<div id="readability-page-1"><div>Hi there! This article is an excerpt from our weekend newsletter - which talks all things markets plus some interesting data insights and memesJoin 100,000+ readers receiving the Newsletter every Sunday morning - Register here. It's free.Corporate chatter, Lithium M&amp;A and Data centre dealsHi there!What a wild week for markets – Brent ping-ponged between US$115 and $96, the RBA hiked rates for a third consecutive meeting, and the ASX 200 soared on Wed-Thu before tumbling on Friday, with plenty more drama in between.It feels like the only thing that's bullish about the Australian market is a potential (or resumption) of the commodity supercycle. Outside of resources, most sectors feel rather challenged.This bifurcation is just as prevalent on Wall Street, where insatiable AI demand continues to push the S&amp;P 500 and Nasdaq to fresh all-time highs. But beneath the surface, the picture is far less rosy, and many companies have quietly taken a turn for the worse.Commentary from Whirlpool this week really stuck with me. CEO Marc Bitzer observed a 7.4% decline in US appliance industry demand in the March quarter, noting that &#34;this level of industry decline is similar to what we have observed during the global financial crisis and even higher than during other recessionary periods.&#34;This week, we highlight some corporate chatter from local retailers and some other tidbits of interest. Let’s dive in.Investor sentiment surveyOver the next three months, do you expect the Australian stock market to be:<ul><li>Bullish</li><li>Neutral</li><li>Bearish</li></ul>What companies are saying this weekA very busy week for corporate updates, largely due to the Macquarie Conference (which features over 100 large caps), with a clear theme emerging of softening consumer sentiment and trading conditions through March and April amid heightened geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty.<ul><li>Accent Group: &#34;Trading to the end of March was in line with its prior guidance and expectations. However, following the escalation in geopolitical tensions in late March, which contributed to higher fuel prices and a significant deterioration in consumer confidence, both sales and gross margin were adversely impacted during April. As a result of the changes in macroeconomic conditions, and the Company’s expectation that these conditions are unlikely to abate in the short term.”</li><li>Endeavour Group: “Following a strong start to Q3 trading, sales momentum in Hotels began to soften in March. Sales growth moderated across all drivers – food, bar, gaming, and accommodation.”</li><li>Flight Centre: “Current turmoil having a more significant impact on leisure results to date. Global corporate business has not significantly affected so far.”</li><li>Vicinity Centres: “Shopper confidence to spend remained robust in 3Q FY26, with total portfolio sales up +3.4%. Excluding luxury – which moderated in March - total portfolio sales increased +4.1%”</li><li>JB Hi-Fi: “We are seeing significant supplier component related cost increases and stock availability shortages, along with heightened competitive activity.”</li><li>Super Retail Group: “After a strong start to the year, trading conditions in the Auto category moderated through March and April. The impact was most evident in discretionary categories such as power tools, partially offset by increased demand in fuel related and DIY categories including maintenance, braking and trailer components.”</li></ul>There's a pretty clear inflection point in late March, evident across multiple retailers. Accent Group (footwear), Super Retail (power tools), and luxury retail (per Vicinity) all flagged moderation, while staples and essentials (DIY maintenance, fuel-related auto categories) are holding up better. This is a pretty cautious read through as we head into Q4 and FY26 reporting season.Lithium M&amp;A is on the riseLithium continues to go from strength-to-strength, with Chinese lithium carbonate futures up around 5% this week to 198,000 yuan a tonne, the highest since August 2023.Commodity price aside, we’re starting to see some encouraging transactions.<ul><li>Atlantic Lithium (7-May) to be acquired by China's Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt for an all-cash bid of approximately 35.4 cents per share or a 26.6% premium to its last close</li><li>European Lithium (28-Apr) is working its way through a $835m bid from Critical Metals (137% premium)</li><li>Global Lithium (22-Apr) signed an offtake deal with China’s Lopal Tech Group, which features an equity investment of $7.3m and prepayment of US$75m as part of a 10-year offtake for at least 70,000 tonnes of lithium</li></ul>You wouldn't exactly see this kind of activity 12-24 months ago, and for Global Lithium – why would an offtake partner agree to prepay such a sizeable sum to a developer, rather than simply sourcing from an existing producer?What a week for data centresThis week featured two massive catalysts for rather battered data centre stocks.<ul><li>DigiCo Infrastructure REIT: Announced the binding US$750m sale of its Chicago CHI1 facility at a ~5% premium to purchase price, strengthening its balance sheet (gearing down to 17% from 36%) and freeing capital to fund the accretive SYD1 88MW expansion. Management also flagged intent to explore capital management initiatives</li><li>Infratil: CDC Data Centres (49.7% owned by IFT) signed a 555MW contract with a US investment grade customer, the largest data centre contract in Australian history, lifting CDC's total contracted capacity beyond 1GW with EBITDAF expected to exceed $1bn in FY28 (and ~$2bn annualised when fully deployed)</li></ul>Both announcements dropped on Wednesday, 6 April, with DigiCo and Infratil shares surging 25% and 14.95% respectively.I think these announcements tell us a few things about the data centre space.<ul><li>Goodbye easy gains. The glory days of 2015-2020 are done. The space is now well-researched, heavy on capex and debt, sensitive to interest rates, and carries long lead times before assets even touch profitability</li><li>Accretive assets. DigiCo didn’t make a distressed sale. It was a value accretive one that’s going towards all the good stuff: lower gearing, funding accretive expansions, and opening the door for capital management and potentially further divestments down the track.</li><li>Insatiable demand: Despite the more challenging backdrop above, the contracts keep getting bigger. CDC's 555MW deal being the largest in Australian history is a reminder that hyperscaler appetite shows no signs of slowing.</li></ul>Last laughsAh yes, let's throw another deadly virus into the mix.</div></div>

DCRU

This weekend's newsletter discusses recent market fluctuations, including Brent crude oil prices and the RBA's interest rate hikes. It highlights a decline in consumer sentiment among retailers due to geopolitical tensions. Notable corporate updates reveal softening sales across various sectors. Additionally, lithium mergers and acquisitions are on the rise, with significant transactions reported. Data centre stocks also saw positive developments, including a major sale by DigiCo Infrastructure REIT, which aims to strengthen its balance sheet and fund expansions.

Weekend Wrap: Corporate chatter, Lithium M&A and Data centre deals