May: News

May 2026

Markets, Cryptos and Culture

May 23, 2026

Wall Street, New York

Aussie Weekend Edition!l Big Week; Ripple Effect! Bulls vs Bears continued

Road To WWE's Saturday Night's Main Event; Wrestling With Numbers And Creative

Digital Bush Telegraph

Australia and Wall St Continues To Ring Bells

Markets

ASX 200 futures down 58 points/0.7 per cent: 8627

AUD -0.3% to US71.27¢

Bitcoin $74,667.05 -3.59%

Wall St:
Dow +0.6%
S&P +0.4%
Nasdaq +0.2%

VIX -0.06 to 16.70
Gold -0.7% to $US4509.40 an ounce
Brent oil +1.4% to $US103.96 a barrel
Iron ore +0.3% to $US106.05 a tonne
10-year yield: US 4.56% Australia 4.92%

News

May 22 (Aust)

Numbers Double Check

Australian Dollar: $0.7147 USD (down $0.0003 USD)
Iron Ore: $105.95 USD (down $1.45 USD)
Oil Price (West Texas: $98.13 USD (down $0.95 USD)
Gold Price: $4,543.06 USD (down $1.06 USD)
Copper Price: $6.3455 USD (up $0.0110 USD)
Dow Jones: 50,285.66 (up 276.31 points)

News

Man 22

ASX rises 1.5pc in six week best as jobless rate spikes

The Australian sharemarket posted its biggest one-day gain in six weeks on Thursday, with the S&P/ASX 200 closing up 1.5 per cent at 8621.7 points. An unexpected rise in unemployment boosted optimism among investors that the Reserve Bank of Australia may not have to lift interest rates further, while eight of the 11 index sectors ended the day stronger. A recovery in the gold price saw Greatland Resources up five per cent to $12.91, while BHP ended a three-day losing streak by advancing 3.1 per cent to $59.10. The Commonwealth Bank rose 0.9 per cent to $164.13, while property firm Mirvac was up 2.4 per cent to $1.70. (RMS)

XRP
$1.3265 -2.43%

DOGE
$0.09935 -6.55%

News Lead Up

ASX closes up 1.2pc after Trump walks back Iran threats

The Australian sharemarket rebounded from a seven-week low on Tuesday, with the S&P/ASX 200 closing up 1.2 per cent at 8604.7 points. Its recovery was on the back of US President Donald Trump announcing he would delay further strikes on Iran, with the price of Brent crude down 1.5 per cent to $US110.40 by the close of trading. Stocks to rise included Woolworths, up 3.7 per cent to $34.21, and the National Australia Bank, which rose two per cent to $37.04, while TechnologyOne fell 2.9 per cent to $27.80 and NextDC declined 0.2 per cent to $14.55. (RMS)

News Lead Up

Media (Australia)

Karl Stefanovic and Eddie McGuire sign with Kyle and Jackie O's old radio company and Nine

Eddie McGuire and Karl Stefanovic are to host a new program on the streaming platforms of Nine Entertainment and radio network Gold every Friday, with the program to be called 'The Long Weekend'. With Stefanovic being the host of Nine's 'Today' program and McGuire the former Collingwood Football Club president, the deal that sees them broadcast the new program is regarded as a 'coup' for Gold owner ARN, following the loss of its 'marquee' breakfast show hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson. (RMS)

News (48 Hours Ago)

Silver And Gold

Silver caught in a price trap

After a long period of calm, volatility has returned to the silver market. Silver surged to a two-month high, rallying more than 20% from its May lows in just a week. However, concerns over tighter monetary policy and rising bond yields have since put pressure on prices.

Of course, the current fluctuations cannot be compared to what we saw in January, when a 35% drop occurred in a single day. Investors felt that the rally had gone too far. However, the situation does not yet look like a classic bubble burst, as silver prices are still 130% higher than a year ago, which is suppressing global demand. UBS estimates a 50 million-ounce decline this year, allowing the bank to lower its price forecast from $100 to $85 per ounce by the end of the second quarter.

High prices are forcing not only jewellers but also industrialists to seek alternatives for silver. There has been some success in replacing it with copper in the manufacture of solar panels. This sector accounts for a fifth of global supply. Due to the fall in global demand, the 46.3-million-ounce deficit forecast by the Silver Institute for 2026 may prove smaller, putting pressure on the price per ounce.

Silver is also facing weaker investment demand. Rising global bond yields and a stronger US dollar are putting pressure on the metal. UBS reports that speculative interest has fallen sharply, while silver ETF holdings have dropped by 70 million ounces since the start of the year, to 794 million ounces.

De-escalation in the Middle East could turn the tables. Oil, the US dollar and Treasury yields would fall, which would be positive for silver. However, as long as the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, it remains under pressure.

The silver market is relatively small compared to gold, which makes it more vulnerable to speculative trading. This often leads to sharper price moves in both directions. (FxPro)

News Lead Up

Sellers are pressing down on crypto

Market Overview

The crypto market is trading within a narrow range, having bounced off its upper boundary at $2.73T and retreated to $2.67T at the time of writing. New records on the US stock market have spurred crypto buyers into action, but this has proved insufficient to break through key resistance levels. We attribute this weak performance to the strengthening of the dollar, as evidenced by gold's dynamics. Over the past 24 hours, the top performers among the most liquid coins have been Dash (+4%), Zcash (+3.8%) and Uniswap (+3.1%), while fewer coins are losing ground, with the most significant losses seen in Internet Computer (-8%), Aptos (-1.1%) and Official Trump (-0.8%).

Riding a wave of optimism in equities, Bitcoin rose once again towards $82K, hitting the 200-day moving average once more. This is usually a signal line, but in May, it is acting as an impenetrable resistance level, capping the price from above. As a result, early on Friday, the price once again found itself just above $80K. The prevailing cautious sentiment in equities early on Friday is intensifying the outflow from cryptocurrencies, setting the stage for a decline towards the lower end of the range at $79K by the end of this week.

News Background

Institutional players are using the recent recovery to take profits, and this is not driven by fear or panic, according to Glassnode. CryptoQuant considers the risk of a further decline in Bitcoin to be real against this backdrop.

Activity among companies buying crypto assets for their reserves has also declined. According to Bitfinex, the volume of Bitcoin purchases by large companies has fallen by 80% over the week.

The volume of Ethereum in staking has exceeded 85 million coins — this is more than 70% of the cryptocurrency’s total supply, SharpLink has calculated. ETH reserves on exchanges also continue to decline, which may exacerbate the asset’s shortage.

The altcoin market has shown the first signs of recovery following a 50% drop from previous highs, notes analyst Darkfost. At the same time, liquidity remains limited, which is hindering the start of a sustained alt season.

Kevin Warsh, confirmed this week as the new Fed chair, has described Bitcoin as an “important asset” that helps authorities assess the state of the economy. He has invested in several crypto projects and holds Solana and Optimism tokens.

Following several months of discussions due to disagreements between banks and crypto companies, the US Senate Banking Committee on Thursday approved the CLARITY Act, a bill on the structure of the cryptocurrency market. The bill will now be put before the full Senate for consideration. Bankers fear that the yield on stablecoins stipulated in the bill will lead to an outflow of funds from bank deposits. (FxPro)

News

(ICYMI)

Conor McGregor Rematches Max Holloway at UFC 329

UFC 329 on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena headlines with this welterweight rematch during International Fight Week, airing live on Paramount+. McGregor, 22-6 and last fighting in 2021 after a tibia fracture, meets Holloway, 27-9, in his welterweight debut—the ex-featherweight champ aiming to make a statement. Trash talk flew fast: McGregor promised to 'son' Holloway again, while 'Blessed' fired back demanding respect on his name. Early odds favor Holloway at -500 amid McGregor's ring rust.

The Lead Up

TKO Neg With Talent/Wrestling With Numbers And Contracts; If The New Price Is Right Mr Wrestling and Ms Wrestling; Mr Corbin aka Mr Lucky enjoying strong buzz: Join the dots; Mr Kross Of WSW and MLW Enjoys Strong Mega Buzz In Australia and Globally: World Series Wrestling, Belt Collector! WSW YouTube Is Updated!

UFC MMA and U.S Admin Mix It Up With Fighters Visiting White House; Patriots Well Received In And Around Oval Office; Present Trump Gets Welcome Image Revamp Of Sorts; Keeping The Wars In The Octagon!

Legendary WWE Tagteam Rumored To Return To Roster; No Names/Spoilers - Join The Dots .. And You Can't Beat That ... Ok, Not .S.A.W.F.T...Hard On The Mic + +

Red Turns To Green And Gold!

News

Netflix MMA Debut Peaks at 11.6 Million U.S. Viewers with Rousey Win

On May 16 at Los Angeles' Intuit Dome, MVP's triple-main-event card averaged 9.3 million U.S. viewers and peaked at 11.6 million during Rousey's featherweight submission over Carano, topping the prior MMA high from 2011. Other highlights included Mike Perry's corner-stoppage win over Nate Diaz and Francis Ngannou's first-round knockout of Philipe Lins, drawing star power from fighters like Rousey and Ngannou. Promoters Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian celebrated the global reach and 410 million social impressions, though podcaster Brendan Schaub questioned the figures and off-cage drama saw Claressa Shields banned after a VIP-area altercation with Alycia Baumgardner. (Media Man Peg-On): Are the numbers and biz model sustainable? Perhaps only if Netflix keeps green lighting them. Is there a return on investment if you are Netflix? Insiders and outsiders continue to debate broadcast!

News

Pop Culture Ref: "The Wall Street Shuffle" (10 cc)

LinkedIn b2b Business Continues To Lift For Media Man Group and Associates

Media And Broadcasting Legend Ted Turner Dies (May 6); 100s Of Tributes Globally; Media, Entertainment And Sports Business World Pays Tribute; Turner Company Helped 1000s Globally In Career And Business; Online Tributes Live On For Many Who Find It Hard To Let Go Of Good Times And Boom Days In Biz And Career History Says Aussie Media Man Ex Aussie Cable Guy In PPV, Pay TV And Combat Arena With World Channels Team

News (ICYMI)

Alphabet/Google Cracks TIME 100 Cover; Positive Buzz

Beast Industries aka MrBeast TIME Top 100 Influencer;

Post Buzz Continues For TIME Media Darlings

TKO/WWE In And Out Of The Ring Continues; Up and Down Cycle; TKO's Nick Khan Offer Positive Vibes To US Admin Re Ali Act Amendment; Counter Punch by some competitors; Road To WWE Clash In Italy and WWE SNME

TKO Prez Mark Shapiro Admits Back To Back WrestleMania's In Sin City Las Vegas May Have Been Mistake; Will Return To City To City Strategy, No Repeat City's For WrestleMania In Future

TKO's LinkedIn Continues To Enjoy Strong News Media Buzz; Google LinkedIn Numbers Up; Search Engine Journal LinkedIn; Rio Tinto (Mining) Strong LinkedIn Media Vibes And Buzz

News

WWE's Danhausen Offers Mega Exposure To Rootless Coffee And WWE Merch; Number 3 Best Seller Of WWE Merch With Human Monies; Danhausen ESPN News! Very Nice!

Media Man LinkedIn and X Up; Road To WWE Clash In Italy and WWE SNME

Google/Alphabet Earnings Bullish

May 22, 2026

Markets

Coffee 271.56 -1.84

Cocoa 3816.75 +49.75

Sillicon 8310.00 Flat

Silver 75.350 -1.297

Newsfeed

News Lead Up

160 + Hours Ago

BTC/Cryptos

Bitcoin hits the pause button at $80K

Market Overview

The crypto market capitalisation has stalled at around $2.70 trillion, reflecting Bitcoin’s indecision around $80,000. At the same time, risk aversion is mounting in global markets, which can be easily linked to profit-taking following the rally and the US dollar's upward momentum. Among the top coins, the leaders over the past day were Theta (+8.5%), Toncoin (+4.9%) and NEAR Protocol (+2.1%). The underperformers were Dash (-4.2%), Official Trump (-3.5%) and Zcash (-3.5%).

The sentiment index has settled just below the midpoint of the range, recording readings of 47, 48 and 49 over the last three days. At the same time, we continue to note how difficult it is for the crypto market to consolidate at the upper end of the spectrum, which indicates a predominance of bears.

Bitcoin points to much the same thing, having lost its upward momentum as it approached the 200-day moving average. Although this line is trending downwards, the market has failed to break through it for the past six days. On the other hand, as the decline is quite modest, it resembles nothing more than a breather following a rally, leaving a strong chance of growth resuming.

News Background

According to CoinShares, global investments in crypto funds rose by $858 million last week. Investments in Bitcoin increased by $706 million, in Ethereum by $77 million, in Solana by $48 million, and in XRP by $40 million. Outflows from Bitcoin short positions totalling $14 million marked the largest of the year.

Investments rose amid a compromise on stablecoin yields under the CLARITY Act. The Senate Banking Committee is expected to consider the bill next week, CoinShares notes.

Strategy acquired 535 BTC for $43 million last week — at an average price of $80,340 per coin. The week before, the company skipped its weekly BTC purchase ahead of its quarterly report. Strategy now holds 818,869 BTC, purchased for $61.86 billion at an average price of $75,540 per Bitcoin.

Strategy will continue to build up its reserves of the leading cryptocurrency. At the same time, the volume of purchases will significantly exceed any potential sales, stated the company’s founder, Michael Saylor. According to him, it is important to remain a ‘net buyer’ and end each year with more coins than at the start.

Jordi Visser, founder of 22V Research, has increased his investment in Ethereum. In his view, this year will see the start of mass asset tokenisation, which will form the basis for payments by AI agents. For autonomous transactions, they will need digital assets such as Ethereum or stablecoins. (FxPro). (Media Man Peg-On): Can we call Michael Saylor the "King Of Bulls". Awesome PR machine and LinkedIn buzz. Join the dots!

News

Media Man with Cafe News Media Watercooler

Beer killer? Rise of the vodka RTD

Gold Coast-based drinks maker Hard Fizz emerged at around the time of the pandemic, while the ready-to-drink canned beverage market boomed after the pandemic. Hard Fizz originally focused on alcoholic seltzer drinks, but it is now switching to vodka-based canned drinks, with CEO Wade Tiller saying the change is because you are more limited with flavour when you use seltzer. Hard Fizz's seltzer sales have slumped over the past year, at a time when there is a broader consumer shift to RTDs, while vodka-based light RTDs account for 75 per cent of Australian RTD sales. (RMS)

News

oOh!media rejects $770m offer, triggers bidding war

The board of listed outdoor advertising group oOh!media has advised that it is open to further takeover approaches after spurning two suitors. The company has indicated that it assessed both offers and deemed that neither reflected its intrinsic value. US-based private equity firm I Squared Capital had offered $1.45 per share, valuing its bid at $770m; it had trumped a previous offer from Pacific Equity Partners of $1.40 per share. Brian Han from Morningstar says the rejection of both offers means that oOh!media's directors have effectively put up a 'for auction' sign. (RMS)

News

AI News

The hidden expenses in banking's AI rollout

Tokens have been described as the hidden cost of using artificial intelligence, with tokens being a basic unit that measures how much data is being processed through autonomous AI models such as Anthropic's Claude. Westpac's CEO Anthony Miller told a recent investment banking conference that the bank was still in the process of working out how to disclose token use and productivity, with the cost of tokens depending on the model used. Noel Williams from PwC says the cost of tokens is definitely something that the big banks need to take into consideration, while Goldman Sachs analysts claimed recently that token consumption would increase 22-fold by 2030 and 55-fold by 2040. (RMS)

News

Shares

TKO Group Holdings Inc
$191.50
-0.13 -0.068%

Alphabet Inc Class A
$382.97
-4.69 -1.21%

Meta Platforms Inc
$610.26
+2.88 +0.47%

Netflix Inc
$88.60
-0.70 -0.78%

Wynn Resorts Ltd
$97.24
-1.30 -1.32%

MGM Resorts International
$38.40
+0.74 +1.96%

News

(ICYMI)

MGM Vegas

Heyman Hustle/Paul Heyman - Live At MGM

News

Heyman’s involvement ties into his Looking4Larry Agency’s creative work and a broader MGM Studios partnershipMGM Live is the new entertainment/content brand for MGM Resorts International’s Las Vegas properties. It launched on Instagram with a debut reel featuring Paul Heyman and UFC President Dana White together at an EZ Baccarat table at the Live at Park MGM venue on the Las Vegas.

This marks a notable crossover, as UFC and WWE are both under TKO Group Holdings. Park MGM has hosted WWE events (like the 2026 Hall of Fame) and UFC PPVs.

Heyman shot disruptive/late-night content there during WrestleMania week, including:His TikTok debut from Park MGM (talking about Brock Lesnar, WrestleMania, etc.).

"Heyman on Heyman" interview with his son Jacob for HeymanHustleTV. Multiple Instagram/TikTok reels embracing his "King of New York (and everywhere else)" persona while promoting MGM.

News

Big Tech

(ICYMI)

Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta Platforms Report Q1 2026 Earnings Beating Expectations

Alphabet reported Q1 2026 revenue of $109.9 billion and EPS of $5.11, surpassing estimates, with Google Cloud revenue up 63% to $20 billion.

Microsoft reported fiscal Q3 2026 revenue of $82.89 billion and EPS of $4.27, beating expectations, driven by 39-40% Azure growth.

Amazon reported Q1 2026 revenue of $181.5 billion and EPS of $2.78 exceeding forecasts, with AWS up 28%, while Meta reported Q1 2026 revenue of $56.3 billion and EPS of $10.44 above estimates.

News

Media (Aust)

May 22

James Murdoch gets Rupert's old New York mag in $419m Vox deal

James Murdoch has purchased roughly half of Vox Media in a deal reportedly worth $US300 million ($419 million). It is the first big purchase by James Murdoch since he 'cashed out' his $US1.1 billion share of the Murdoch family business in a 2025 settlement that ended a acrimonious succession dispute, with James Murdoch being the youngest son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Vox Media's assets include 'New York' magazine, which his father owned from 1976 to 1991, along with a podcast network that includes shows such as 'Where Should We Begin?' (RMS)

Media Man (Anti Peg-On): Succession?!? May be interesting lunch or dinner banter. Boar On The Floor? If you can make it in New York and/or Sydhey, you can make it anywhere?!

News

Sports Biz (Aust)

AFL star set to make more money from one game than he earns in a year

Collingwood player Scott Pendlebury will break the record for the most number of games played by an VFL/AFL player when he lines up against the West Coast Eagles this weekend. Collingwood and the AFL have approved a special commercial arrangement for Pendlebury that will enable him to 'capture' 100 per cent of a vast array of merchandise created for the occasion, rather than the usual 65 per cent player cut. It has been estimated that Pendlebury could make more than $500,000 from the event, which is more than his annual salary, while he is currently involved in a legal battle with his former manager Jason Sourasis, with Pendlebury claiming Sourasis took $2.6 million from his accounts over an extended period "without his knowledge". (RMS)

News

Pop Culture/Lucha Libre

AAA Announces New General Manager Reveal on May 23

On the April 25 episode of AAA on Fox, President Marisela Peña announced that Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide will get a new General Manager, with the live reveal set for May 23 in Mexico City. This follows her son Dorian Roldán's recent plea for the role, which she decided to open to other candidates after careful thought. Fans are speculating on names like Zelina Vega, Rey Mysterio, or even The Undertaker, amid AAA's growth since WWE's majority stake acquisition last April and its new Fox broadcasts blending lucha action with WWE polish. (Media Man Peg-On): Ariba. Triple A has massive influence from The Undertaker, and it's paying off as far as entertainment value for fans and in other creative and business ways from what we see and hear. Can see see Danhausen in Triple H also? Lucha Hausen! And Vice City Rocks!

News Lead

UFC - MMA Building Stars Again; SS King Of Division, Substance And Hype; Yan UFC Bonus; Dana White Inks McGregor for UFC 329

New York Kind Of Feeling

US Stocks - Black Friday and In Australia Black Tuesday aftermath

Road To WWE Clash In Italy

Road To WWE Saturday Night's Main Event

WWE Management And Wrestlers Bullish; Wrestling and Boxing; WrestleMania Not Returning To Vegas For Long Time After Repeat Let Down

Sports Biz Event Tickets And Merch Drive

Danhausen Lifts WWE Merch Hausen

News

Media Man Group Weekly Series

Pop Culture Dream Matches

New Blood vs New Day vs Old News

GCW Bloodspot vs The Others

MGM Wrestling vs Atlantic City

Mr UFC vs Upstart MMA's

Bam Bam vs Father Time

UFC vs Outlaw Mud Shows

MVP vs Weekend Warriors

WBD Wrestling vs Own Goal

Mr Dingo Driver vs Dingo Warrior

New School vs Old School

Paul Heyman and Son and MGM Gamification vs others!

PopWrecked vs Karen

Studio97 vs others: Catfight Rules!

FHM vs MAXIM

Danhausen and Minihuasen vs Fraxiom

Oba Femi vs Lockeroom

x AI vs others!

T. Abbott (Aust) and P. Hanson vs Wokes

Rousey vs self

Rousey and Gina vs Critics

Ali vs self

The Man In The Arena vs self

Netflix vs Paramount Plus vs YouTube - 3 Way Dance! Special Ref: Easy E. Share The Love! Enough For The Big 3!

Ultra A.I vs Human Full Bloods

Extreme Swimming vs Traditional Swimming

Ex Machina vs Cave Man

Rudos vs Technicos (Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide)

Killer Kross vs All; KK The Belt Collector!

Mr News vs Mr VOX *That's with a V, not FOX)!

FOX vs The Hare: Fox And The Hound! Re-match. NYC Rules!

News

Best Quotes Of The Day

"What's your hustle" Paul Heyman

"Everyone you meet knows something you don't know" Anon

"An investment in ones self is always the best bet" Greg Tingle, Media Man Group

"The consumer and fans decide what and who is the best" Greg Tingle, Media Man Group

"More often than not it pays to be Google friendly" Greg Tingle, Media Man Group (repeated at Google Search Central Live, Sydney, Australia)

Media Man