Good morning,

Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue 'painted' former executives who started a rival business as dishonest in order to persuade a judge to allow the mining giant to raid their homes, the Federal Court has heard as the ex-employees seek to have the search orders thrown out and all material collected returned to them.

Meanwhile, insurance group Suncorp has warned the rush to meet Australia’s housing shortage risks baking in the potential for property damage and disasters, as it also flagged premiums were set to continue rising to meet surging inflationary costs.

And the August reporting season is giving investors hope of an earnings recovery linked to an improving demand outlook, even as sustained high interest rates are having mixed impacts, writes markets editor David Rogers.