Economics

Two of the oddities of the June 30 reporting season were the better-than-expected results from JB Hi-Fi and Gerry Harvey's relaxed attitude after a stronger-than-anticipated end to his company's tough financial year.

In a further sign that the U.S. labour market is cooling, job openings in July slumped to a more than three-year low.

President Joe Biden is expected to block Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion bid to acquire US Steel, following an assessment by his administration that the deal poses a national security risk that cannot be mitigated by the US and Japanese companies involved.

The US coal industry is hunkering down as falling sales and revenues take an increasingly large bite out of bottom lines. The situation worsened earlier this year when the destruction of a bridge in the US East Coast port of Baltimore disrupted coal exports for a couple of months.

US homebuilders are experiencing the most significant credit crunch in over a decade, with banks reducing lending for residential construction by more than 10%.

The Australian economy performed slightly better than forecast in the June quarter, but it still showed weakness for both the three months and the 2023-24 financial year.

Global investment titan Blackstone has snapped up Australian data center giant AirTrunk for a whopping $23.5 billion. The deal, which marks the largest corporate transaction in Australia this year, underscores the insatiable appetite for data centers as artificial intelligence continues to reshape the technological landscape.

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) and other major copper miners took a hit after Goldman Sachs ended its long-standing recommendation to buy copper and significantly reduced its price forecast for the metal.

Oil prices dropped to their lowest levels this year after reports suggested that Libya might soon resume full production, raising concerns about an oversupply in the market amid weak global demand.

Demand for oil and key products like gasoline is waning, sending global crude prices to nine-month lows on Tuesday. As U.S. markets reopened after the Labor Day holiday, which marks the end of summer and the return to business as usual, prices plummeted.

If Australia avoids a recession in today’s (Wednesday) national accounts for the June quarter, it will be due to positive contributions from trade and government financial transactions.

BYD broke its record for sales in August, while Tesla came close to achieving its best performance in the ultra-competitive Chinese market over the past year as Elon Musk’s EV company regained some momentum.

Electric vehicle (EV) sales continue to grow in China, which is positive news for the industry, but it hasn't been enough to lift the share prices of EV makers.

Batteries, solar panels, and nuclear weapons all share a crucial material: antimony. As Beijing tightens its control over rare-earth materials—an apparent response to increasing trade restrictions and tariffs on Chinese-made goods—the global supply chains for critical materials like antimony are set to feel the impact.

Has China’s property crunch infected Hong Kong’s huge sector, or are the problems at Star Entertainment Group adding to the woes of a major business family in the former UK colony?

China’s EV boom remains alive and continues to grow—well, for industry leader BYD, that is, thanks to its determined push deeper into so-called plug-in hybrids.

Mineral exploration hit a two-year low in the three months leading up to June, as deep cuts to spending by both large and small mining companies since the start of the year caught up with the industry in the final months of the 2023-24 financial year.

Good news from the home building industry at the start of 2024-25.

Gold ended August and the week with a gain, despite a mid-session pullback on Friday. The U.S. dollar and bond yields strengthened after the key U.S. inflation measure came in as expected, increasing the likelihood of a rate cut in ten days.

Gold still ended with a gain for the week and August, even though itfell off from a record high mid session Friday as the US dollar and US bond yields tightened after the key US inflation measure came in on forecast and brought a rate cut closer in 10 days time.

Oil prices experienced another weak week, culminating in a 3% decline on Friday. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude closed at $73.55 per barrel, marking the third consecutive weekly loss. Brent crude also fell, ending the week at $76.93. For August, both benchmarks declined by 0.66%.

Iron ore prices concluded a challenging August slightly above $100 per tonne in Singapore but appeared quite battered.

A holiday in the U.S. today will provide a brief respite from market activity, but attention will quickly shift to domestic economic data. On Friday, investors will closely watch U.S. jobs data, while Australian markets will focus on the June quarter national accounts on Wednesday.

Inflation rates on both sides of the Atlantic continue to cool, setting the stage for interest rate cuts by key central banks later this month.

The latest official survey of activity in China's manufacturing sector confirms that August was another sluggish month for the country's economy.

A month ago, markets were caught off guard by the fallout of a Japanese interest rate hike that sent shockwaves through the financial world, triggering a massive unwinding of the yen carry trade.

Gallium, a critical component in smartphones, radar systems, and numerous other technologies, plays a far more significant role than its modest price might suggest. Despite being sold for just pennies above production costs, many non-Asian producers exited the market in the late 2000s when China ramped up its production capacity.

The U.S. oil industry and Republican leaders are pressuring Kamala Harris to clarify her stance on energy and climate policy as she navigates the delicate balance of appealing to her progressive base without alienating voters in key swing states like Pennsylvania, a major hub for shale production.

Rate cuts are on the horizon, and it's the moment biotech companies and their investors have been eagerly anticipating.

Australian shoppers put their wallets and cards on hold in July after boosting spending in May and June during end-of-financial-year specials from desperate retailers.

On the face of it, BYD, the world's biggest EV maker from China, has reported a solid half-year result for the six months to June, with revenue and earnings up sharply from a year ago.