise. 

And one of Australia's largest private credit investment managers has limited redemptions on its $2.3 billion secured property loan fund.

Follow the day's financial news and insights from our specialist business reporters on our live blog.

Disclaimer: this blog is not intended as investment advice.

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Wed 26 Aug 2026 at 6:43amWed 26 Aug 2026 at 6:43am

Market snapshot

By David Taylor

• SPI 200: +0.3% to 9,142.00 points
• Australian dollar: +0.2% at 71.6 US cents
• Wall Street: Dow Jones (+0.3%), S&P 500 (+0.3%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.6%)
• Europe: FTSE (+0.2%), DAX (+0.6%) 
• Asia: Hang Seng (FLAT), Nikkei (+0.5%)
• Spot gold: +0.2% at $US4,661/ounce 
• Oil (Brent futures): -5.9% to $US86.69/barrel 
• Iron ore: +0.1% to $US95.40/tonne 
• Bitcoin: -0.5% to $US78,594 

Prices current around 6:45am AEST

Updates on the major ASX indices:

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Wed 26 Aug 2026 at 7:16amWed 26 Aug 2026 at 7:16am

MA Financial imposes redemption limits

By David Taylor

MA Financial has become the first Australian private credit investment manager to limit the investment returns investors can receive.

Private credit is lending outside the banking sector.

It's hit major hurdles in the US as lending to big tech software companies has soured with the boom in AI.

Major US private credit firm began imposing redemptions of clients last year as investments on those firms soured.

Now Australia is seeing private credit investment redemptions sour.

Here is the ASX release from MA Financial-exposed, and ASX-listed, MA Credit Trust.

The private credit firm has limited redemptions on its $2.3 billion secured property loan fund in response to "current market conditions and elevated redemption activity".

The redemption limit will be in place until at least October 31 and will be subject to ongoing review.

MA Financial said the fund had $95 million of cash, or 4.1% of assets, which is below its 5% target.

Wed 26 Aug 2026 at 6:50amWed 26 Aug 2026 at 6:50am

Treasury yields fall as oil slumps

By David Taylor

Morning folks,

David Taylor here to take you through the morning in business and finance.

The main macro event overnight was Treasury yields falling for a second straight day.

The US 10-Year Treasury bond was down 0.08% or 8 basis points to $4.62%.

Yields fell on Monday after the US Treasury Department said it could use its $1 trillion General Account to fund bond repurchases.

Yields took another leg down overnight as the price of oil slumped, taking away an inflation pressure point.

These moves also saw shares rise. Gold achieved modest gains and risk-on sentiment saw the Australian dollar rally a touch.