Liezl Gambe

Bhagwan Marine (ASX:BWN) stated its standalone full-year earnings are expected to reach $38.5–$40.5 million.

BitGo CEO Mike Belshe challenged Anthropic after AI agents recovered US$4.62 in Bitcoin (CRYPTO) from deliberately weakened wallets.

Regis Healthcare (ASX:REG) entered into a binding agreement to acquire the home care business of Royal Freemasons Homes of Victoria

SKS Technologies (ASX:SKS) expects an unaudited before-tax profit of $39.3 million, up 15.6% from prior guidance.

Russia expanded cryptocurrency mining restrictions affecting Bitcoin (CRYPTO) miners across Moscow, the Moscow Region and parts of Kursk from 15 August 2026.

Data provider Cotality reported that national auction volumes in Australia fell 19.2% year-on-year to 1,273 listings.

• Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) reported fiscal Q4 2026 revenue of $90 billion, up 18% year over year, with cloud growth supporting overall performance.
• The company’s Intelligent Cloud segment generated $39.3 billion in revenue, while Azure and other cloud services revenue increased 43% and surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue.
• Technology companies are increasing cloud and AI investments while managing infrastructure costs, enterprise demand, and competition across digital services.

• HSBC Holdings (NYSE:HSBC) agreed to divest its $36 billion Australian home and personal loan portfolio to Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) as part of a broader strategy to simplify operations.
• The transaction carries an immaterial loss of under $100 million for HSBC, while major domestic competitors continue managing multi-billion-dollar residential lending portfolios.
• Traditional banks are scaling back complex consumer portfolios to optimise capital reserves, leaving specialised non-bank institutions to expand market share through third-party servicing arrangements.

• Genesis Minerals entered a binding agreement to acquire Vault Minerals, creating a combined entity valued at $12.6 billion.
• The transaction values Vault at approximately $5.6 billion, with the merged group projecting annual output of 600,000 to 700,000 ounces and $2.0 billion in post-tax synergies.
• Mid-tier producers are pursuing regional operational integration to lower processing costs and achieve scale amid shifting macroeconomic conditions.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) reported second-quarter 2026 net sales of $1.53 billion, up 1.6% year over year, with organic sales increasing 5.8% across domestic, international and specialty product divisions.