BHP v CBA for #1; streaming services up prices; testosterone screening for US soldiers
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome to Fear and Greed, business news you can use today. BHP's share price falls and Commonwealth Bank closes the gap in the fight to be the biggest company on the ASX. Foxtel and Stan up their prices on the back of sports rights deals and the US military to introduce screening for testosterone. Plus, Wall Street banks hit record profits and Pauline Hanson under fire as she relaxes in Sicily with Gina Reinhart. It is Friday, the 17th of July, 2026. I'm Michael Thompson and good morning, Sean Aylmer. Michael, fair to say, something for everyone in today's show. Funny world we live in. Quite the mix today. Let's get cracking, shall we? The main story this morning, BHP has warned that copper production will fall by up to 15% in the next 12 months, sending its share price down more than 2% yesterday.
It wiped close to $6 billion of value off the big Australian. And Commonwealth Bank, which rose 1.5% yesterday, has now closed the market value gap between the two biggest companies on the bourse. This is getting quite exciting.
Oh, we love a race, don't we? Starting with BHP, couple of problems there. The weather in Chile could close down mines it operates and a mechanical failure at its South Australian mine will reduce output. Now, copper is the bellwether commodity. Investors love companies that produce Copper. They're less excited when a copper producer says it won't quite produce as much as forecast. That's what hit BHP yesterday. The price for copper has surged from less than US$9,000 a tonne in April last year to about US$13,600 a tonne. That's on the London Metal Exchange. The rally this year has carried BHP's shares to a record market valuation at its peak of about $330 billion. But in the last month, BHP's share price has fallen 10%.
The group's now worth $301 billion. So it was about the time we did a show how the miners had taken over. I reckon it was the next day people started selling.
We are a jinx on the market, I suspect. Or we call the top of it, Michael. Or we call the top of the market, whichever way you want to put it. See, you are such a glass half full guy. There I was assuming we were to blame for things going wrong when you, in fact, give us more credit than we probably deserve. While BHP is having a few struggles. Sean, BH, Commonwealth Bank, has had a better run and is up 7% now over the past month, 12% since its low in mid-May. Its market cap is now $289 billion. As we say, the gap is narrowing. Does it really matter, though?
No. I mean, it's bragging rights more than anything else. But I guarantee you the bosses and boards of those two companies don't mind being number one on the ASX. Surely. So we now have BHP just ahead of Commonwealth Bank. Another notable change among the very large caps, CSL. It's back in the top 10.
Why did BHP's share price fall after a copper production downgrade?
The one-time number one company, then went to number two, then number three, then went down to about 15 or 16. It's up 20% over the past month or so. It's replaced Fortescue Metals in the top 10. There you go. So on the ASX, the top 10. Four big banks and Macquarie Group, which we know hit a record price this week. Two miners, BHP and Rio. A retailer, Wes Farmers. A property company, Goodman. And a healthcare stock, CSL. If you ask me, I mean, apart from the banks, but we've always got the banks in the top 10, that's kind of a more diversified top 10 list. than we've had for a while. And if you're an index investor, that isn't a bad thing. That's a healthier mix, right? A healthier mix, Michael.
That's it. There we go. That is my declaration for the day, Sean. More broadly, yesterday, the S&P ASX 200 was flat at $88. 141 points. I said that entirely oddly, didn't I? That's all right. I get it. It's been a long week. And you know what? The market has been flat on a number of occasions this week.
How do you get excited about a market that does nothing? That's what I want. I mean, all you listeners out there, what you don't realise that's hard being a journalist is when nothing happens, you've got to say something. And the last two days, I think, the market has been flat.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:06–3:18
2
Why did BHP's share price fall after a copper production downgrade?
3:18–11:46
3
How close is Commonwealth Bank to overtaking BHP as ASX's biggest company?
11:46–15:02
4
What changes reshaped the ASX top 10 companies this week?
15:02–16:21