1.
Strait talk: US and Iranian negotiators have reached a tentative agreement to extend their ceasefire by 60 days and launch nuclear talks, pending US President Donald Trump’s approval, media outlets reported citing unnamed official sources. Axios reported, citing two unnamed US officials, that Trump has asked for “a couple of days” to consider the deal. The unconfirmed agreement comes as both sides traded fire, with US Central Command shooting down five Iranian attack drones near the Strait of Hormuz and striking a ground control station in Bandar Abbas in recent days. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it retaliated by targeting the US air base responsible, Tasnim news agency reported. Iran then fired a ballistic missile toward Kuwait, which Kuwaiti forces intercepted, in what the US called an “egregious ceasefire violation”. The memorandum of understanding would require shipping through the strait to be “unrestricted” and Iran to remove all mines within 30 days, the Axios report said. Asked repeatedly at a press conference, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appeared reticent to confirm the tentative agreement, but he did say: “I believe that we perhaps have the makings of a deal here,” but that as usual it will be up to Trump. (Capital Brief)(Axios)(AP)(Reuters)(Bloomberg)(White House)
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First blood: Just two weeks after the Albanese government unveiled plans to scale back negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions, a prominent national property advisory firm is closing its doors after making more than 40 staff redundant. Dashdot, which charged prospective investors thousands of dollars to find, acquire and manage properties across Australia, has placed itself into voluntary liquidation, sparking fears among anxious customers who paid upfront fees and now fear they will be left stranded. Founder Glenn “Goose” McGrath said his clients’ borrowing power fell by around 20%, or up to 33% for the most leveraged investors, pushing his target market into “a state of paralysis” and his business to the brink. McGrath also cited a turn in the macroeconomic cycle and changes to Meta’s advertising platform which made it “completely untenable and unviable” to acquire customers. On Reddit, several customers who said they paid between $15,000 and $25,000 upfront expressed fears they would not get their money back. As Capital Brief has reported, the CGT and negative gearing reforms have forced Australia’s biggest banks to curb lending to leveraged investors, with analysts expecting investor lending to fall significantly. (Capital Brief)
