Finance

Self-managed super funds can no longer take out new loans to buy residential property. Existing loans are protected, contracts already exchanged can still settle, and commercial property borrowing survives.

CBA's investor loan applications are down 28 per cent since the May budget, Westpac's overall applications are down about 20 per cent, ANZ tips Sydney prices to fall as much as 14.5 per cent and NAB has cut its national forecast to minus 5.

Commonwealth Bank closed its 2026 year with a $10.9 billion profit, but the sharper number is investor home loan applications: down 28 per cent since the May budget, with total applications down 15 per cent.

Settlement day is the most financially exposed moment in a property buyer's life, and payment redirection scammers know it. One Perth buyer got within minutes of losing $1.2 million.

Apple's fiscal third quarter, ending 27 June 2026, looked strong on the surface. Revenue came in at US$109.4 billion, up 16 per cent year-on-year, and diluted earnings per share reached US$2.02, a 29 per cent jump.

Westpac says mortgage applications have fallen 20 per cent since the May budget scrapped investor tax concessions, as third-quarter cash earnings slipped to A$1.8 billion and the bank tips investor credit growth to roughly halve in 2027.

The RBA has held the cash rate at 4.35 per cent as ANZ warns Sydney house prices could fall as much as 14.5 per cent, the steepest decline since the early 1980s, with budget tax changes driving the downturn.

The most revealing detail in OpenAI's latest share buyback is not the dollar figure. It is who signed the cheque. When a private company of this scale buys out employees, the standard move is to bring in an outside vehicle, a Thrive Capital or a SoftBank, to underwrite the liquidity.