Economics

Metals Acquisition (ASX:MAC), which owns the former Glencore copper mine in Cobar, western NSW, has gone to the market seeking around $140 million to help reduce its debt.

Economists at the National Australia Bank are not fully convinced by the rebound in commodity prices over the past fortnight since China announced a series of seemingly coordinated stimulus measures aimed at helping its struggling economy.

China demonstrated on Tuesday how to deflate an overzealous rally from both local and foreign investors who had tossed good sense aside over the weekend and Monday.

The Federal Court has confirmed a $100 million penalty in relation to its so-called "ghost flights" scandal.

According to the latest monthly business survey from the National Australia Bank, the pace of economic activity improved in September, setting up what could be an improving end to the year.

China is limbering up for a massive trade counterattack against the EU after its thriving electric vehicle market took a brutal hit following the European Union's decision to impose substantial additional taxes on all EVs made in China.

With Rio seemingly pursuing Arcadium, Australia’s largest investor, AustralianSuper, has moved to boost its shareholding in Pilbara Minerals.

Crude oil prices jumped again on Friday, bringing the weekly gain to around 8%. Oil has been pushed higher due to the intensifying conflict in the Middle East following Iran's response to Israeli attacks.

China has not made any gold purchases for the fifth consecutive month, as the surge in gold prices to new record highs has kept the world’s largest investor on the sidelines.

One of Warren Buffett’s smartest plays has been to make bond issues in the Japanese yen market and then effectively hedge those proceeds by investing in the shares of the country’s five major trading houses — Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Itochu, Sumitomo and Marubeni.

Even though its quarterly car sales fell short of expectations, Tesla managed to maintain its lead as the leading producer of pure electric vehicles powered by batteries.

The new car market experienced a crunch in September, with sales slumping 12.4% to 97,020 units compared to the same month in 2023, and down around 1% from August.

Tesla may have delivered 462,890 EVs in the three months leading up to last Sunday, but this fell short of forecasts, causing shares to drop by 6% at one point on Wednesday.

Investors are increasingly turning to complex derivatives trades to capitalize on the uncertainty surrounding the upcoming U.S. presidential election, speculating on stock market movements regardless of the outcome.

The Hong Kong share market surged to a 20-month high on Wednesday as the rally ignited by last week’s stimulus measures from Beijing continued to lift Chinese stocks. Can this momentum sustain big gains today and tomorrow?

Oil prices rose on Wednesday following Iran's missile attack on Israel but later pulled back as traders assessed the potential impact of the escalating conflict on global energy supplies.

The slipping pace of activity across the EU has already seen the European Central Bank cut rates twice this year. Now more cuts are on the cards after the flash inflation figure for September came in under the 2% target.

Saudi Arabia (and Russia for the moment) would be enjoying the hikes in world oil prices due to the deepening crisis between Israel, Lebanon, and the Palestinians. However, this joy will be temporary because forecasts released this week reveal rising pressures on spending and a worsening budget position.

Oil prices surged on Tuesday following Iran's missile attack on Israel, raising concerns that the Middle East could be heading toward a full-scale regional conflict that might disrupt global energy supplies.

CME Group has launched contracts tracking the price of spodumene, a key raw material for lithium batteries, heightening its competition with the London Metal Exchange (LME) in the global battery metals market.

Mining executives have long anticipated an energy transition "supercycle" that would reshape the industry, moving away from China’s strong demand for raw materials to a more global and strategic approach. Yet, this transition has yet to occur, with the sector still heavily reliant on China, as recent developments have highlighted.

Now this is a bit of a surprise — Australian retail sales jumped sharply in August, but shoppers are supposed to have been put to sleep by high interest rates and pressure on household incomes.

The volatile building approvals data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics has again delivered — instead of a large rise, as we had in July, we got a big fall in August.

The end-of-month activity surveys for Chinese manufacturing produced slightly different outcomes for September.

Chile’s Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM), the world’s second-largest lithium miner after Albemarle, is looking to spin off its foreign lithium and other assets into a separate company with foreign investor participation.

In a potential blow for the African-focused gold group Perseus Mining (ASX:PRU), its newly acquired gold mining prospect in Tanzania faces an obstacle from a new rule that could see a 20% cut in free market sales of the precious metal.

It’s back to the Land of the Long White Cow—sorry, Cloud—for the world’s biggest dairy group, Fonterra, which has just revealed a New Zealand-first strategy for the coming years.

Profit pressures continue in the global car industry, with the French-Italian-US group Stellantis and Aston Martin both joining the growing chorus of earnings downgrades on Monday.

The Rupert Murdoch-backed REA Group has been forced to abandon its attempt to take over the UK website Rightmove after its fourth offer was rejected on Monday.

Contrasting performances were seen in Asia’s two major stock markets: China and Japan.

Another massive surge in iron ore prices occurred on Monday, bringing the total gain since China began announcing stimulus measures last Tuesday to over 20%.

China continues to roll out more stimulus measures, with a slew of actions announced at national and local government levels on Sunday evening to help mortgage holders and property companies.

A significant loss for its latest financial year didn’t come as a surprise as Kiwi dairy group Synlait prepares for life after what was nearly a death experience a couple of months ago.