Industries

Industries
Private credit shock deepens after First Brands collapse
While car parts aren’t something that typically keep financial markets awake at night, last month’s bankruptcy of United States auto parts maker First Brands - owing between US$10 to $50 billion – has clearly spooked investors who fear the same fate could await other players with hidden exposures to private credit. Details of First Brands' collapse highlight how the boom in the U.S. private credit industry during the past decade has turbocharged private companies’ ability to borrow money. While First Brands held $6 billion in high-yield, or “junk”, debt on its balance sheet, the company’s current crisis stems from its “off balance sheet” debt courtesy of private credit lenders. It was only when the company hired mid-sized Wall Street lender, Jefferies, to help renegotiate the terms of the debt on its balance sheet, that its lenders started asking further questions about its finances.Undisclosed additional loansWhat they discovered was that the company had been carrying billions of dollars in hitherto undisclosed additional loans – a la private debt. Lenders also discovered that the company had pledged future proceeds from some of its unpaid invoices to multiple creditors. An investigation has since been establis
Industries
Trump’s US farmer bailout thwarted by govt shutdown
The Trump administration's plans for a hefty bailout package to rescue United States farmers blindsided by trade disputes and big harvests could be delayed with the government shutdown preventing congressional action needed to approve such large payouts. While farmers welcome President Donald Trump’s bailout initiatives to rescue them from potential financial calamity, they have been urging his administration to pursue trade deals that rectify China's ongoing rejection of U.S. soybean purchases with tariffs, and a record corn harvest threatening to sink farmer profits. The current grain glut has seen U.S. growers struggle with low crop prices and rising costs for inputs such as fertiliser and seeds. It’s understood that the bailout package to get farmers through the harvest months – which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the White House could announce any day now - would total somewhere between US$10 billion and $15 billion of U.S. taxpayer funds, however, additional aid may also follow. The funds are expected to go to soybean farmers directly in the crosshairs of the China trade row, plus other types of commodity farmers. However, despite the China trade row, it’s understood that U.S. farmers are currently be
Industries
Plans unveiled for $1.7bn underwater drone fleet
The Australian government has earmarked $1.7 billion to locally build a fleet of long-range lethal underwater drones that will be in the service of the Australian Navy by January 2026. Dubbed "Ghost Sharks", an undisclosed number of uncrewed underwater drones – aka extra-large autonomous undersea vehicles (XL - AUL) - will be deployed to conduct intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and strike measures. These Australian-designed and built Ghost Sharks can be deployed from warships or launched off the coast. “This is a world-class capability that has the capability to conduct intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike at extremely long distances from the Australian continent,” said the defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, emphasising the final point. “Let me repeat that: we will have the ability to strike at extremely long distances from the continent of Australia.” It’s understood that defence forces around the world are opting for cheaper to build and run autonomous technologies with crewless platforms that can be deployed at scale. Countries are also investing heavily in improving submarine detection technologies, undermining the stealth capability that has been crewed submarines’ decisive a
Industries
AusPost to resume shipping to US after suspension
Australia Post will resume all shipping to the United States by 25 September, after suspending postage in August amid the U.S.’ tariff policies. The U.S. ended its tax exemption on parcels worth under US$800 (A$1,213) last month, with these packages now subjected to country-specific tariffs. Australia Post halted services to the U.S. alongside carriers from countries like the United Kingdom and France, due to a lack of guidelines on collecting the new taxes. “Along with more than 190 other postal providers internationally, we’ve been caught in a fast-moving situation not of our making,” said Australia Post executive general manager of Parcel, Post & eCommerce services, Gary Starr. “The real impact has been on our customers who export their goods to the U.S. accessing our cost-efficient postal service, so we’ve been working around the clock to find a solution.” “While we are planning to lift the temporary suspension on Thursday 25 September, if we are able to lift this earlier, we absolutely will.” Australia Post has been working with cross-border commerce platform Zonos to resume Business Contract and My Post Business deliveries, it said. It also plans to resume non-business parcel deliveries to the U.S. under a for
Industries
War Trades pt 2: US Golden Dome spurs spending spree
President Donald Trump’s US$175 billion (A$268.5 billion) Golden Dome missile defence initiative is triggering a seismic shift across the American defence sector, fusing space, artificial intelligence, and next-generation missile technology into an ambitious new strategic vision. As NATO similarly reaffirms a significant increase in defence spending, the U.S.’s move signals a ramp-up of investment into new-age warfare technologies. Set against a backdrop of new military technologies and emerging hypersonic threats, the project is fuelling a surge in defence funding, reinvigorating public-private partnerships, and rewriting the playbook for future military deterrence.Supercharging Space and SecurityFormally launched on January 27, 2025 and and partially funded by Trump’s sweeping “One Big Beautiful Bill”, the Golden Dome initiative began as an executive order instructing the Secretary of Defense to deliver “a reference architecture, capabilities-based requirements, and an implementation plan for the next-generation missile defense shield”. The project has already secured US$24.4 billion in startup funds from Congress, part of a broader $157 billion defence boost. The funding is designated “for enhancement of Department

Industries
Record A$100bn forecast for Australian agriculture
The value of Australian agriculture, fisheries and forestry production is set to reach a record A$101.6 billion in the 2025-26 financial year. This comes despite farmers enduring horror drought conditions and volatile international trade markets, with the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARES) predicting an A$7.3 billion rise from the previous year. There are also still other concerns in the industry, including the crop production value falling over the next 12 months due to rainfall in July in South Australia and Victoria, as well as concerns for southern NSW because of a slow start to the winter cropping season. According to ABARES executive Jaren Greenville, the record value was mostly boosted by livestock. “We’ve seen high prices lately for both livestock and animal products, like beef, lamb and milk,” Greenville said. “This has boosted the value of livestock production to $41.6 billion, helping to drive overall agriculture sector production value to a forecasted $94.7 billion, which would also be a record.” Australia’s gross agricultural production is forecast to rise by A$685 million in the financial year, with livestock and livestock production values tipped to grow by $1.1 billi
Industries
Germany mulls shifting funds to bolster defence industry
In an attempt to ramp up defence industry production amid the growing threat posed by Russia since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Germany's economy minister, Katherina Reiche, is considering reallocating state financing from an existing fund earmarked to facilitate economic transformation. She told delegates at a "Handelsblatt" conference on the defence sector on Monday that reallocating funds for defence could be a consideration. Germany’s military aid contribution, the second largest after the United States, is considered essential to Ukraine's continued efforts to defend against Russian aggression and pursue a just and lasting peace. While Reiche did not specify which fund, it’s understood she was referring to unspecified resources at the ministry's disposal and not the Climate and Transformation Fund. "Rearmament is a security policy imperative, but it is also an economic and technological opportunity for Germany,” said Reiche. Having concluded that "old certainties have disappeared" since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and that Moscow appears disinterested in a ceasefire, Reiche believes it is right to make state financing available now to give the industry planning security. Reiche’s talk of findin
Industries
Explainer: Why is OPEC+ surging its oil output?
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) bloc of oil-exporting countries has been flooding the market with barrels in recent months. The group announced another output hike for September earlier this month, with eight countries surging production by 547,000 barrels per day. The bloc first began increasing production for April by 138,000 barrels per day, which then surged to 411,000 for May, June, and July, and 548,000 for August. These hikes have now entirely reversed the cuts the bloc agreed to two years ago, and were partly driven by higher oil production outside OPEC+. However, this boost in output could have a smaller effect than expected on global oil prices.Unwinding the cutsThe OPEC+ alliance has been seeking to reverse a series of previous output cuts. In November 2023, countries like Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates agreed to lower their output by a total of 2.2 million barrels per day in a bid to raise prices. The move was “aimed at supporting the stability and balance of oil markets”, OPEC wrote at the time. While these cuts were initially set to last until the end of 2023, they were later extended until December 2026 amid high output levels in other oil-producing natio
Industries
War Trades part 1: Will Europe’s defence boom continue?
Amid surging geopolitical tensions and tariff-driven economic uncertainty, Europe is committing to a level of defence spending not seen since the Cold War. The implications are far-reaching, from public finances and industrial policy to cross-border investment flows and regional innovation. NATO’s latest pledge - ratified at the 2025 summit in The Hague - calls on members to raise defence expenditure to 5% of GDP by 2035, including 1.5% earmarked for defence infrastructure and cyber resilience. This marks a dramatic shift from the post-Cold War norm and requires a wholesale economic transformation across a continent long accustomed to peace dividends. According to Goldman Sachs, Europe’s new rearmament efforts are catalysing significant fiscal expansions. Germany’s commitment alone includes a €500 billion infrastructure and energy package, while the EU’s broader "ReArm Europe Plan" outlines €800 billion in defence commitments by 2030. The economic consequences of this pivot are already reverberating through markets and policy circles.Credit: 270862 / flickrBalancing Security and SovereigntyEurope’s security push is increasingly colliding with fiscal constraints. Countries like France, Italy, and Spain, already under EU