Australia Financial News

BHP boss Mike Henry says Australia will need to be “hyper productive” to compete in future facing metals like copper and nickel, as he invests more in domestic processing and smelting at the heart of BHP’s plan to unlock value from its $9.6 billion consolidation of South Australia’s copper fields.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission was investigating Macquarie’s handling of the Nuix IPO when the then treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, appointed its former chief executive Nicholas Moore to lead an independent review into the “effectiveness and capability” of the regulator.

Childcare giant G8 Education had to turn away parents from its centres because it was unable to find enough staff to care for their children, stifling earnings growth.

UBS equity capital markets banker Richard Wilks has been named head of equity capital market syndicate for Asia Pacific, Street Talk understands.

Virgin Australia boss Jayne Hrdlicka has called on the government to reconsider its decision to block Qatar Airways from adding flights to east coast cities, saying it would have an immediate impact on reducing fares and boosting tourism.

One way to demonstrate your language proficiency in English and gain a competitive edge is by taking the Pearson Test of English (PTE), which is now recognized and accepted by Australia, Canada, the US and the UK across all visa categories. PTE is a computer-based English language test for those who wish to study, work or migrate abroad. It tests the reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills of the candidates in a single two-hour assessment. It offers candidates a fast fair and flexible way of proving their English language proficiency. Here’s five ways in which English language proficiency can improve your life:

In a bid to enhance road safety, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in India has introduced a game-changing initiative – the Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP). This program is all about evaluating the safety performance of passenger vehicles designed to carry up to eight passengers and not exceed a weight limit of 3.5 tonnes.

Macroeconomist Lyn Alden has cast doubt on a proposal that would see five countries work together to develop a common BRICS currency — arguing it will likely struggle to get off the ground and fail to dethrone the United States dollar.

Ita Buttrose has told the government she will not seek a second term as chairwoman of the influential ABC board, and plans to step down when her term expires in March next year.

Fund managers were assessing four capital raisings on Tuesday morning as a trio of ASX-listed explorers and a traffic management operator entered trading halts.

Lachlan Murdoch has paid more than $1.3 million in legal costs to Crikey to settle the bill associated with the media mogul’s abandoned defamation proceedings against the small Canberra publisher.

Scrapping subsidies for electric vehicles would be counterproductive and make it harder for low-emission vehicles to gain a foothold in the Australian market, the peak EV industry body says.

Indian stock market is expected to open on a flat note on Tuesday following gains in Asian peers amid mixed global cues. The Asian markets traded mostly higher, while the US stocks ended mixed overnight, even as the treasury yields soared to 15-year high levels. On Monday, domestic equity indices, Sensex and Nifty ended with decent gains, snapping a two day losing streak.

«In the near term, we expect the market to trade in a broader range with buying seen at lower levels. Stock specific action is likely to dominate,» Siddhartha Khemka, Head — Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services. Option data suggests a broader trading range in between 19000 to 19600 zones while an immediate trading range in between 19200 to 19500 zones. Here's breaking down the pre-market actions:STATE OF THE MARKETSGIFT Nifty (Earlier SGX Nifty) signals a muted startGIFT Nifty on the NSE IX traded 3 points, or 0.02 per cent, higher at 19,391.50, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for flat start on Tuesday.

Lithium producer Allkem’s profit soared to a record as its shareholders prepare to vote on a merger with downstream processing specialist Livent later this year.

Woodside Energy has posted a 6 per cent increase in first-half profit to a record, buoyed by an increase in oil and gas production to an all-time high after the merger with BHP’s petroleum business in June last year.

KPMG’s boss has told his troops it was regrettable the consulting giant improperly shared sensitive Defence information, and called on them to “deliver high quality work and value for money” as he rejected overcharging allegations.

National Australia Bank’s latest hybrid issuance had gathered $1.45 billion in bids by 8am Tuesday morning, as investor demand outstripped the $1 billion expected deal size at launch.

BHP’s annual underlying profit slumped 37 per cent to $US13.4 billion ($20.9 billion) as commodity prices came back to earth after 2022’s record result.

Gas prices in Europe have surged due to concerns over possible strikes at a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Australia. The Offshore Alliance union has issued a warning about a potential strike at Australia's North West Shelf facility, scheduled to begin as soon as September 2 if salary negotiations remain unresolved. Bloomberg reported a roughly 10% increase in benchmark gas prices for the European Union and the United Kingdom on Monday. While gas prices had surged following Russia's incursion into Ukraine, they had subsequently decreased. Apprehensions revolve around the North West Shelf facility's role in supplying LNG globally as Australia is a prominent supplier. Alongside this facility, Chevron-operated Gorgon and Wheatstone offshore LNG plants are also undergoing strike votes, with outcomes expected on Thursday. These three plants constitute approximately 10% of the global LNG supply. Ben McWilliams, an associate fellow at Bruegel, a think tank, cautioned that these strikes could have repercussions on worldwide LNG prices. As a response to Russia's reduction in natural gas supplies during the Ukrainian conflict, countries sought alternative energy sources, with LNG being a prominent choice. Australia, alongside Qatar and the United States, is a major global LNG exporter. Cornwall Insight, a research firm, has predicted that the uncertainty surrounding Australia's gas supply could lead to significantly higher gas prices and contribute to a substantial rise in Ofgem's price cap by January. It anticipated a rise in the price cap from £1,925.71 in Q4 2023 to £2,082.56 for a typical annual household bill in Q1 2024.

Digital asset investment products saw $55 million in outflows for the week of September 13-19, according to a report from CoinShares.