Woodside Energy reported FY26 operating revenue rose 13% to US$7.4 billion, while underlying NPAT increased 7% to $1.3 billion and free cash flow jumped 159% to $352 million. The company said a 20% lift in average realised prices to US$74 per barrel of oil equivalent partly offset a 13% drop in production to 86.5 million barrels of oil equivalent. Woodside also updated progress on key developments, with Scarborough 98% complete, Trion 64% and Louisiana LNG 28% complete. CommSec forecasts FY26 EPS of $2.184 and projects FY28 EPS could fall 5% to $2.52, according to its estimates.

Venezuela’s government and opposition are close to a deal to move about $4 billion in central bank gold reserves from the Bank of England to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Financial Times reported. The proposal would give Delcy Rodriguez’s interim government legal control of the gold while preventing an immediate sale. The reserves could instead be pledged as collateral for government borrowing, including reconstruction after June’s twin earthquakes, according to the report. Last month, National Assembly chief Jorge Rodriguez said Venezuela was seeking to recover roughly 31 metric tons of gold held by the Bank of England to counter surging inflation.

HSBC is facing losses of more than £17m tied to the administration of craft brewer Brewdog. Brewdog was sold in March to US cannabis group Tilray Brands for £30m. Administrators at AlixPartners said HSBC is owed £31.2m as a secured creditor and expects to recover about £14.5m, while the bank’s equipment finance unit also faces a loss of about £523,486.

Anthropic is expected to reach public markets before OpenAI with a major IPO later this year, and it could file with the SEC as soon as this month. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the company plans to delay its IPO until 2027, citing safety concerns. OpenAI is discussing a pre-IPO funding round at a valuation of at least $1.2 trillion, while Anthropic could target a $2 trillion IPO valuation as early as October, according to various reports.

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock warned that the 75 basis points of rate increases delivered so far this year may not be sufficient to bring inflation under control, and said another sharp rise in oil prices would feed directly into prices. Against that backdrop, Westpac lifted owner-occupier fixed home loan rates by as much as 0.45 percentage points. The bank’s five-year fixed rate rose to 7.14%, nearly double a typical rate hike.

The Bank of Japan has raised its policy interest rate to 1.25%, the highest level in 31 years, as it seeks to counter inflation pressures driven by energy costs. The move follows a June increase to 1%, with inflation now running close to 2%. The central bank said it is concerned prices could rise further.

On March 17, 2026, the SEC and CFTC jointly issued a crypto taxonomy that explicitly placed XRP in the digital commodity category. The classification follows Judge Analisa Torres’ 2023 ruling separating XRP itself from the investment-contract circumstances tied to certain Ripple sales, after Ripple and the SEC dropped their appeals in August 2025, leaving the district-court rulings in place. Evernorth CEO Asheesh Birla said the CLARITY Act would be a catalyst for institutional DeFi adoption, and the company is building an institutional DeFi ecosystem around XRP. SEC filings show Evernorth expects to hold at least 473 million XRP at closing, with David Schwartz and Brad Garlinghouse listed as strategic advisers.

Macquarie analysts said Nickel Industries lifted first-half revenue 13.1% year-on-year to US$938.4 million, while net profit jumped 365.8% to US$52.5 million. The company’s ENC project has been disrupted by water-supply constraints, but it ramped to about 50% of nameplate capacity early in commissioning. At the Hengjaya mine, August nickel sales hit a record 1.6 million tonnes. Based on combined adjusted EBITDA of about US$90 million for July and August, Macquarie said the shares look undervalued and pointed to 57% potential upside.