News 26 April 2026

Etihad Orders 10 Boeing Jets, Raising Talk of Hard-to-Get 787 Slots

Stock Market Today: Live Updates 15.07.2026

LIVEMarkets rolling coverageStarted: July 15, 2026, 4:00 AM EDTUpdated: July 15, 2026, 11:44 AM EDT RECI trust's 10.3% yield: £2,000 could be worth £2,396 by July 2027, analysts say July 15, 2026, 10:12 AM EDT. Real Estate Credit Investments (LSE:RECI), a FTSE-listed trust lending to European property developers, is paying a 10.3% dividend yield. The shares are down 8% in the last year, leaving them at a 15% discount to net asset value. But the dividend has held at 3p per share each quarter. The trust makes money on higher rates in riskier parts of the real estate market. European
July 15, 2026
NextDC Stock Faces a Fresh Test Today: A$500 Million Retail Offer Opens After A$750 Million Debt Deal
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NextDC Stock Faces a Fresh Test Today: A$500 Million Retail Offer Opens After A$750 Million Debt Deal

Retail shareholders of NextDC Limited are set for a Monday call to back the company’s equity raising, a deal now serving as a gauge for the depth of Australian data-centre investors’ appetite for AI-driven growth. NextDC has flagged that the retail entitlement offer opens at 9 a.m. in Sydney, aiming to pull in around A$0.5 billion before wrapping up on May 11. The institutional portion already bagged about A$1.0 billion, with investors taking up 98% of what was on offer. NextDC’s timing is notable—the company just took on more debt, tapping the same funding drive. On Friday, it locked in A$750 million through four-year subordinated wholesale notes, priced at three-month BBSW plus 350 basis points. That bumps pro forma liquidity
April 26, 2026
PLS Group’s $38.1 Million Lithium Bet Tests Australia’s Battery Ambition
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PLS Group’s $38.1 Million Lithium Bet Tests Australia’s Battery Ambition

PLS Group Limited has kicked off commissioning at its lithium processing demonstration plant in Pilgangoora, following fresh Australian government funding and a lithium phosphate offtake deal with China’s Ningbo Ronbay New Energy Technology Co. Ltd. That’s a step further downstream for the ASX-listed miner, pushing past Western Australian spodumene concentrate and into battery materials production. PLS catches a break this time, after a harsh lithium slump last year. The March-quarter report pointed to higher prices, record output, and a fatter cash reserve. That means management has more freedom to push ahead on growth projects—but cost control remains under the microscope for investors.
April 26, 2026
Telstra Group Buyback Nears A$984 Million as May Price Rise Looms
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Telstra Group Buyback Nears A$984 Million as May Price Rise Looms

Telstra Group Limited snapped up 2,452,989 shares on Friday, spending A$13.16 million. That brings total shares repurchased under the current on-market buyback to 195.5 million, with around A$983.6 million shelled out so far. The buyback, set with an upper limit of about A$1.25 billion instead of a fixed number of shares, is scheduled to run through June 30, though it could be paused or ended at any moment, according to the filing. Here’s why this is front and center now: Telstra’s buyback is doing heavy lifting for earnings per share at the same moment it’s pushing for higher prices from mobile customers. Shares finished the session at A$5.38, up 0.75%. Data from Morningstar, cited by Intelligent Investor, shows a projected
April 26, 2026
ANZ’s First AI Chief Hire Puts Its Turnaround on a Bigger Clock
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ANZ’s First AI Chief Hire Puts Its Turnaround on a Bigger Clock

ANZ Group Holdings Limited is bringing in Kai Yang from HSBC to serve as its inaugural chief data and artificial intelligence officer, a new senior post intended to accelerate data, automation, and AI initiatives across the bank. He’ll step into the Sydney-based role in July, reporting directly to group Chief Information Officer Donald Patra, as Chief Executive Nuno Matos looks to expand the bank’s technology strategy. The clock’s ticking: ANZ drops half-year numbers May 1, 10:00 a.m. AEST. Investors will get their first real shot at judging if Matos’ push on costs and streamlining is gaining traction past the initial savings.
April 26, 2026
Turkish Airlines Cancels Flights to 18 Destinations — and Its Next Move Shows the Real Strategy
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Turkish Airlines Cancels Flights to 18 Destinations — and Its Next Move Shows the Real Strategy

Turkish Airlines is set to suspend service to 18 international destinations starting May and June, with the carrier rolling out a significant summer overhaul from its Istanbul hub. The scale of the cuts stands out—these aren’t minor trims. According to AeroRoutes, suspended routes now include Aqaba, Billund, Bissau, Ferghana, Freetown, Havana, Hurghada, Juba, Kinshasa, Kirkuk, Leipzig/Halle, Libreville, Luanda, Lusaka, Monrovia, Najaf, Pointe Noire, and Turkistan.
April 26, 2026
Westpac Banking Corporation Drawn Into $153 Million Regional Branch Fight as Pressure Builds
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Westpac Banking Corporation Drawn Into $153 Million Regional Branch Fight as Pressure Builds

Westpac Banking Corporation is once again facing scrutiny in Australia’s regional banking debate, with the Regional Banking Investment Alliance calling on the major lenders to bankroll face-to-face services in remote and rural towns under a A$153 million, industry-funded scheme. The alliance is turning up the heat on Westpac, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, and ANZ as the pace of branch closures ramps up pressure on the big four. Timing is crucial here. As more lenders steer customers to digital platforms, regional banking access has turned into both a political and social flashpoint—especially with cash needs, fraud concerns, and complicated account issues drawing some people back into physical branches. Westpac has taken things a step further than some rivals,
April 26, 2026
IGO Limited Shares Sink 18% After Greenbushes Lithium Downgrade Tests Turnaround Story
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IGO Limited Shares Sink 18% After Greenbushes Lithium Downgrade Tests Turnaround Story

Shares of IGO Limited tumbled 17.92% on Friday, ending at A$7.010, after the company slashed its full-year outlook for the Greenbushes lithium mine. That left the Australian market heading into the weekend with attention squarely on IGO’s expensive operational overhaul. MarketIndex flagged IGO as one of the session’s steepest decliners following the miner’s March-quarter results and presentation. The timing was rough. IGO reported that Greenbushes saw its average realised spodumene price jump almost twofold to US$1,668 per tonne in the March quarter. Production, though, stayed level, and costs climbed. Spodumene, for reference, is the lithium-rich concentrate needed for battery chemical production.
April 26, 2026
Fortescue Ltd’s $680 Million Pilbara Power Bet Draws an Early Test From Miners and Data Centres
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Fortescue Ltd’s $680 Million Pilbara Power Bet Draws an Early Test From Miners and Data Centres

Pilbara Minerals is signaling its willingness to collaborate with Fortescue Ltd on green energy in Western Australia’s Pilbara, giving Andrew Forrest’s company an early gauge of third-party interest. This comes just days after Fortescue signed off on a US$680 million boost to its renewable energy rollout. That investment targets the 200-megawatt Pilbara Green Energy Project, designed for industrial customers like data centres. The clock’s ticking for Fortescue. As the miner tries to spin decarbonisation into a fresh revenue stream, AI-powered data centres are cranking up electricity demand across Australia. Microsoft on Thursday announced plans to pump A$25 billion into local AI and cloud infrastructure through 2029. That’s the environment Fortescue’s walking into as it pitches “firmed” renewables—power that’s propped up
April 26, 2026
Northern Star Resources Starts A$500 Million Buyback, But the Bigger Test Is Kalgoorlie
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Northern Star Resources Starts A$500 Million Buyback, But the Bigger Test Is Kalgoorlie

Northern Star Resources Ltd repurchased 455,738 ordinary shares for A$10.3 million on April 23, marking its first reported on-market buyback, according to a daily notice filed Friday. The Australian gold producer has authorization to buy back as much as A$500 million in stock through the program. The buyback comes as investors are still sizing up Northern Star’s efforts to turn things around at Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines, or KCGM—its main production hub in Western Australia. Northern Star maintains that its full-year production forecast depends on mill throughput at KCGM, essentially how fast they can turn ore into sellable gold.
April 26, 2026
Woodside Energy CEO Pay Revolt Puts $14.8 Million Package And LNG Growth Plan In Spotlight
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Woodside Energy CEO Pay Revolt Puts $14.8 Million Package And LNG Growth Plan In Spotlight

Woodside Energy Group Ltd’s new CEO, Liz Westcott, is already in the spotlight over governance, with over a third of shareholders voting against her FY26 long-term incentive award at the annual meeting. The vote breakdown: 65.48% in favor, 34.52% opposed. Every resolution did clear, but the remuneration report also saw pushback, with 18.31% voting against. It’s a tricky moment for Woodside. Australia’s top listed oil and gas player is scheduled to release its first-quarter update on April 29, putting Westcott back in front of investors just days after the pay vote—and with scrutiny swirling around project timelines, costs, and climate risk.
April 26, 2026
National Australia Bank Settles Overtime Fight Before A$706 Million Credit Hit
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National Australia Bank Settles Overtime Fight Before A$706 Million Credit Hit

National Australia Bank Limited and the Finance Sector Union settled their Federal Court dispute over claims of excessive overtime, closing out a legal fight that had drawn attention to working conditions for bank staff on salaries. Both parties said the agreement was reached during mediation and “without admissions.” Under the settlement, a new framework covering health, safety and wellbeing will be rolled out, with more oversight and a joint working group set up. Timing matters. This settlement lands right before NAB unveils half-year numbers—May 4, 10:30 a.m. AEST. Management is under the spotlight for answers on easing credit conditions, capital moves, and the tech accounting change that’s dented results.
April 26, 2026
CSL Buyback Deepens as Pentagon Flu-Shot Shift Leaves ASX Giant Near 2017 Lows
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CSL Buyback Deepens as Pentagon Flu-Shot Shift Leaves ASX Giant Near 2017 Lows

CSL Limited snapped up 101,810 shares for A$13.1 million on April 23 as part of its ongoing on-market buyback, according to a filing dated April 24. The Australian biotech pushed forward with the purchases—even with its shares coming under renewed pressure after a U.S. military policy shift that could weigh on flu vaccine sales. The buyback prices ranged from A$127.98 to A$129.98. Timing is crucial here. CSL’s working to prove balance-sheet restraint after investor confidence took a big hit, just as the market is rethinking its view of the company’s vaccine arm following the Pentagon’s move to drop mandatory flu shots for U.S. troops. According to Reuters, CSL shares slid to lows not seen since late August 2017, down over
April 26, 2026
Commonwealth Bank Drawn Into $153 Million Branch Fight as AI Push Deepens
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Commonwealth Bank Drawn Into $153 Million Branch Fight as AI Push Deepens

Commonwealth Bank of Australia now finds itself at the center of a renewed clash on regional banking, after a coalition of smaller lenders called on the nation’s big banks to chip in for in-person services beyond metropolitan areas. The Regional Banking Investment Alliance, speaking for 24 regional banks and their allies, is pushing a A$153 million industry-backed plan to keep branches open in rural and remote areas. That effort has CBA, Westpac, NAB and ANZ once again facing scrutiny over footing the bill for cash services, account assistance and fraud support as they keep scaling back their branch networks.
April 26, 2026
BHP’s China Deal Could Reset Iron Ore Pricing — Rio and Fortescue Are Watching
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BHP’s China Deal Could Reset Iron Ore Pricing — Rio and Fortescue Are Watching

BHP Group Ltd’s agreement with China’s main iron ore buyer has shifted from contract negotiations to impacting market prices, leaving iron ore futures drifting as traders tried to balance ongoing Chinese steel demand and the likelihood of additional BHP shipments making their way to the top global consumer. This matters right now: the agreement wraps up a months-long spat that had threatened BHP’s relationship with its top customer, just as Chinese steel mills start to rebuild inventories ahead of the May Day holiday. And it’s a test—how much sway does Beijing really hold in iron ore pricing, beyond just the volume it buys?
April 26, 2026
Whitbread’s £1.5bn Premier Inn Hotel Sell-Off Could Hand Investors a New Payout
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Whitbread’s £1.5bn Premier Inn Hotel Sell-Off Could Hand Investors a New Payout

Whitbread is gearing up to offload a large chunk of its Premier Inn hotel portfolio, The Times reports, a change in strategy that could put roughly £1.5 billion in shareholders’ hands. Britain’s largest hotel operator is moving away from its traditional ownership model with this planned sale. Timing is key here. Whitbread will roll out an update to its five-year plan alongside full-year results on April 30, with investors seeking more visibility on cash returns—this comes after UK tax changes weighed on the benefits of outright hotel ownership.
April 26, 2026
UK & AU Stock Market Today: Live Updates 26.04.2026
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UK & AU Stock Market Today: Live Updates 26.04.2026

LIVEMarkets rolling coverageStarted: April 26, 2026, 12:00 AM EDTUpdated: April 26, 2026, 11:57 PM EDT ANZ Share Price Valuation Using Dividend Yield and PE Ratio Analysis April 26, 2026, 11:49 PM EDT. Since the Covid lows, ANZ Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) has been a key pick for ASX investors. The bank's current share price is $36.03, with a fiscal year 2024 earnings per share (EPS) of $2.15, yielding a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 16.8x – below the banking sector average of 19x. Using this sector-adjusted PE ratio, ANZ's value can be estimated at $40.82 per share. Investors often favor Australian
April 26, 2026
Severn Trent Stock Defies FTSE Slide as £15 Billion Water Plan Faces Results Test
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Severn Trent Stock Defies FTSE Slide as £15 Billion Water Plan Faces Results Test

Severn Trent Plc shares edged higher on Friday, standing out in a weaker London market as investors looked ahead to the UK water utility’s full-year results next month. The stock rose 0.13% to 3,153 pence, while the FTSE 100 fell 0.75%, AJ Bell data showed. That small gain matters because it came on a risk-off day for UK equities. The FTSE 100 closed down 0.8% at 10,379.08 and posted its first weekly decline in five weeks, as investors weighed oil, geopolitics and warnings from the Bank of England about pressure on global share prices, Reuters reported.
April 26, 2026
Prudential plc’s India Bet Gets Bigger as Bharti AXA Life Talks Surface
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Prudential plc’s India Bet Gets Bigger as Bharti AXA Life Talks Surface

Bharti Group is negotiating the sale of as much as 85% of its life insurance arm to Prudential plc, according to the Economic Times, which cited sources familiar with the situation. The unit might fetch somewhere between ₹70 billion and ₹80 billion, though both the valuation and terms remain in flux as due diligence continues, the report noted. The discussions could hand Prudential a bigger, more hands-on presence in Indian insurance, just as the London- and Hong Kong-listed firm shifts its capital and growth focus toward Asia and Africa. If the deal goes through at the reported price, it would represent a meaningful jump from last year’s 15% stake sale to 360 One, which pegged the business at about ₹30
April 26, 2026
Bunzl Stock Rebounds: Why Its 2026 Outlook Is Back In Focus
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Bunzl Stock Rebounds: Why Its 2026 Outlook Is Back In Focus

Bunzl shares climbed on Friday, closing 0.91% higher at 2,447 pence in London, according to market data. This came two days after the business supplies distributor reaffirmed its 2026 outlook and offered investors clearer signs of a recovery in North America. Bunzl is still in recovery mode after margin pressure in North America—its largest market—where soft demand and operational missteps dented results. According to Reuters, the company has responded by slashing expenses and tweaking its product lineup in the region.
April 26, 2026
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