An artificial intelligence hyperscaler is tapping Aussie investors to help fund its billion-dollar data centre rollout, capping a record year for Australian-dollar bond deals.

Google’s parent company Alphabet has hired ANZ, Deutsche Bank, RBC Capital Markets and TD Securities as joint lead managers to handle its first Australian dollar bond issue, ANZ confirmed to AAP.

The US tech giant is considering issuing three, five-, 10- and 20-year bonds. It is not clear how much money the company hopes to raise, but it will be in the billions.

It would be the first US large-cap tech company to issue an Australian-dollar bond in almost a decade, Betashares’ head of fixed income Chamath De Silva said.

Apple was the last to do so, raising a total of $3.7 billion from bond issuances in 2015 and 2016.

Australian-dollar bonds issued by foreign companies are known as “kangaroo bonds” or “matilda bonds”, and 2026 has been a record year for the offerings in global debt markets.

Companies including UK green energy giant SSE, Spanish bank CaixaBank, Singapore Airlines and the government of Portugal have raised around $60 billion in kangaroo bonds so far in 2026, up more than 40 per cent from 2025.

Mr De Silva said global investors and issuers were paying greater attention to the Australian bond market, and Australia’s fiscal position stood out at a time when concerns around debt sustainability were rising globally.

Australia’s investment-grade credit market has had no exposure to US large-cap technology companies following the maturity of Apple’s bonds earlier in 2026.

“An Alphabet transaction would begin to change that, broadening the opportunity set for Australian investors while increasing technology representation in the Australian corporate bond market,” Mr De Silva said.

Alphabet’s bond issue might also prove to be the start of a broader trend that could fundamentally alter the composition of Australia’s corporate bond market, giving local investors greater access to world-leading technology companies without having to invest offshore, Mr De Silva said.

Alphabet has been aggressively tapping international debt markets to finance its massive expansion into AI, data centres and cloud intelligence.

It has issued bonds in British pounds, Canadian dollars, Swiss francs, Japanese yen and euros in 2026.

Its British bond offering was for a billion pounds ($A1.9 billion) for 100 years – one of the longest-dated bond issuances executed by a tech company.

Its Canadian deal for $C6.5 billion ($A6.6 billion) briefly set new records until Amazon issued a bigger bond a few weeks later.

Alphabet also raised $US25 billion ($A35 billion) in a US bond sale in early August and $US80 billion ($A113 billion) through equity offerings in June.

The tech behemoth plans to spend between $US195 billion and $US205 billion on AI data centres, servers, networking equipment and chips in 2026 – a sixfold increase over its capital expenditure from 2022.

Australia’s share market is inching higher, as strong earnings results sparked buying in mining juggernaut BHP and a sharp rebound in CSL’s share price.

The S&P/ASX200 rose 19.6 points by midday, up 0.24 per cent, to 9,094.4, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 23 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 9,302.

The market map was mostly red on Tuesday, however some solid post-earnings performances from BHP, CSL, Pro Medicus and Cochlear helped support the exchange.

The modest uptick followed a weak Wall Street session overnight, as Brent crude prices topped $US90 a barrel as Iran vowed to escalate attacks after the US let a previous 90-day ceasefire lapse and US President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Oman.

“The impasse risks extending the closure of the (Strait of Hormuz) waterway and the supply pressure it places on global energy markets, while the hawkish rhetoric is forcing a greater geopolitical risk premium into prices due to a marginally higher probability of escalation in the Gulf,” Capital.com senior market analyst Kyle Rodda said.

“Once again, geopolitical risks have proven the hurdle in the way of a higher equity market.”

Healthcare was by far the best performing sector on Tuesday, soaring more than seven per cent as CSL and Pro Medicus shares clocked double-digit gains after beating earnings expectations.

The move came despite CSL posting its first annual loss since listing on the ASX in 1994.

BHP was doing some heavy lifting, up 3.6 per cent and boosting the materials sector more than one per cent after handing down a $US9.8 billion ($A13.8 billion) bottom line annual profit for the 2025/26 financial year.

Fortescue (+0.8 per cent) and Rio Tinto (-0.1 per cent) were less impressive, as iron ore futures firmed above $US95 a tonne and copper prices eased from near all-time highs.

Gold stocks were mixed but broadly lower, as the precious metal hovered near $US4,424 ($A6,222) an ounce, while battery minerals and rare earths producers came off their recent rally.

Financials continued to weigh on the bourse, down 0.8 per cent as three of the four big banks and Macquarie traded lower, while NAB bounced modestly from Monday’s post-update slump.

Consumer-facing stocks were hit hard, with staples tumbling 1.7 per cent and cyclicals down 1.2 per cent, as Woolworths, Coles and Wesfarmers dragged.

In other earnings news, Sims Ltd dived more than 13 per cent, despite growing sales revenue and boosting its underlying profit for the year to $247.9 million from $83.1 million in 2024/25.

Challenger Ltd gained almost seven per cent after flagging a $450 million share buyback.

Real estate giant Goodman Group also jumped more than five per cent after signing a 20-year data centre lease deal at Tokyo’s Tsukuba Tech Central.

The Australian dollar is buying 71.07 US cents, down from 71.22 US cents on Monday at 5pm AEST.

An Australian blood plasma giant has posted its first annual loss, after writedowns, restructuring costs and falling vaccine rates weighed on its bottom line.

CSL’s bottom-line net loss came in at an eye-watering $US2.6 billion ($A3.7 billion) for 2025/26, plummeting from a $US3 billion profit the year before.

Total revenue fell one per cent to $US15.8 billion ($A22.2 billion), highlighting the impact of $US7.1 billion in pre-tax writedowns, mostly linked to its CSL Vifor kidney treatment and iron deficiency business.

Vifor has struggled against generic competition and regulatory shifts since its 2022 acquisition by CSL.

CSL’s Behring business, which makes medicines to treat conditions including bleeding disorders, immune deficiencies and angioedema, had its revenue fall one per cent to $US11.4 billion, despite a 7.2 per cent uplift in the second half.

Interim chief executive Gordon Naylor, who replaced ousted boss Paul McKenzie in 2025, said considerable work remained, but the company was making progress.

“Financial year 2026 has been a reset year for CSL,” Mr Naylor told an earnings call on Tuesday.

“The actions that put us back on the path to sustainable growth started well before my appointment and have been delivered with intention and urgency.” 

The result could be a turning point after a disastrous two years for the company, which has been hit by a near 70 per cent share price plunge, a series of downgrades and a major restructure.

Headwinds fuelling the earnings slump included weaker albumin demand in China, falling influenza vaccination rates in the US, and disappointing Vifor returns due to fierce competition from generic medicines.

Still, the result beat consensus estimates across revenue and earnings, prompting investors to send CSL’s share price more than 16 per cent higher to $157.77 – its best level since February.

While management’s description of the year as a reset was fair, etoro analyst Josh Gilbert doesn’t expect CSL to return to full growth in 2026/27.

“It paid $US11.7 billion ($A16.5 billion) for Vifor back in 2022, so knocking a big chunk off that price and cutting the sales outlook at the same time is the company admitting the growth never arrived,” he said.

“Things are looking cleaner, but Vifor will keep dragging on group growth well past this year.”

CSL is still looking for a permanent chief executive, and Mr Naylor’s interim tag is a reminder that its transition continues.

“(Naylor) was brought in to accelerate the transformation, and that work is clearly happening, but the next stage is harder,” Mr Gilbert said.

“Getting CSL back to its heyday and turning a leaner business back into a fast-growing one.

“Investors will still need some patience, but the stepping stones have been laid.”

Oil prices crept higher and bond yields rose, blunting paltry gains for stocks at the start of Asian trading on Tuesday ‌as a US-Iran truce expired and Tehran said it would shift to a “fully offensive” military posture.

MSCI’s broadest index ‌of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.8 per cent, buoyed by South Korea’s KOSPI rising more than 3.0 per cent ‌as the Seoul market returned after a holiday. 

The Nikkei 225 fell 0.3 per cent, while S&P 500 e-mini futures were flat.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury bond was up 0.8 basis point at 4.728 per cent. Its 30-year counterpart traded up 0.6 basis point at 5.3146 per cent, its highest in more than two ‌decades.

“Typically, moves above ‌4.65 per cent for the ⁠US 10-year have been followed by some soothing words from the ​Trump administration, typically centred on an imminent resolution to the war with Iran,” ING analysts wrote. 

“This time, we’re not hearing the same,” they added. “In fact, the latest indications are for no imminent resolution as the shaky 60-day truce came to an end.”

As the recent global selloff in bonds deepened, the yield ⁠on the 10-year Japanese government bond rose 2.5 basis ‌points ​to 2.945 per cent, a three-decade high.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 slipped 0.5 per cent while the Nasdaq Composite edged ​0.3 per cent lower ‌as soft US economic data, including an unexpected drop in retail sales, prompted markets to scale ​back bets on an imminent Federal Reserve interest rate move.

“Markets adopted a generally risk-off tone as President Trump reaffirmed he was not interested in extending the truce with Iran, with renewed ​tensions ​in the Middle East pushing oil prices ​higher and complicating sentiment,” Westpac analysts wrote in ‌a research note.

The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, traded around a two-month low of 99.527.

Oil prices rose more than $US2 ($A2.80) on Monday as the stalemate in Iran refocused oil traders on global supply worries. Brent crude futures edged up 0.2 per cent to $US91.06 ($A128.24) a ​barrel as trading resumed in Asia.

Gold was up 0.1 per cent at $US4,420.07 ($A6,224.57), extending recent gains into a third ​consecutive day.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin ⁠was up 0.1 per cent at $US64,398.48 ($A90,689.28), while ether gained 0.3 per cent to $US1,911.40 ($A2,691.73). 

Workers being able to access their superannuation early would destroy their retirement earnings, the treasurer has warned, following calls by Pauline Hanson.

The One Nation leader has called for a relaxation of rules that would allow people to withdraw their super in times of crisis to help with the cost of living, labelling the system as it stands as broken.

Currently, super can only be accessed in limited circumstances, such as stopping the foreclosure of a home, a terminal medical condition or severe financial hardship.

But Treasurer Jim Chalmers said expanding access for when people can dip into their retirement nest eggs would be counterproductive.

“That would absolutely decimate the retirement incomes of millions of Australians workers,” he told Seven’s Sunrise on Tuesday.

“One of the most important features of our superannuation system is … this idea that, with compounding interest over time, Australian workers can access the decent retirement incomes that they need and deserve after a lifetime of work.”

Tax office figures show 67,900 early super releases were approved in 2024/25, amounting to just over $1.4 billion.

Dr Chalmers said One Nation was undermining the concept of superannuation.

“In lots of ways, the next election will be a referendum on the future of superannuation, whether or not Australian workers can continue to rely on the economic security that comes from the superannuation system,” he said.

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce said early access was needed due to unsubstantiated claims the government would increase taxes on superannuation.

“My evidence is you can’t trust the government. They lie, and when people are liars, it’s very hard to become unliars,” he told ABC Radio.

“Whether it’s the big things or the little things, they’re all the same thing. They’re lies, and therefore you have to be cautious of liars because if they lie once, they’ll lie again.”

The coalition previously sought to expand early super access to help people buy their first home, taking the policy to the last two federal elections.

Deputy Opposition Leader Jane Hume said on Monday maintaining the current system of superannuation was important.

“We also know that the biggest indicator of economic security in retirement isn’t how much superannuation you have, it’s whether you own a home,” she said.

“That’s why it’s so important that we allow Australians the opportunity to get into a home should they want to buy one.”

While members of the coalition has called for superannuation to be protected, Liberal frontbencher Andrew Bragg criticised the compulsory retirement scheme as “one of the biggest public policy failures since federation”.

Labor is under increasing pressure to lower the tobacco excise as One Nation has promised to significantly cut the tax to stamp out organised crime.

The excise currently adds $1.53 to the cost of every cigarette or around $2500 per kilogram of tobacco content, according to the Australian Tax Office, with another increase due in September.

One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson has pledged to cut the excise by 75 per cent, returning it to a similar rate to September 2015.

Ms Hanson has accused Labor of underwriting organised crime by raising the tobacco excise and forcing the trade underground, where illicit cigarettes are estimated to be worth billions of dollars.

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce said constantly putting up the price of cigarettes and expecting more tax revenue is “absurd economics”.

“You’re going to get more mafia … and that’s precisely what’s happening,” Mr Joyce told the ABC.

“And the only way we can deal with the criminality … is to bring back the price of legal cigarettes into the same realm as where the illegal ones are.

“More young people have access to more affordable cigarettes, and we don’t want that.”

An estimated 80 per cent of all tobacco consumed in 2025 was illicit, up from 12 per cent in 2017, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Concern about the illegal trade comes after Victoria Police reported more than 200 arson attacks related to Melbourne’s “tobacco wars” in the past three years.

The firebombing of tobacconists in the state has emerged as a key issue for the upcoming Victorian election where One Nation hopes to gain multiple seats in the parliament.

Federal Labor has held off changing the tobacco tax despite calls from NSW Premier Chris Minns to intervene in July.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has again dismissed calls to take an economic approach to the flourishing black market.

“The government’s focus is on the law and order aspects of this substantial problem,” Dr Chalmers told the ABC.

Recent successful raids of illegal supply prove the worth of increased funding for policing, he said.

The world’s largest mining company has delivered a strong profit as copper continues to drive most of its growth in a world of artificial intelligence, on top of record iron ore shipments.

Australia-based BHP has delivered a nine per cent lift in bottom-line net profit to $US9.8 billion ($A13.8 billion) for the 2025/26 year, on revenue of $US58.8 billion ($A82.8 billion).

Its attributable underlying profit came in at $US13.2 billion ($A18.6 billion), which was better than the consensus analyst forecast of $US12.7 billion ($A17.9 billion) and a 30 per cent uplift on the 2024/25 result.

Brandon Craig, who on Tuesday handed down his first annual results as chief executive, said BHP had met or beaten guidance across much of its portfolio.

“We delivered record iron ore production and shipments at Western Australia Iron Ore, about two million tonnes of copper for a second year running, and a strong result in coal,” he said.

That, together with strong commodity prices, also drove an uplift in underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to $US32.9 billion ($A46.3 billion).

Of that total, copper generated $US18 billion ($A25 billion), accounting for 54 per cent of the group result.

“Copper is the engine that is driving BHP’s growth,” Mr Craig said.

“For the first time, copper contributed more than half of our underlying EBITDA and generated significant free cash flow, which means our copper production is self-funding.”

As the world turns more and more to AI solutions, BHP is sitting in the box seat to supply copper, which is used to build power grids, cooling systems, and wiring that AI data centres need to operate.

BHP has a copper project pipeline across Chile, Australia and Argentina that could potentially lift production by about 40 per cent within the next 10 years.

“BHP is well set for what comes next,” Mr Craig said.

“We have a significant opportunity to further lift performance across our assets and a clear pathway for growth.”

BHP will pay a final dividend of 99 US cents per share, taking the total payout for the year to $US1.72, up from $US1.10 in the previous year.

Women living with endometriosis or ovarian cysts with a hormone imbalance are also experiencing high rates of depression, prompting calls for greater mental health support alongside physical healthcare.

Research published by Women’s Mental Health Australia on Tuesday reveals almost half of women with endometriosis reported experiencing anxiety.

The findings have uncovered major gaps in Australia’s healthcare system, according to chief operating officer Katrina Locandro.

“It’s enormous,” she told AAP. 

“The government’s investing a lot in women’s health at the moment… and there is a really practical step that they could be taking to reduce that gap.”

The findings indicated physical health conditions are associated with poorer mental health.

But the greatest psychological toll is on women living with female-specific physical health conditions, including polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, which is a broad condition involving a hormone imbalance, irregular periods and ovarian cysts.

Women with that syndrome reported high rates of depression and anxiety; between 1.6 and 2.2 times higher compared to women who did not have the condition. 

The disparity also extended to suicide and self-harm rates, reported by 10 per cent of women with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome and 13 per cent of women with endometriosis, compared to four per cent of women without those conditions.

The research found that one in three women are not seeking help for their mental health issues, often for financial and stigma reasons.

Ms Locandro says every woman attending a government-funded endometriosis and pelvic pain clinic should receive an integrated mental health assessment and support as a standard offering.

“We’re not asking the government to build a new system, we’re asking it to strengthen an existing one by recognising that women’s physical and mental health are inseparable,” she said.

Report co-author Bronwyn Graham said embedding integrated mental health assessment and support into existing services would be a game changer.

“Women are being asked to manage two separate journeys, one for their body and one for their mind, and to find their own way between them at the point they are least able to,” Professor Graham said.

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Australia’s biggest bank continues to scoop up market share in the business market, where it says it has been surprised by the uptick in borrowing for innovative products and services.

In the 2025/26 financial year, Commonwealth Bank of Australia loaned more than $50 billion to businesses across the nation, around $31 billion of which was used for operations that feed into the nation’s productivity.

“We need this economy to move from a passive home loans, home property investment market to one that invests a lot more in productive capacity,” business banking head Mike Vacy-Lyle told AAP.

One of the regions where businesses are leading the way is Western Australia, which is already reaping the rewards of higher commodity prices for its minerals, metals and agricultural goods, the bank noted.

But it’s also picking up in service businesses, like health care, education, hospitality, tourism and accommodation, on the back of that mining wealth and strong population growth, as people move from other states.

Queensland businesses are also stepping up, again on the back of solid population growth, and in the run-up to the 2032 Olympics.

In NSW, the picture is mixed with businesses moving aggressively in Bradfield City, the 114 hectare master planned centre around the new Western Sydney airport, particularly in logistics and services.

Mr Vacy-Lyle was also surprised to see a step-up in Woollongong, south of Sydney, where hotel accommodation is tight and there’s strong demand for services, particularly in hospitality, in and around the city’s university.

“So very innovative businesses are sort of blossoming in Wollongong, which I am excited about,” he said.

Some of the business investment trends noted by the bank include waste and waste management technology, like managing plastic or re-using chemicals in waste products to support other industries.

“So there’s been a lot more innovation than we actually give this economy credit for, particularly in the small business space,” Mr Vacy-Lyle.

While businesses, like households, have been under pressure due to a higher cost of living and rising borrowing rates, Mr Vacy-Lyle says there’s no doubt many are trying to think outside the box.

“There’s a whole part of innovation happening under the surface, and we’re scratching and finding it, and we want to fund more of it,” he added.

Commonwealth Bank currently has $180 billion in business loans on its books, up from 13 per cent a year ago.

The pace of growth is about 1.3 times above system, which means it’s sitting above the average growth of the business banking market as a whole.

Its business lending market share is around 26 per cent, as measured by banking and finance customers who’ve nominated it as their main financial institution.

The leading business lending bank is National Australia Bank.

Commonwealth Bank’s business banking arm contributed 41 per cent of its $11 billion group cash net profit for 2025/26.

Last-minute changes to Labor’s gambling reforms are set to be rigorously assessed by opposing parties as the government pushes to get the long-awaited legislation across the line.

Amendments to the reforms were announced on Monday and include a crackdown on inducements, a one-stop system for Australians to opt out of seeing betting ads online, and a limit on commissions for betting agents.

The changes were unveiled by Communications Minister Anika Wells just hours before a scathing committee report on the matter, sparked by coalition and crossbench concerns, was tabled in the upper house. 

Ms Wells’ reforms are expected to pass the lower house, where Labor holds a majority of seats, by the end of the sitting week. 

They will then be the subject of a challenging debate in the Senate, where the government needs support from other parties to pass the laws.

The coalition used the report to savage Labor’s policy, saying it weakened previous bans on wagering advertisements during live sport and did not properly consider the harms of inducements.

Its regular Tuesday morning party meeting will be centred around deciding how to vote on Labor’s changes, particularly the updated crackdown on inducements used to keep people betting. 

Most minor parties are unlikely to back the reforms. 

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has demanded a complete ban on all online gambling advertising and called for the establishment of a national regulator.

The report also included damning revelations from independent senator David Pocock, who said the government had failed to extricate sport from its relationship with gambling, and in doing so, failed to protect Australian children. 

His views will likely affect the way other upper house independents vote on the changes.

Tuesday’s debate is expected to carry an uncomfortable undercurrent for the government, given it has been more than three years since the release of a report into gambling by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy. 

The report contained 31 recommendations to limit the power of Australia’s gambling industry.

Feedback in the Senate on the report noted many of its recommendations had not been included in the reforms.

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