BlueScope has received a takeover proposal valuing it at $30 a share. This unsolicited and non-binding offer has been made by a consortium composed of Kerry Stokes' SGH and the US-listed Steel Dynamics. Under the offer, SGH would aquire all of Bluescope's shares and then sell the North American businesses to Steel Dynamics. The BlueScope board says it is currently reviewing the offer. Looking back to late 2024 and early 2025, Steel Dynamics had already approached BlueScope wi

Consumer sentiment has reverted back to ‘cautiously pessimistic’ levels according to Westpac. ‘Inflation’ remains the dominant news item, along with a sharp turnaround in mortgage rate expectations. As a result, the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment fell 9% to 94.5 point in December , after it had edged up above 100 in November, the only time since reopening from the Covid-19 pandemic. While ‘international conditions’ has become a much less prominent topic, cons

The S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.72% to 8,635 points as it opened the last full trading week of 2025.    AI bubble fears sent Wall Street lower, with these losses reverberating locally this Monday, in addition to weaknesses in the miners.   With copper giving back recent gains, and iron ore prices also lower, diversified miner  BHP  dropped by 2.9%. Fortescue  also shed 1%, on the day it flagged plans to fully acquire a Peruvian copper miner.    Meanwhile the ASX  stock itself was in t

Morgan Stanley has published a note on Rio Tinto, following the miner's Capital market Day. The investment bank rates the stock 'equal-weight', with a $129.50 target price. The stock has just reached a record high of around $140 on stronger copper prices, but the bank warns of higher capex in FY27, before being reduced due to lower decarbonisation spending. Morgan Stanley says the Capital Market Day was slightly below expectations which may lead to some rotation into BHP . A

Both Jefferies and Morningstar are flagging customer growth risks for Xero. The brokers says customer growth is being impacted by price hikes, and noted the difficulty to win new customers in a mature ANZ market. Jefferies has cut its price target to $135.50 per share, while retaining it's 'hold' rating. However, Citi has retained its 'buy' on Xero , with potential US upsides following the Melio acquisition. Meanwhile - Morningstar is forecasting subdued growth earnings for t

Higher commodity prices overnight were not enough to compensate for the weakness seen in CBA

A batch of companies are reporting on the September quarter today... Starting with Coles , reporting a 3.9% increase in sales revenue growth. This was pushed by a 4.8% growth in Supermarkets revenue, while it was down 1.1% for the liquor segment. Meanwhile, eCommerce sales grew across both segments. Sales growth seem to be higher than Woolworth's , up 4.6% in Supermarkets and down 1.4% in Liquor, while Woolies reported a 2.7% sales growth on Wednesday. Coles adds that at the

Santos is considering the development of gas facilities, but faces obstacles from landholders and fields owners

China's third quarter GDP growth has slowed to its lowest level in a year, up 4.8%, compared to 5.2% over the previous quarter.  This was in line with expectations as a prolonged property slump and trade tensions hurt demand, keeping pressure on policymakers to roll out more stimulus. On a quarterly basis, GDP grew 1.1% in the third quarter, compared with a forecast of 0.8%  While China's export growth rebounded in September, much of the recent data show the world's second-la

The S&P/ASX 200 ended the session flat, dragged down by tech stocks tracking a weaker session in New York. The local market was 0.1%...

The S&P/ASX 200 continued to slide from record highs, down 0.27% to 8,956.80 points this Tuesday.   Consumer discretionary was the...

The S&P/ASX 200 rose more than 1% to close at 8,945.9 points during Thursday's trade, supported by gains in the miners and the banks. ...

The RBA's decision to keep rates on hold sent the S&P/ASX 200 0.2% lower to 8,848.80 points this Tuesday, despite a positive start.  The...

The S&P/ASX 200 extended Monday’s gains and finished Tuesday’s session 0.4% higher to 8,845.9 points, supported by the miners and the...

The S&P/ASX 200 was lifted by the miners this Monday, ending 0.43% higher at 8,810.9 points. Gold miners rallied, with Genesis Minerals ...

☁️ Data centres could use up to 25% of NSW water supply by 2035 🏘️ Population and housing 🎴 Pokemon cards have a better return than...

💳 Card surcharges cost $1.2 billion each year 👨‍💼 The 5-day workweek is unlikely to become a 4-day one. 💲 Total wages and salaries...

🎰 ¼ of pokies in NSW clubs especially susceptible to money laundering? ⛷️ The ski industry in Australia not letting climate change stop...