Hi QAVVERS,
It’s school holidays and we didn’t make it to Bundy, so I took a day off yesterday to go with the family and some friends to Stradbroke Island. I’ve lived in Brisbane for 18 years and this is only the third time I’ve made the effort to visit Straddie. Pretty appalling effort! It’s really beautiful over there. We should go at least once a year. Worth the two hour trip. We saw whales breaching and everything. My mate Aleksei took his drone and captured some cool whale footage as well as “cinematic” footage of Chrissy and I practising our kung fu forms on the beach (I’ll spare you from having to see that).
This week I’ve been listening to Shostakovich’s 10th Symphony. This is the one composed after Stalin died in 1953 (the second movement, apparently the “Stalin” movement, is pretty famous) and that features a completely bonkers, coded obsessive love letter to one of his former students in the last two movements.
AUSTRALIAN MARKET UPDATE
The All Ordinaries fell around 2.3% over the week to close Thursday at 8,794.4:
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The RBA lifted its cash rate target by 25 basis points to 4.60% on Tuesday 29 September, its fourth hike of 2026, citing elevated inflation and higher global energy prices from the broadening Middle East conflict. The cash rate is now at its highest level since late 2011.
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August monthly CPI showed headline inflation up 4.0% year-on-year, while trimmed mean came in at 3.6% year-on-year, unchanged for a third straight month and fractionally cooler than estimates. The softer inflation read gave investors brief breathing room on the rate trajectory, sparking a Wednesday relief rally.
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The ASX 200 dropped 174.9 points (-1.99%) to 8,614.4 on Thursday, its worst session since March, as higher oil prices drove rising bond yields globally. Around 176 constituents (88%) finished lower, with only a handful of resource, software and industrial names in positive territory.
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Lynas Rare Earths agreed to acquire ASX-listed miner Meteoric Resources in a court-approved scheme of arrangement worth A$968 million, with the deal set to increase Lynas’s measured and indicated rare earth oxide mineral resources by around 79%. The deal implies a price of 28.6 cents per Meteoric share, a 68.4% premium to its last closing price.
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Among the week’s notable individual movers, Liontown Resources was the worst performer on Thursday, falling 15.05% to 79 cents, while Lynas Rare Earths dropped 8.60% to $12.64.
US MARKET UPDATE
The S&P 500 fell 1.2% for the week ending September 30, closing at 7,651.54, its worst month since June:
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The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the August PCE price index, came in at 3.4% headline and 3.0% core, both well below estimates, and markets priced in a lower probability for an October rate hike, shifting expectations toward December.
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The 10-year Treasury yield hit 5.30% and the 30-year rose to 5.65%, both reaching their highest levels since 2002, keeping persistent pressure on equities through the week.
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Micron (MU) reported Q4 2026 revenue of $54.23 billion, up 379.3% year over year, beating the $51.07 billion consensus, with adjusted EPS of $33.42 against expectations of $31.61. Despite the blockbuster result, the stock failed to rally, having already risen more than 200% year to date.
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Elevated crude oil prices tied to ongoing US-Iran geopolitical tensions continued to push government bond yields higher throughout the week, weighing on sentiment.
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For September overall, the Dow fell 4.9%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.7%, while the Nasdaq managed a gain of 1.7%, with tech concentration the key differentiator in returns.
So, let’s get into my weekly updates and see where we are at.
All the Best, Cam
QAV MYTH KILLERS
Smarter Than Newton
STOCK ANALYSIS OF THE WEEK
Australian Members can check out the stocks we traded in QAV Australian Light portfolios this week.
American Members can check out the stocks we traded in QAV American Light portfolios this week.
Tony did a Pulled Pork on AIC Mines, a Queensland copper producer sitting on a fresh $120 million acquisition. Full details are in the podcast link below.
This week on the American show I did a deep dive on Caleres (CAL), a 148-year-old US shoe company whose brands run from Buster Brown all the way to Stuart Weitzman luxury boots. Check out the full episode at the link below.
BUY LIST
Each week, we produce a buy list based on our value investing system that we share with our QAV Club members. The intended primary purpose of this buy list is for club members to use as a reference for comparing their own buy list. In theory, all of our buy lists should look pretty similar each week.
AUSTRALIAN BUY LIST
QAV Value Investing Buy List (AU) 2026-09-26
U.S. BUY LIST
QAV Value Investing Buy List 2026-09-27
PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE
We compare our performance to what we think is the most relevant benchmark (SPDR 200 in Australia, S&P500 in the USA), but if you’re new to investing, these comparisons might not mean much. Instead, you can compare our performance to the top-performing Super Funds in Australia and see why an amateur active investor (who has a system to follow) can out-perform most of the “professionals”.
We publish a fresh performance snapshot once a month. Weekly noise doesn’t tell you much in a value-investing system — what matters is the trend. The end of September report will come out next week.
September 2026 performance snapshot.
Australian Model Portfolio: No trades this week.
American Model Portfolio: No trades this week.
Become a QAV Light Member today and start your investing on the right track
If you want to find out what we’re trading in QAV Light each week, sign up to become a member. You’ll get an email from me every Monday letting you know what we’re buying and selling in that portfolio. You can choose to copy our trades or not. It’s the easiest way to start your rules-based investing career… and you don’t even need to know the rules. I’ll follow the rules for you. It’s a good first step to eventually becoming a QAV Club member and learning how to run the system by yourself.
QAV LIGHT: Same destination. You choose where you sit.
(Note: Americans interested in joining QAV Light or Club please go here instead.)
Add QAV America — US stocks, the same QAV method
Already a QAV member? You can add QAV America as your second membership at 50% off — US-listed stocks, the same QAV approach, billed in AUD through this site (just one payment to keep an eye on). Add QAV America →
Not a QAV member yet? Join QAV first, then you can add QAV America at the 50% member rate.
THIS WEEK’S EPISODES
Global Consequences: QAV AU #949
Glow With Passion: QAV America #72
STOCK NEWS AND UPDATES
COMMODITIES
This week the big changes to commodities were the following:
| Commodity | Status |
|---|---|
| Platinum | JOSEPHINE |
TerraCom Limited (ASX: TER) – Continuation of Suspension
The securities of TerraCom Limited (‘TER’) were halted at the request of TER on 28 September 2026 under Listing Rule 17.1, pending the release of an announcement by TER regarding material impairments to the Company’s South African and Australian assets.
DISCLOSURE
Please review our trading and disclosure policy.
SIGNING OFF
SSDD!
- Cam
That’s it for the week!
QAV A GOOD SHAREMARKET!
Got a question? info@qavamerica.com