Charm offensive
Hey Superheroes,
The US 10-year Treasury yield climbed as high as 5.2% this week, its highest level since 2007, after September flash PMI data showed manufacturing at 57.0 and services at 58.7, both beating forecasts and pointing to persistent inflation pressure.
Wall Street felt the weight of it. On Thursday 24 September, the S&P 500 fell 0.51%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.31% to 51,350 and the Nasdaq Composite retreated 0.78%, as rising yields and higher oil prices offset hopes for a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Closer to home, the ASX 200 closed 63 points, or 0.7%, lower at 8,702 on Thursday, briefly touching its lowest level since June before paring losses. The catalyst was fresh data from the ABS showing the unemployment rate rose to 4.6% in August from 4.5% in July.
Looking ahead: the RBA Monetary Policy Board meets 28 to 29 September, with the rate decision due at 2.30pm AEST on the 29th. CBA economists expect a 25 basis point hike to 4.60%.
Micron reports fiscal fourth quarter results on 30 September, with street consensus at roughly US$50.6 billion in revenue and US$31.27 in earnings per share. The Fed’s next rate decision falls on 27 to 28 October 2026.
Charm offensive
Meta (NASDAQ:META) has spent most of 2026 extending its artificial intelligence ambitions into hardware. This week it went further than smart glasses, with a dedicated AI device aimed at anyone who wants to interact with Muse without picking up a phone.
The device
At its Connect 2026 event on 23 September, Meta unveiled Muse Charm, a palm sized handheld device dedicated to its Muse AI assistant. It features a small screen, 5G connectivity, front and rear cameras and a USB-C port. Sales are due to start in December. Meta has not yet disclosed pricing. The device was designed in Meta’s lab led by former Apple interface design chief Alan Dye, working alongside the company’s Superintelligence AI group.
The market reaction
Meta shares rose 2.9% on 24 September to touch a new 52 week high of US$767.78, as brokers lifted price targets on early Muse adoption data. JPMorgan raised its target to US$920 from US$820, Wells Fargo to US$796 from US$640 and Citizens to US$885 from US$770.
What the numbers don’t tell us
Broker enthusiasm rests on early Muse adoption signals rather than device revenue, which will not flow until the December sales launch at the earliest. Pricing, margins and whether Muse Charm can sustain demand past the launch window remain open questions. The bigger strategic bet is whether a dedicated AI handheld can find a mass market, or whether it serves mainly as a companion for existing Muse users who already own Meta’s glasses.
BHP halts operations at Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine, after a fatal accident
BHP (ASX:BHP) operates the world’s largest copper mine at Escondida in Chile, an asset central to its energy transition strategy. A fatal accident on site this week brought all operations to a halt with no restart timeline given.
The incident
BHP suspended all operational activities at Escondida on 23 September after a worker was killed during maintenance work, reportedly involving a front end loader. The company gave no timeline for restarting. Under Chilean regulations, safety inspectors must verify site conditions before the mine can resume after a fatality.
The context
It was the second fatal incident at Escondida in twelve months. Rio Tinto holds a 30% stake in the mine and Japan’s JECO Corp holds 12.5%. BHP has not commented on the expected impact on copper production volumes.
What the numbers don’t tell us
The length of any shutdown depends on the Chilean regulator’s inspection process, which has no fixed timetable. Escondida is BHP’s most important copper asset, and copper sits at the centre of its long-term growth narrative around the energy transition. A prolonged pause could be material to near-term output guidance, but BHP has not indicated whether it will revise any production figures.
Some other things we’re shining the Spotlight on:
Xero shares fall to a seven year low after Melio losses drag full year profit down 27%
Xero (ASX:XRO) shares have fallen almost 30% over the past month to a multi-year low, after FY26 results to March 2026 showed net profit fell 27% to NZ$167.4 million, weighed down by NZ$111.7 million of losses tied to its Melio payments acquisition. Gross margin fell to 83.9% from 89% as Melio was consolidated into the group, and Xero flagged up to NZ$55 million of additional US brand spending in FY27.
Oura targets US$15.6 billion valuation in Nasdaq IPO
Smart ring maker Oura is expected to list next Wednesday at a valuation of up to US$15.62 billion, raising up to US$2.2 billion. Its ring tracks sleep, heart rate and more than 50 other health measures. Users buy the ring once, then pay a monthly membership for the insights, so a hardware sale becomes recurring revenue. The listing could also set a price for private rivals like Whoop, which was valued at US$10.1 billion in March and is laying the groundwork to go public. If the stock makes a strong debut, this may demonstrate how much appetite there is for a wave of consumer health floats.
Bitcoin ETFs draw their largest daily inflow in almost a year as a short squeeze lifts prices
US spot bitcoin ETFs took in about US$999 million in net inflows on 21 September, the largest single day amount since October 2025, bringing five session inflows to roughly US$2.65 billion. The surge reversed US$450 million of outflows from the prior week, when the Clarity Act failed in the Senate. Bitcoin briefly touched about US$87,300, its highest level since January, before easing. Roughly US$1.06 billion of crypto positions were liquidated over 24 hours, including US$844 million of short positions, as traders who had bet against bitcoin were forced to buy it back.
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