Newspoll, World Cup & surprise quadruplets
episodePreviously titled “Afternoon Report | Newspoll, World Cup & surprise quadruplets” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 2, 2026
Transcript
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome to the Fear and Greed Business News Afternoon Report for Monday, the 20th of July, 2026. I'm Michael Thompson. And every afternoon, we've got the five stories that happened today that you need to know about. Let's get cracking.
How did markets close and what drove the S&P/ASX 200 performance today?
Story number one, the S&P ASX 200 finished pretty much unchanged today, down just five points to 8,791 points. Investors still a little wary about rising oil prices and the renewed conflict in the Between the United States and Iran, further attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Perhaps unsurprisingly, energy stocks were among the strongest performers today. Santos, Woodside, Karun Energy, all higher. Technology was the weakest sector today as investors continued selling AI-related stocks following concerns sparked by China's latest artificial intelligence model. We talked about that on this morning's show. WiseTech and Xero both fell sharply today. Story number two is very much linked to story number one.
A bit of corporate news around today. Diversified miner South32 has exceeded 2026 production guidance across its key operations with Sierra Gorda Copper, Cannington Silver and Manganese assets outperforming expectations in the final quarter. Its share price climbed almost 5% today. Deep yellow. jumped 6.1% following the awarding of $34 million in civil and concrete construction contracts for its flagship uranium project in Africa. It is in Namibia. And finally, Coast Entertainment surged more than 15% today after the Dreamworld owner secured approval for a major development project on its 55 hectares of land in Queensland. About half of that land is currently occupied by the Dream World and Whitewater World theme parks.
Why were energy stocks stronger amid renewed US–Iran tensions and rising oil prices?
The company plans to divide the rest into mixed use, basically ecotourism, hotels, offices, hospitality, residential. The approval came through today and its share price jumped significantly. Story number three to politics now and federal Labor's primary vote has fallen to its equal lowest level since Anthony Albanese won government in 2022. This is according to the latest news poll. The survey in The Australian today shows Labor's primary vote slipping three points to 30% level with Pauline Hanson's One Nation, which recovered after a slight decline last month The coalition also gained ground, lifting two points to 19%. That comes, though, after three consecutive monthly falls. Despite criticism over recent overseas trips and controversial comments on multiculturalism, Hansen maintained strong support, with One Nation's primary vote returning to 30%.
Anthony Albanese does remain the preferred prime minister, although his lead over opposition leader Angus Taylor has narrowed to just eight points now. Now, story number four, you probably already know this one unless you have indeed been living under a rock today, but Spain has won the FIFA World Cup, defeating Argentina 1-0 after extra time in a pretty dramatic final. Spain scored in the 106th minute to secure the title. and deny Lionel Messi a second consecutive championship in what is expected now to be his final World Cup appearance. Spain dominated throughout, allowing Argentina just one shot on goal deep into extra time. The victory, though, now means that Spain simultaneously holds both the men's and women's World Cup titles, becoming the first nation to achieve this feat.
And story number five... This really isn't to do with business, but it's just an incredible story. A Brisbane woman has given birth to identical quadruplet girls in what doctors believe could be the first naturally conceived pregnancy of its kind in Australia. Jenita Moana says, delivered the four babies by cesarean at 28 weeks and four days after what specialists describe as an extraordinarily rare pregnancy. The girls, named Emily, Harriet, Alexa, and Catherine, all developed from a single fertilized egg and shared one placenta. Doctors estimate the odds of that occurring are around 1%. in 15 million. Now the mum and her husband have four kids already. They weren't planning to have another one.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:03–0:15
2
How did markets close and what drove the S&P/ASX 200 performance today?
0:15–1:56
3
Why were energy stocks stronger amid renewed US–Iran tensions and rising oil prices?
1:56–4:33
4
What triggered the sell‑off in AI‑linked tech stocks and which companies were hit?
4:33–4:47
Speakers
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