☕️ MAGA money

Good morning.

Donald Trump targeted JPMorgan and BofA overnight for allegedly refusing to bank him after his first term. He reckons it was political bias. At the time, Trump said he was “loaded up with cash” but was turned away and forced to seek smaller lenders.

Trump’s long had a rocky history with banks (Deutsche once cited his cavalier attitude towards lenders during a legal fight).

But now he’s back on top and the WSJ is reporting his administration is drafting an executive order to punish banks that drop conservative or crypto-linked clients. The order accuses lenders of acting on pressure to flag transactions involving terms like “Trump” or “MAGA” after the 6 January Capitol riots.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Shares in Credit Corp skyrocketed Tuesday after the debt collector posted an 86% profit jump and guided to 12% earnings growth in FY26.

The quick sync

• Linktree, Airwallex and SafetyCulture are betting big on answer engine optimisation as generative AI upends Google search and rewrites the rules of online visibility. (Capital Brief)

• Jacinta Allan’s plan to legislate a right to work from home is already under legal fire, with experts warning it risks a swift death in the High Court. (Capital Brief)

• Ownership Matters backs John Wylie’s call for annual ASX director elections and greater director shareholdings to improve risk culture in corporate Australia. (Capital Brief)

• OpenAI releases its first open-weight AI models since GPT-2, aiming to match rivals like China’s DeepSeek with free, laptop-ready systems for advanced reasoning. (FT)(Reuters)

• Plans to add buy now, pay later loans to credit scores in the US are stalling, as Klarna and Afterpay withhold data, demanding customers not be unfairly penalised. (WSJ)

Trading floor

M&A

• Platinum drops ETF merger as L1 opposes, seeks control and portfolio management. (Capital Brief)(AFR)

• McCusker Holdings sells $96m Qoria stake to institutions. (AFR)

• Acciona targets Fletcher Building’s infrastructure unit amid NZ’s infrastructure growth. (The Australian)

• Centuria buys $216m Port Adelaide site for major industrial fund. (Capital Brief)

• Larvotto's $3m Hillgrove bet now a $140m mining success. (AFR)

• Forsyth Barr sells 25–30% stake to Mercury Capital after exploring options. (The Australian)

• Bastas sells $1.6b DBG stake, eyes ASX listing for $7b firm. (AFR)

Capital Markets

• Palantir hits US$1b revenue milestone and lifts outlook on AI and defense demand. (Capital Brief)

• APRA hits KeyInvest with $5.5m capital add-on over risk management issues. (Capital Brief)

• Austal wins deal to build 26 vessels for government in WA, boosting long-term revenue. (Capital Brief)

• Morgan Stanley backs Pallas Capital’s $500m real estate lending push. (AFR)

• Credit Corp profit jumps 86% to $94.1m; lifts dividend on strong lending, US gains. (Capital Brief)

• TPG to return $3b to shareholders, repay debt, and maintain 2025 dividends. (Capital Brief)

• CBA flags $130m for Bankwest changes, customer remediation. (Capital Brief)

• HSBC eyes corporate lending growth amid retail bank review. (AFR)

• Telix sees H1 spend at 36% of revenue amid U.S. growth, USD shift. (Capital Brief)

• Boss Energy defends Honeymoon cost update after ASX query and share drop. (Capital Brief)

• Betr gains proxy backing for PointsBet buyback amid takeover clash. (Capital Brief)

• Toyota triples Australia dividend to $473m despite China competition. (AFR)

• Rare earth stocks jump on govt price floor proposal. (Capital Brief)

• Nyrstar gets $135m bailout to sustain sites, boost critical metals. (Capital Brief)

• Lockdown-born 1800 Lasagne enters voluntary administration. (Smart Company)

• Pinnacle profit jumps 49% to $134m, lifts dividend and FUM. (Capital Brief)

• NSW delays stricter cash limits, easing pressure on Star and Crown. (Capital Brief)

VC 

• Australian startups like Linktree, Airwallex, and SafetyCulture are preparing for a shift from traditional SEO to AI-driven search. (Capital Brief)

• Anna Money launches AI virtual office for startups leaving Sydney Startup Hub. (Startup Daily)

• Folklore Ventures targets $350m VC fund with high-profile backing. (AFR)

• Genesis and MLC launch $5k prize for startup financial modelling. (Startup Daily)

People moves

• Ex-Qantas Super CIO Andrew Spence joins Omnia Capital as new investment chief. (AFR)

• Proxy advisor backs annual ASX director elections, more share ownership. (Capital Brief)

• Carma taps ex-REA CEO Owen Wilson as chair ahead of IPO push. (AFR)

• Buildkite names Kevin Gounden as CEO amid major leadership reshuffle. (Startup Daily)

• ASIC starts executive interviews in major ASX governance probe. (AFR)

The watercooler