Pacific Perspectives
ASX to open lower as Beijing stimulus plans fail to excite investors
The Australian sharemarket is poised to retreat on Monday as investors turn increasingly negative on already bruised mining companies after authorities in China failed to impress with their latest stimulus package. Futures indicate the S&P/ASX…
Dow tops 44,000 for first time, S&P 500 closes at record high to cap election week rally: Live updates
The stock market climbed to another round of records on Friday, as the Dow and S&P 500 wrapped up their best week in a year after Donald Trump’s election win. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 259.65…
AGL Energy prepares to unveil big batteries play; acquires Firm Power
It’s been a tumultuous time for AGL Energy, the $7.7 billion electricity and gas giant backed by billionaire businessman Mike Cannon-Brookes, with plenty of hand wringing about the company’s strategy. Now that this has been…
Aurizon tumbles on weak earnings outlook
Aurizon must convince investors its prospects for earnings growth are sound after the stock suffered a 9 per cent drop on a lower than expected full-year profit result. The 25 per cent jump in 2023-24…
Asian short sellers are ramping up bets against Australia’s miners
Hedge funds in Asia are increasingly targeting Australian mining companies betting that the rout in the sector will deepen from weak commodity prices and the threat to earnings from elevated costs this reporting season. Of…
Wholesale inflation measure rose 0.1% in July, less than expected
A key measure of wholesale inflation rose less than expected in July, opening the door further for the Federal Reserve to start lowering interest rates. The producer price index, which measures selling prices that producers…
S&P 500, Nasdaq eke out small gain Monday as investors gear up for big tech earnings this week
The S&P 500 ticked higher Monday as Wall Street geared up for a busy week of corporate earnings and looked ahead to a key policy announcement from the U.S. central bank. The broad market index…
‘Risks elevated’: APRA holds banks’ mortgage rate buffer at 3pc
The prudential regulator will not relieve borrowers of the 3 per cent interest rate buffer they must absorb before qualifying for a home loan because the economy faces too much uncertainty from inflation, geopolitics and…
The price rises creating a big dilemma for the RBA
Higher inflation for items that interest rates have little control over, such as education, healthcare and insurance, will force the Reserve Bank of Australia to consider squashing harder on the prices of other items to…