Market Reports

• Australian Market Report: The S&P/ASX200 dropped 51.1 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 8378.7 points at the close, with nine of the 11 industry sectors in the red. It comes after the ASX recorded marginal gains of 0.3 per cent on Wednesday..... [more]

• U.S. Market Report: Wall Street's main indexes were mixed on Thursday as investors assessed corporate earnings and awaited comments from President Donald Trump to gauge what his trade policy might look like..... [more]

• European Market Report: European stocks were flat to slightly higher on Thursday after China rolled out a basket of measures to funnel capital into the country's stock markets..... [more]

• Asian Market Report: Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Thursday despite China announcing a slew of measures to stabilize its stock markets. Traders awaited key announcements on tariffs from the Trump administration.... [more]

Australian Business News

• Queensland is sinking into a larger-than-expected budget black hole, with billions in additional debt as the mining powerhouse confronts a sharp rise in public sector spending and reduced revenue intake from coal royalties..... [more]

• Aussie retirees are more frugal than they need to be. What can be done? The Federal Government faces an uphill battle to make retired Australians spend more..... [more]

• Apprentices who work in residential construction would get a $10,000 cash bonus under an election policy to be launched by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the National Press Club on Friday..... [more]

• 20 stocks that could benefit from Trump's Stargate AI project. US President Donald Trump has launched a new US$500 billion AI initiative in partnership with SoftBank, OpenAI and Oracle..... [more]

• The Importance of Portfolio Diversity.... [more]

• The bidding war for Insignia Financial has heated up yet again with Bain Capital lodging a further revised non-binding indicative proposal at $4.60 cash per share..... [more]

• BHP has sacked dozens of contractors amid an investigation into allegations of corruption. It is understood that 26 workers have been dismissed at the mining giant’s coal operations in Queensland’s Bowen Basin so far..... [more]

• Alcoa Q4 2024 Earnings Highlights.... [more]

• Critica Ltd has chalked up an extraordinary set of metallurgical results at its Jupiter clay-hosted rare earths project - part of the company’s bigger Brothers project in Western Australia.... [more]

• The WA government has announced it will enter negotiations to reverse the privatisation of the state's freight rail network. However, the Nationals WA have labelled the re-election promise "disingenuous" and "unrealistic"..... [more]

• The federal government will take on $50m of debt from embattled regional flyer Rex Airlines after the company was placed into voluntary administration. In doing so, the government will become the airline’s principal secured creditor.... [more]

• Myer and Premier Investments investors have overwhelmingly backed the department store’s merger with Solomon Lew’s big portfolio of clothing brands in a deal designed to forge a retailing powerhouse amid tough trading conditions..... [more]

• Myer shares race higher on 'overwhelming support' for merger.... [more]

• Clothing and footwear retailer Rivers say it will close all 136 stores across the country, as parent company Mosaic Brands handlers were unable to find a new buyer. Mosaic Brands went into administration last year.... [more]

• Curious mover: Tiny medtech company Hydrix up 200% on Euro product deal.... [more]

• Woolworths selling downsized Brut deodorant for more than double unit cost of old product. Consumer advocates call for more transparency around ‘shrinkflation’ as supermarkets continue to defend against price-gouging allegations.... [more]

• Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog charges 28 more people over allegations of bribes to register builders. Ibac says it has charged one Victorian Building Authority employee and 27 people involved in building registration applications.... [more]

• Opinion - Elizabeth Knight: Why this Aussie billionaire welcomes Trump’s China tariff threat.... [more]

• Opinion - Elizabeth Knight: How housing went from being a sellers’ market to a buyers’ market.... [more]

World Business News

• US labor market stays on solid footing early in the year.... [more]

• President Trump said in a virtual address at the World Economic Forum on Thursday that he will mandate the Federal Reserve lower interest rates imminently, a threat that undermines the Federal Reserve's political independence..... [more]

• The BlackRock chief Larry Fink says Treasury yields could soar to the highest level in over two decades, with inflation causing a bond market sell-off that spills over into the stock market..... [more]

• Shein’s ultra-cheap clothes can remain affordable as long as proposed tariffs from President Donald Trump are “applied equally,” the company’s executive chairman Donald Tang said on Thursday..... [more]

• Roaring Kitty makes cryptic ‘Futurama’ post. Everyone is trying to figure it out..... [more]

• Puma shares plunge 23% as weak profit shakes confidence.... [more]

• Shares of Vince Holding surged 90% Thursday following the announcement of a significant debt reduction and an executive shake-up that positions Brendan Hoffman to become CEO. .... [more]

• Warner Bros Discovery's (WBD.O), gaming unit head David Haddad is leaving the company after 12 years in the role, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Thursday..... [more]

• Union Pacific delivers 7% more profit as investors get good view of industry with CSX also reporting.... [more]

• Purdue Pharma and owners to pay $7.4 billion in settlement to lawsuits over the toll of OxyContin.... [more]

• CNN CEO Mark Thompson on Thursday announced sweeping cuts impacting around 6% of the company's workforce. .... [more]

• PayPal (PYPL.O), will pay a $2 million civil fine over cybersecurity failures that led to the exposure of customers' Social Security numbers in late 2022, New York state's Department of Financial Services said on Thursday..... [more]

• Euro zone consumer confidence rises to -14.2 in January.... [more]

• The European Union's new trade chief responsible for post-Brexit negotiations has told the BBC a "pan-European (customs) area is something we could consider" as part of "reset" discussions between the UK and EU..... [more]

• BYD, Geely and SAIC challenge EU's EV tariffs at European court.... [more]

• Donald Trump’s new administration believes it has Sir Keir Starmer’s government “over a barrel” on trade as Britain becomes increasingly reliant on a US deal, insiders have told The Independent..... [more]

• A sharp downturn in British factories eased only slightly in January and optimism among manufacturers sagged to its lowest level in over two years, an industry survey showed on Thursday..... [more]

• Sainsbury’s to cut 3,000 jobs as it shuts hot food counters and cafes.... [more]

• Tesco, Aldi, and Lidl have backed British farmers in their dispute with the government over tax changes in the Budget. Tesco said "the UK's future food security is at stake".... [more]

• Adidas to cut up to 500 jobs after posting better-than-expected holiday profits.... [more]

• Tech war: China poised to expand AI infrastructure to keep pace with US Stargate project. Chinese local governments, telecommunications firms and Big Tech companies have been building new AI facilities over the past few years.... [more]

• China Guides Mutual Funds, Insurers to Invest More in Stocks.... [more]

• Mortgage registrations in Hong Kong dropped to the lowest level on record last year, as the city’s property market suffered from high interest rates and a decline in real estate prices, according to Centaline Property..... [more]

• Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) on Thursday posted over 85 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 474 crore for December quarter on the back of higher revenues from power supply.... [more]

• Botswana's newly inaugurated President, Duma Boko, has highlighted the importance of finalizing a sales agreement with diamond industry leader De Beers. The president stated his intentions on Thursday.... [more]

• Analysis - Allison Morrow: No, Trump did not become an overnight ‘crypto billionaire’ .... [more]

• Analysis - Brian Stelter: How TikTok became a ‘poker chip’ in a high-stakes game between Trump and China .... [more]