Good morning, it’s Ainsley here with all the news you need to round off your working week.

Today’s must-reads:
• Dubai developers eye Australia
• New podcast on interest rates 
• Macquarie-backed LNG developer in limbo

What's happening now

Cashed-up Dubai property developers are looking to Australia for expansion. Arada Developments plans to build 2,500 homes and has bought six plots in Sydney and the Gold Coast. Sobha Realty, owned by a tycoon from India, is also looking Down Under. 

So when are we getting that rate cut? The RBA stood pat this week, defying widespread market expectations of a cut and disappointing mortgage holders. On our latest podcast, Chris Bourke and Swati Pandey break down the surprise call, what could shift the outlook, and how housing and Trump’s tariffs fit in.

Listen and follow The Bloomberg Australia Podcast on Apple, Spotify, on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Terminal clients: Run {NSUB AUPOD <GO>} on your desktop to subscribe.

Meanwhile, the RBA’s rate-setting board members will have to conduct at least one speech or public engagement a year, as well as publishing unattributed votes. The Statement on the Conduct of Monetary Policy released Thursday was shaped by the recommendations of an independent review of the central bank.

Our beef exports to the US jumped last month in the face of President Donald Trump’s new tariff regime, which saw the American leader specifically single out Canberra for refusing to accept adequate red meat imports.

Next stop, America. Photographer: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg

A Macquarie-backed LNG developer is in limbo after all of its staff left. WaveCrest Energy, based near Houston, continues to exist as an entity, but the 10 people previously employed there left in June, according to people familiar with the matter.

What happened overnight

Here’s what my colleague, market strategist Mike “Willo” Wilson says happened while we were sleeping…

The S&P 500 shook off trade jitters to post a record high overnight, helped by solid demand for a US government bond sale. Oil sank on the possibility that OPEC+ may pause output increases after its next monthly hike, raising concerns over energy demand. The dollar recovered earlier losses after data showed US jobless claims fell for a fourth week. However, the Aussie and kiwi dollars closed nearer to their session and week-to-date highs. Today, the regional calendar is thin, including China’s and Japan’s. So, barring unforeseen tweets, it should be a quiet run into the weekend.

In the US, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly said she still views two interest rate cuts as likely this year and sees a greater chance that the price effects from tariffs may be more muted than anticipated. 

Citadel Securities bought Morgan Stanley’s unit focused on electronic market-making for US equity options, expanding the firm’s already dominant role in the popular derivatives, according to people familiar with the matter. 

Hours after Trump threatened to hit Brazil with 50% tariffs, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said his government would retaliate with measures of its own. Trump’s brash intervention in Brazil’s domestic politics on behalf of his ally former president Jair Bolsonaro will just help his successor, writes Juan Pablo Spinetto in Bloomberg Opinion.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. Photographer: Dado Galdieri/Bloomberg

What to watch

Nothing major scheduled

One more thing...

The original Birkin bag has sold for a record €8.58 million (A$15.2 million) at auction. The black leather Hermès handbag made some 40 years ago for the late singer and actress Jane Birkin was sold in a bidding war that lasted more than 10 minutes at Sotheby’s in Paris Thursday. The buyer was a private collector from Japan, bidding via telephone, according to the auction house.
 

Jane Birkin's original Birkin bag. Photographer: Ela Lefvre