Daily Overview: 13 November 2026

The single biggest swing factor for global risk assets this morning sits in Santa Clara, not Sydney: Nvidia's board is reportedly meeting as soon as today to decide Jensen Huang's future after a second extramarital affair was reported, including one with a woman US intelligence has identified as a Chinese asset. Nvidia shed roughly 3 per cent in extended trade and has already erased hundreds of billions in market value across the week. For resources investors the transmission is indirect but real — a leadership vacuum at the company underwriting the AI data centre build-out would hit the demand narrative for copper, power and grid infrastructure that has been propping up the sector's growth multiples.

Closer to home, the parliamentary economics committee continues with CBA's Matt Comyn and NAB's Andrew Irvine appearing today, after Westpac's Anthony Miller and ANZ's Nuno Matos both flagged rising mortgage arrears. Westpac guided arrears from 0.67 per cent to as high as 0.91 per cent within 12 months — a 36 per cent increase at the top end. With the RBA's cash rate at an 18-year high of 4.85 per cent and five hikes since February, the domestic demand backdrop for bulk commodities is deteriorating, and the banks' commentary on business credit conditions is worth watching closely.

On the corporate front, Paladin's $500 million raising should price this morning after the uranium miner halted trading — watch the discount and whether the Canadian bought-deal leg gets away cleanly, given the equity has run hard. Many Peaks is also in the market for $60 million for its Ferké gold project in Côte d'Ivoire. And with Victoria's election now under three weeks away, the Coalition's $7–9 billion fiscal hole and the $33 billion cash deficit in Treasury's pre-election update are the numbers to keep in mind — a change of government in Victoria would have direct implications for the state's infrastructure pipeline and the quarry and construction materials supply chain.

Macro & Policy

• Nvidia's board is preparing to meet as soon as Wednesday to determine CEO Jensen Huang's future after the Wall Street Journal reported a second extramarital affair, including one with a woman US intelligence identified as a Chinese spy; shares fell about 3 per cent in extended trading to $US168.71 and the company has no succession plan.
• ASIC sued Commonwealth Bank over alleged overcharging of about 42,000 CommBiz business customers by roughly $8.5 million between November 2020 and May 2025, alleging misleading terms may have caused overcharging for about 19 years since 2006.
• NAB agreed to back pay $169 million to about 66,000 staff underpaid for more than a decade, plus a record $2 million contrition payment under an enforceable undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman.
• Westpac CEO Anthony Miller warned mortgage arrears could rise more than a third over the next year to between 0.79 and 0.91 per cent, while ANZ's Nuno Matos said arrears would rise across every major bank and described global markets as a "dangerous situation" amid record equities, rising rates and intense competition for capital from the AI build-out.
• Andrew and Nicola Forrest's separation and the way their 37 per cent Fortescue stake is held drew fresh scrutiny after three substantial shareholder filings, with Andrew's holding reduced to 1.09 billion shares from 1.13 billion following a 50 million share transfer to Nicola's Coaxial Ventures.
• Victoria's pre-election budget update showed the cash deficit widening to $33 billion over four years, with net debt forecast to climb to $196.2 billion and unemployment expected to rise to 5.25 per cent, three weeks out from the November 28 election.
• China collected more than Rmb120 billion ($26.3 billion) in October from a new offshore trust tax regime, driving a 90 per cent year-on-year increase in personal income tax revenue.
• A senior European Parliament legislator warned the EU would abandon its $10 billion free trade agreement with Australia if the Senate votes it down, with the Nationals opposing over agricultural access and the Greens still consulting.

Energy, Coal & Uranium

• Woodside's $30 billion Browse gas project faces difficulty finding financial backers, with ANZ, CBA and NAB all restricting direct financing for new upstream oil and gas; analyst Saul Kavonic notes international partners BP, Mitsui, Mitsubishi and ADNOC can access global debt markets.
• The NSW Independent Planning Commission approved a 19-year extension of Yancoal and Glencore's Hunter Valley Operations, which would generate more than 800 million tonnes of greenhouse gas but save 1,500 jobs; the extension still requires federal approval.
• Paladin halted trading ahead of a capital raising expected to be about $500 million, comprising an ASX institutional placement, a Canadian bought deal and a share purchase plan, run by Macquarie, Canaccord and RBC.
• At COP31 in Antalya, UN secretary-general António Guterres called for unabated coal power to be phased out by 2040 and no new coal, while Malcolm Turnbull urged the government to means test or scrap EV and home battery subsidies.
• AirTrunk struck a deal with European Energy Australia that could lead to 800MW of new solar, wind and battery plants in the Hunter region, supporting its planned 550MW Kurri Kurri data centre campus at an estimated cost above $1.5 billion.
• Quantum DC paused its 1.2-gigawatt Tungkillo AI data centre in the Adelaide Hills after community backlash, with CEO Alby Tomassi apologising and saying no development application would be lodged in 2026; SA is preparing legislation to regulate data centres.

Copper, Aluminium & Base Metals

• BHP appointed former Macquarie analyst Adrian Wood as CFO effective February 2027, following Vandita Pant's decision to quit after being overlooked for the CEO role; chief commercial officer Rag Udd will depart in early 2027.
• Rio Tinto executive Jérôme Pécresse visited Bell Bay Aluminium after securing a five-year power deal and a $200 million state and federal support package, committing to a minimum workforce of around 500 jobs and asset investment until at least 2031.
• AIC Mines completed a $70 million acquisition of Materra Metals, adding the Mt Cuthbert copper project in north-west Queensland with 18.7 million tonnes grading 1.3 per cent copper for 246,000 tonnes of contained metal.
• Weir launched the ENDURON Optimil vertical stirred mill, claiming energy savings of more than 40 per cent when combined with its HPGR technology, and has secured orders for 10 units in the first 12 months.
• BHP reported a record $1.1 billion in community expenditure across WA in FY2026, including $627 million with Indigenous and Traditional Owner businesses and more than $850 million paid to local suppliers.

Gold & Exploration

• Brightstar Resources intersected 305m at 2.66 g/t gold at Two Mile Hill in WA, its largest-ever Sandstone result on a grade-times-width basis, including 4m at 60.8 g/t and a narrower 0.9m at 241 g/t.
• Saturn Metals launched a 10,000m RC drilling program along the 26.5km Aquarius Gold Trend in the Leonora district, targeting a second gold centre 30km from its 2.83-million-ounce Apollo Hill project.
• Minerals 260 secured Works Approval from WA's environmental regulator for infrastructure at its 6.2-million-ounce Bullabulling gold project, advancing toward a final investment decision targeted for the first quarter of 2027.
• Aureka entered a binding agreement to acquire High Grade Holdings, parent of Core Prospecting, shifting from explorer to gold producer in Victoria with an inferred resource of more than 450,000 ounces grading over 2 g/t.
• Many Peaks launched a $60 million raising at $1 per share for its Ferké gold project in Côte d'Ivoire, funding feasibility work at the Ouarigue deposit and 30,000m-plus drilling along the 37km Leraba corridor.