Oil output set to jump in January
A Jan. 4 meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, is set to boost output by 500,000 barrels per day in January.
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No clear signals for currency markets as we head into 2021
2020 saw the US dollar post its biggest yearly loss since 2017 and the Aussie dollar hit 33 month highs in one of its strongest performances in years. How do they look in 2021?
Read MoreOil: 2020 a struggle, where to in 2021?
Oil prices might have finished 2020 on the up, but for the year as a whole it was a losing year – down more than 20% as the coronavirus depressed economic activity. What might 2021 hold for the sector?
Read More2020: the year in review
Thanks to COVID-19, 2020 turned out to be a miserable year for the ASX, though the record amount of support from central banks here and offshore as well as the Federal and state governments financed the turnaround in sentiment and share prices in the final 9 months of the year.
Read MoreMixed messages from Exxon muddy the oil sector
Good and bad news from Exxon with an improved revenue profile offset by huge write-downs. What will 2021 hold for the oil sector?
Read MoreChina manufacturing comes off the boil
Some signs of cooling in China’s huge manufacturing sector as it ended a chaotic 2020 in December, according to the first survey of activity for the month from the country’s National Statistics Bureau on New Year’s Eve.
Read Morea2 Milk moves to complete Matura Valley Milk purchase
Struggling A2Milk has moved to complete the acquisition of a majority stake in rival Kiwi dairy group, Matura Valley Milk from a Chinese company that was first proposed in August. The purchase and subsequent investment in new plant will cost close to $A400 million.
Read MoreBHP, Vale reopen Samarco joint venture
BHP and Vale have just restarted their Samarco pellet joint venture, five years after a tailing dam collapsed sparked a major tragedy in 2015.
Read MoreGlobal steel production up in November
The World Steel Association reported a 6.6% rise in global output in November with China, Germany and Ukraine posting the largest increases. Australian production was unchanged at a reported 450,000 tonnes.
Read MoreAsian trade, rising output lead iron ore down for second straight day
Global iron ore prices dipped for a second day after futures prices in China and Singapore saw another day of big falls and data showed a strong jump in output
Read MoreOz trade surplus falls under $2b for first time in 2 years
For the first time in two years, Australia’s goods trade surplus sank under the $2 billion level, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). And you can blame China for that fall – both on the export and the import side.
Read MoreIron ore falls more than 6% on changes to trading rules
Iron ore prices fell more than 6% Tuesday after China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange tightened trading rules that restrict the opening of positions to 2,000 long or short futures contracts a day for non-brokerage members or clients.
Read MoreOptimistic sales data may be an early Xmas present for retailers
The preliminary retail sales data for November on Tuesday helps explain why a number of retailers continue to provide larger than expected sales growth updates.
Read MoreVirus Damage Only A Flesh Wound As Household Wealth Hits New High
Believe it or not but the pandemic and the worst recession Australia has experienced in 90 years have not damaged Australia’s national finances (yet). In fact a glancing blow over two quarters might be the surprising conclusion from the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Read MoreGolden Run For Iron Ore Price Rolls On
Strong demand from Chinese steel mills and renewed supply concerns about Brazil saw iron ore prices urge to new highs on Monday.
Read MoreABS Adjusts CPI To Reflect Grounded Travel Industry
COVID-19 will mean the December quarter Consumer Price Index to be released on the last Wednesday in January, will have a different look to the one released in late October for the September quarter.
Read MoreLiddell Fire Burns Guidance At AGL
AGL shares plunged to a nine year low of $12.28 on Monday after the company revealed yet another earnings downgrade because of technical problems at its ageing coal-fired power station in NSW.
Read MoreHoliday Diary: Georgia Runoff, Road To Brexit, Virus Vs Vaccine
Normally the Christmas-New Year period is a time for relaxation, eating, drinking, and not worrying too much about events in the wider world – unless its terrible bushfires here like last year or now the coronavirus which is back with a vengeance in the US, UK, much of the EU, parts of Asia and now parts of Sydney.
Read MoreIron Ore and Copper Top 2020 Commodity Charts
Iron ore is now trading at levels last seen in October 2011, near the heights of the biggest price boom of all while the benchmark three-month London Metal Exchange copper price has touched $US8,028 a tonne, its highest since February 2013.
Read MoreFederal Reserve Frees Up US Banks After Stress Test Results
While the US Federal Reserve has maintained limits on capital management moves by major banks for the first quarter of 2021 it has given them more latitude to pay higher dividends or make buybacks in the first three months of 2021.
Read More2021 Outlook: Vaccine Recovery Or Dose Of Reality?
2021 looms and to many, it will be more of the same thanks to the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines, but that is pie in the sky thinking because the jab will replace the easy money over the next couple of years, and reality will return to markets.
Read MoreHistory Repeats As “Very Disappointed” QBE Warns On Big Loss
The QBE bad news disease resurfaced again on Friday with news the insurer is expecting a loss of $US1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) for the year to December 31.
Read MoreSouring A2 Milk Warns On “More Significant And Protracted” China Outlook
The first A2 Milk downgrade came in September, the day after the peak price was hit, and then at the AGM in November, management again downplayed the outlook for the year. Friday saw the downgrade crystalise when the company warned the impact had been “more significant and protracted than was previously anticipated”.
Read MoreA$ Breaks 76 US Cents, Wall St Creeps Higher, ASX Set For Flat Friday
The buoyant mid-year economic update and solid November jobs data have added to the headache about the strength of the Aussie dollar at the Reserve Bank as we head towards the end of the year and the long summer break.
Read MoreASIC Flags Hit List For December Financial Reports
ASIC, the corporate regulator, has unveiled its hit list of issues for companies balancing their interim and full-year accounts on or around December 31.
Read MoreMYEFO Confirms Strong Rebound But Pressures Remain
This year’s federal budget bottom line has improved by $16 billion in the past 10 weeks, but the country still faces continuing deficits, higher unemployment, and rising debt due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Read MoreJobless Rate Drops To 6.8% In November
The strong recovery in full-time employment in October continued into November, albeit at a slower pace, especially outside Victoria.
Read MoreInvestors Switch On As Nine Upgrades Earnings Forecast
Shares in Nine Entertainment Co edged up 2.7% yesterday after the company produced a second trading update in just over a month.
Read MoreCar Bound Consumers Help Bapcor Drive Growth
Autoparts retailer and distributor, Bapcor has joined the growing list of earnings updaters with news of a 50% plus jump in December half-year earnings because of continuing strong sales.
Read MoreParent Ups Offer Price For WPP AUNZ
The mop-up takeover of WPP AUNZ by its majority shareholder WPP plc looks like its back on track after a surprise 27% lift in the cash offer price.
Read MoreFed Upgrades Outlook But Promises Continued Support Until “Substantial Progress” On Recovery
The US Federal Reserve’s post-meeting statement looked bullish at first glance, and yet the market reaction was muted.
Read MoreANZ AGM Strikes Cautious Tone On Dividend Prospects
ANZ Bank shares ended the day up 1.3% despite a mealy-mouthed assurance at yesterday’s AGM from new chair Paul O’Sullivan about the lender’s dividend policy.
Read MoreLockdown Lights Up Beacon Sales To Record Levels
Another surge in the shares of Beacon Lighting as the pandemic-driven boom in home renovations and building will see the record end the first half of 2020-21 with record sales and earnings.
Read MoreLatest BofA Survey Flashes Sell Signal
Time to sell equities as we head towards 2021? That’s the suggestion from Bank of America in its final monthly global big investor survey for 2020 as big investor cash levels fall to lows not seen for seven and a half years.
Read MoreRegulatory Turbulence Grounds Rex Shares
Shares in Regional Express are in a trading halt after the corporate regulator hit the regional airline with a ban on using short-form fundraising documents for a year after censuring Rex for a continuous disclosure breach.
Read MoreWall St Rallies Ahead Of Fed Meeting
The ASX is heading for a strong opening today of 50 points or more if the overnight trading on the futures platform and Wall Street’s jump, are any guide. The factors were – growing optimism about a new US COVID-19 stimulus package from Congress, the confirmation of President-elect Biden’s November 3 win, and more reports about another COVID vaccine to be approved shortly.
Read MoreAPRA Paves Runway To Higher Bank Dividends
In more good news for investors, APRA has eased its dividend guidance for the banks and, from the start of 2021, will no longer be holding lenders to a minimum level of earnings retention.
Read MoreChina Recovery Broadens As Consumer Spending, Industrial Output Step Up
More confirmation that China’s economic expansion factory is growing with the last batch of economic figures for November showing sharp rises in output and consumer spending.
Read MoreACCC Flags Woolworths Takeover Of PFD Foods
The ACCC raised competition concerns with Woolworths’ $302 million proposed acquisition of 65% of PFD Food Services.
Read MoreCompetition Watchdog Takes Aim At Retail Food Group
Shares in Retail Food Group, operator of a number of food franchises in shopping malls and other locations around the country, fell nearly 8% on Tuesday after the competition regulator, the ACCC launched long-awaited legal action against the group.
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