PinnedTue 26 May 2026 at 7:18amTue 26 May 2026 at 7:18amMarket snapshotBy Daniel ZifferASX 200 futures: +0.2% to 8,735 pointsAustralian dollar: Flat at 71.71US centsS&P 500: ClosedFTSE: ClosedEuroStoxx: +1% to 631 pointsSpot gold: +1.4% to $US4,570/ounceBrent crude: -7% to $US96.30/barrelIron ore: -0.1% to $US109.67/tonneBitcoin: +0.4% to $77,264Prices current around 7:15am AEDT.Live updates on the major ASX indices:Tue 26 May 2026 at 8:44amTue 26 May 2026 at 8:44amPower prices to fallBy Daniel ZifferPotentially not what you were expecting, but this has been coming.Power prices on the East Coast are set to fall.Surging levels of renewable energy and better reliability from coal-fired generators are set to give consumers a break, with benchmark power prices to fall up to 10 per cent for consumers and more for small businesses.In what will be welcome news to power users weary from years of big tariff hikes, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has decided to cut the default market offer (DMO) in several states.The offers act as a safety net by setting the maximum, or ceiling, price retailers can charge affected customers.Fewer than one in ten households are on a default offer, but experts say they are a key reference by which all other power prices are measured.Tue 26 May 2026 at 8:32amTue 26 May 2026 at 8:32amUS futures up on peace deal hopesBy Daniel ZifferI've done badly looking at the past US markets today, so let's focus on the future!With the hope that a peace deal with Iran will lead to the imminent resumption of energy supply, markets are up.That's no shock: the Strait of Hormuz is involved in the transport of anything from 10-20% of the world's petroleum and LNG supply.Here's where futures are at the moment:Dow Jones - up 0.9%.S&P 500 up 0.9%Nasdaq up 1.2%Key EventTue 26 May 2026 at 8:30amTue 26 May 2026 at 8:30amBreaking: Power prices to fall for most customers, bigger drops for businessesBy Stephanie ChalmersIn news just out, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has decided to cut the default market offer (DMO) in several states.Power prices will fall by up to 7.7% in New South Wales, 10.7% in south-east Queensland, and 1.1% in South Australia.Some customers in South Australia, however, will see an increase of 1.4%.The range in prices is due to some people being on a flat rate, while others are on a time-of-use tariff, which changes throughout the day.But small businesses in all three regions will see much bigger falls in their power bills, down as much as 12.8% in South Australia, 14% in south-east Queensland, and as much as 20.9% in New South Wales.Read more from energy reporter Daniel Mercer:Tue 26 May 2026 at 8:11amTue 26 May 2026 at 8:11amCGT changes to GO forward as ALP pushes throughBy Daniel ZifferLooks like that "AI Albo" campaign didn't get the win it was hoping for.My Canberra colleagues report that Labor will press ahead with its controversial capital gains tax (CGT) overhaul as it continues consultations with businesses, despite privately signalling any carve-outs will remain limited.The federal government plans to introduce legislation bundling multiple budget measures in the House of Representatives on Thursday.Here's the detail:Tue 26 May 2026 at 8:07amTue 26 May 2026 at 8:07amUS markets closed for Memorial DayBy Daniel ZifferMy apologies, in the market snapshot, I'd put figures for the US markets.But they've been shut for the Memorial Day holiday.The figures were from Friday's close.US markets will re-open at 11.30PM AEST this evening.Tue 26 May 2026 at 7:46amTue 26 May 2026 at 7:46amSecret documents show BHP may struggle to reach net zero by 2050By Daniel ZifferHow are they going to make it? That's been the question in the mining industry, and secret documents obtained exclusively by Four Corners and Guardian Australia shed more light on it.The "it" is the ambition and necessity of the world's biggest miner reducing its carbon emissions.Doing so is costly, but not doing so may be more so, as the cost of abatement rises and markets like Europe effectively impose tariffs on products associated with emissions.BHP's vast WA iron ore operations are forecast to cut emissions by just 1 per cent by 2030, leaked internal documents reveal, raising doubts within the company about whether it can meet its pledge to reach net zero by 2050.The documents focus on BHP's operations in WA. Given that those mines account for 30 per cent of BHP's global emissions, big cuts would be needed in the Pilbara to achieve the 2050 goal.The mining giant's delay in the rollout of renewable energy and its first fleet of electric trucks and trains has raised doubts inside the company about whether it can meet its ambitious climate goal."Solutions are still being sought to achieve net zero," it said in a memo from May last year.Separately, the document said delaying climate action into the 2040s "risks achieving 2050 goal".In another document, BHP staff noted its decision to stick with diesel trucks at one Pilbara mine was "inconsistent with the trajectory for greenhouse gas abatement and pathways to net zero".Tim Buckley from the think tank Climate Energy Finance said BHP was not currently on track to meet net zero operational emissions by 2050."Their actions are not aligned with the science," he said.Tue 26 May 2026 at 7:29amTue 26 May 2026 at 7:29amOil tumbles 7% on peace deal hopesBy Daniel ZifferWhat's happening with oil? Here are the latest headlines:Oil prices drop as US-Iran peace talks progress, Strait of Hormuz reopening eyedAnalysts caution oil flows may take months to normalize even if deal is reachedSome tankers have passed through strait, shipping data showsOil prices fell nearly 7% on Monday as optimism grew that the United States and Iran were moving closer to a peace deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, although Washington and Tehran downplayed hopes for an imminent breakthrough.Brent crude futures fell $7.24, or almost 7%, to $96.30 a barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate futures fell $6.30, or 6.5%, to $90.88.(All figures in this post are in US dollars).Trading volumes were light due to the US Memorial Day holiday.Iran's top negotiator and its foreign minister were in Doha for talks with Qatar's prime minister on a potential deal with the US to end the three-month-old war, an official briefed on the visit said Monday.Both sides said they had made progress on a memorandum of understanding that would halt the war and give negotiators 60 days to reach a final deal.'Get some oil moving'"Even though it's not done, there seems to be some hope that we will start to get some oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst with Price Futures Group.But Rory Johnston, founder of the Commodity Context newsletter, sounded a note of caution."We've routinely gotten close and then collapsed on the details multiple times over the past couple of months, and Hormuz remains closed," Johnston said.In a lengthy Truth Social post on Monday, US President Donald Trump said talks with Iran were going "nicely," but warned of fresh attacks if they failed.He urged more Arab and Muslim states to sign up to the Abraham Accords, which were brokered during Trump's first term in office and aim to normalise ties between Arab and other Muslim-majority states and Israel."That could mean a significant reduction of risk premium in the Middle East, especially if a deal with Iran can be done and Iran gives up their nuclear material," Flynn said.Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday it was negotiating an end to the war and was not currently discussing nuclear issues.Even if a peace deal is reached, analysts expect a return to normal oil flows through the strait will take months, while damaged oil and gas facilities are repaired."The underlying supply shortfall of 10-11 (million barrels per day) of crude oil does not go away immediately and will see markets still drawing inventories until Middle Eastern crude production is back online, which is months away," said Sparta Commodities analyst June Goh."We continue to believe that the key factors for the oil market to watch should be the physical oil flows, and so far, flows through the strait remain restricted," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.Ship-tracking data showed that three liquefied natural gas tankers passed through the strait in recent days, heading to Pakistan, China and India, as well as a supertanker carrying Iraqi crude to China after being stranded for nearly three months.- Amanda Stephenson of Reuters NewsTue 26 May 2026 at 7:14amTue 26 May 2026 at 7:14amLet's get going!By Daniel ZifferHello, I'm Daniel Ziffer from the ABC business team, and I'll be taking you through the morning on our business, finance and economics blog.Overnight, Wall Street was closed for the Memorial Day holiday.It was a positive session for European stocks, with the EuroStoxx 50 up 1.1%.Our market is set to lift, with the ASX 200 futures index tipping a rise of +0.2% or 24 points to 8,735.There’s lots to get to, all of it news, analysis and information and none of it financial advice.Let’s get started!