Economics

Gold regained most of the losses incurred late last week and on Monday by Friday's close, but the Comex front month was still down 0.6%.

Oil rose in the wake of more tensions in the Middle East and the surprise incursion by Ukrainian forces into parts of southern Russia, near the city of Kursk (scene of a major tank battle in the Second World War).

The ASX is looking at a near-60-point gain at the resumption of trading this morning after Wall Street clawed back all of Monday’s losses by Friday with another solid session.

So, Wall Street is back on par with a week ago—but that disguised the big rebound in the megacaps, led by Apple, which survived the news that Warren Buffett has sold half of Berkshire Hathaway’s stake, taking a lot of money and going into US T-notes.

Iron ore edged up on Friday to reclaim the US$100 a tonne mark but fell short of the previous week’s closing high.

See, there is life after being a headless chook for a couple of days. Wall Street almost eliminated the big losses from Monday by the afternoon trading session on Friday, but eased and left a few small blobs of red ink on the table.

The rout in lithium continues worldwide after Albemarle and Arcadium last week and this week slashed mine, refinery, and exploration budgets in Australia, the US, Chile, and Argentina.

Chinese imports surprised by being stronger than forecast in June, rising 7.2% instead of the predicted 3.5% and more than reversing the previous month’s decline.

For a second year, Murdoch clan-owned News Corp is considering whether to sell its 65%-owned pay TV business, Foxtel.

American business analysts have just realized that Warren Buffett is the largest owner of short-term U.S. Treasury bills (or notes) – even larger than the Federal Reserve, America’s central bank.

More than 15% of the ASX 200 – some 32 companies – will report their June 30 performances this week. By Friday, we will have a very good idea of how the reporting season will end up.

More cackling this week from the henny-pennies about the health of the US economy, with the focus shifting to the consumer price inflation report for July.

Rising U.S. economic nationalism is poised to disrupt global trade, regardless of who wins the White House in November, with shipowners particularly alarmed at the prospect of Donald Trump’s protectionism returning "on steroids," according to the head of a major industry group.

In the 1980s, the Australian wine industry faced such severe challenges that the Calabria family of winemakers had to halt their primary operations and focus on washing bottles for larger producers to stay afloat.

A hint of good economic news emerged from the Chinese economy on Friday, with inflation showing more signs of stirring.

In the final unwinding of the complicated links between gold miners Red 5 (ASX:RED) and Silver Lake Resources, a parcel of shares in Red 5 has been sold for a nice profit.

Record prices have again kept China out of the global gold market for a third month in a row.

In a surprising turn of events, Glencore has reversed its 2023 decision to spin off its newly expanded coal business. The lure of continued coal profits, particularly coking coal from the Elk Valley Resources acquisition, proved too strong for shareholders and management alike.

The rapid ascent and subsequent plunge of the lithium market has sent shockwaves through Australia's resource-dependent economy.

Jay Powell is maintaining a calm demeanour about the US economic outlook, but perhaps too much so. The Federal Reserve decided to hold interest rates steady at its midweek meeting, though it did adjust its tone, citing moderating job gains and rising unemployment as signs of a cooling economy. This opens the door to potential rate cuts in September.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) today maintained the cash rate at a 12-year high of 4.35 per cent, opting to hold steady as it continues its battle against persistent inflation.

How do you spell monopoly according to a US federal judge? You spell it G-o-o-g-l-e.

So, will the fate of Anglo American's revamp be effectively decided this week?

July and the seven months from January to July were another tough period for Tesla in China, which again saw sales decline compared to the previous year.

Mars, one of the world’s biggest companies dominating candies, food, chocolates, snacks, and especially pet food and pet care products, is aiming to expand its reach into salty snacks (think chips) by acquiring the Kellogg spin-off, Kellanova, for over $22 billion.

The investor shift from Big Tech to smaller stocks in July gave the Russell 2000 index one of its best months in years, marking its biggest outperformance against mega caps since 2001. However, some of the gains have already started to unwind.

Another big drop is ahead for the ASX today (Monday) after Wall Street plummeted on Friday.

Except for oil, surprisingly, commodities did well in Friday’s bloodbath, led by gold, silver, copper, and iron ore.

It should be no surprise that the big sell-off has battered Nasdaq into correction territory (a fall of 10% or more from its most recent peak) — after all, that’s where the bulls were at their most bullish and where the bubble has been greatest: in AI stocks and especially the so-called Magnificent Seven.

Gold surged and dipped dramatically during Friday's volatile session, ultimately finishing the week with a solid 4% gain and a new all-time high above $US2,500 an ounce.

Japan aside, the global monetary policy easing cycle continued to gather pace over the last week. So, what will the Reserve Bank of Australia serve up this week?

Six of the seven Magnificent Stocks have reported, and judging by investors' reactions, it's open season for pruning some very large, tall poppies.

In a move that will send shockwaves through markets, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has sold half its holding in Apple as part of a multi-billion-dollar sell-down from stock markets. This dramatically negative message to investors comes just as Wall Street has tanked.

Commodities ranging from copper to corn have been plummeting as ample supplies and waning Chinese demand have prompted fund managers to slash around $41 billion in bullish bets on natural resources.