Forrest’s China attack, super funds look to AI

FMG's Forrest hits back at China, Super funds look to AI

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Good morning from Melbourne, in an extraordinary outburst delivered from China, billionaire Andrew Forrest accused that nation's state-backed iron-ore trader of trying to set up a cartel. Australia's top superannuation funds reckon artificial intelligence is a major US investment opportunity — what's less certain is how they'll pick future winners as bubble fears mount. Meantime, airlines have left tens of thousands of passengers stranded due to the Iran war, while driving isn't getting any cheaper either, with hundreds of petrol stations out of fuel across Australia. — Paul-Alain Hunt, Metals and Mining reporter What's happening now Fresh from a tour of Silicon Valley, Washington and New York — where Australian superannuation chiefs met top investors and Trump administration officials eager to tap the world's fastest-growing pool of retirement savings — the mega-funds are this week hosting Wall Street leaders on home turf as they hunt for places to deploy their record inflows. Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest — the billionaire founder of Fortescue Ltd — has slammed China's state-backed trader over the tactics it has used to negotiate lower prices of iron ore. The key steelmaking ingredient is key to Australia's economy, and the nation won't be backed into a corner, he warned. Andrew Forrest, chairman of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg Left on the tarmac: tens of thousands of passengers remain stranded weeks into the Iran conflict, as mass cancellations across Gulf hubs overwhelm carriers and leave travelers scrambling to find ways home. Meanwhile, other Asian countries are hoarding jet fuel, reflecting growing strains on the aviation industry. The crisis is rapidly spreading as governments pivot to self-preservation. At least 600 retail sites across the country have run out of at least one type of fuel, Energy Minister Chris Bowen told parliament. The shortages were mainly concentrated in the two most populous states, New South Wales and Victoria, where it has affected about 10% of outlets. Australia has a narrow window to position itself as a regional hub for artificial intelligence infrastructure, but risks falling behind unless investment and policy action accelerate, according to Deloitte Access Economics. The world's second-biggest miner, Rio Tinto Group, has been gifted A$2 billion in taxpayer funds to keep the lights on at the Boyne aluminium smelter. The bailout is to help Rio transition the carbon-intensive project to run on renewable energy. But the story is far deeper. Smelters and refineries across the world have shut over decades gone by due to China's mass expansion. Inflation was already on the way up before President Donald Trump decided to unleash war on Iran. That said, the impact of the Middle East conflict is expected to drive a sharp lift in fuel prices in the March release, with James McIntyre at Bloomberg Economics expecting the unfolding energy shock to dramatically worsen Australia's inflation trajectory. What happened overnight Stocks and bonds rose while oil fell as traders weighing the viability of US-Iran ceasefire talks sent markets to a series of swings. The S&P 500 advanced for a second time this week as US efforts to end the war gathered pace, eclipsing news that Iran rejected a truce proposal and maintained its military strikes. Brent settled around $102 a barrel. Treasuries pared their March losses. Gold climbed. The White House insisted that peace talks with Iran are ongoing, even as Tehran publicly rejected US overtures and issued fresh conditions of its own to end the conflict that's wreaked havoc across the Middle East and global markets. Meanwhile, Turkey is conducting intensive diplomatic efforts to try and prevent Gulf Arab countries from joining the US-Israeli war against Iran, according to people familiar with the matter. Don Tzu, a portmanteau of Donald Trump and Sun Tzu, is a newish genre of internet memes that aptly summarizes the strategic position of the White House roughly a month after the American president launched his war against Iran, writes Bloomberg Opinion's Andreas Kluth. Indian billionaire Gautam Adani is in talks with American technology giants including Meta Platforms Inc. and Google for partnerships in his fast-expanding data center business, according to people familiar with the matter. Walmart Inc.'s Flipkart is also engaged in talks with the tycoon and the Adani Group is exploring sites across Indian states for the centers. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will hold their highly anticipated summit in Beijing on May 14-15, following a delay that brought fresh uncertainty to relations between the world's largest economies. Wall Street is awash in "massive pools of capital" that should drive M&A activity over the long-term, even as volatility upends dealmaking, according to one of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s top dealmakers, Stephan Feldgoise. What to watch • 9:15 a.m.: RBA Assistant Governor Christopher Kent speaks in Sydney One more thing... By 2050, vulnerable countries will see an increase in heat-related deaths equivalent to current fatalities from common diseases. Poor countries may lose 10 times more people to deaths from high temperatures than rich ones, according to an analysis by Climate Impact Lab. A man takes a shower during a hot afternoon in Miami Beach, Florida, in July 2025. 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