Market Reports

• Australian Market Report: The Australian share market may enjoy a short-term bounce on the back of the coalition’s surprise election win, before quickly focusing elsewhere..... [more]

• U.S. Market Report: Wall Street ended lower on Friday as continuing trade tensions pulled industrial and tech shares down, and the Dow capped a fourth straight week of losses in its longest weekly losing streak in three years..... [more]

• North/South Americas Market Report: North and South American markets finished mixed to lower as of the most recent closing prices. Shares in U.S. fell as the S&P 500 dropped 0.58%. The Bovespa lost 0.04% while the IPC in Mexico closed unchanged..... [more]

• European Market Report: European markets finished lower on Friday with shares in Germany leading the region. The DAX is down 0.58% while France's CAC 40 is off 0.18% and London's FTSE 100 is lower by 0.07%..... [more]

• Asian Market Report: Asian markets finished mixed as of the most recent closing prices. The Nikkei 225 gained 0.89%, while the Shanghai Composite led the Hang Seng lower. They fell 2.48% and 1.16% respectively..... [more]

Australian Business News

• 'Buy everything': Market tipped for post-election sugar hit.... [more]

• Investor Signposts: Week Beginning May 20 2019. In the coming week, Reserve Bank events dominate following the Federal election..... [more]

• NAB has brought forward its forecast for a cash rate cut and now expects the Reserve Bank to act in both June and August, with a third 25 basis point movement to below one per cent possible in early 2020..... [more]

• ANZ shares tumble as New Zealand's central bank calls out 'persistent failure'. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has condemned ANZ's New Zealand bank for failures and revoked its ability to assess its own capital requirements — forcing it to hold an extra $NZ277 million in capital..... [more]

• ANZ Bank will stop offering its flagship financial advice service, as the industry grapples with the fallout from the fees-for-no-service scandal and the royal commission's scrutiny..... [more]

• In coal we trust: Australia's voters back PM Morrison's faith in fossil fuel. Australia’s re-elected Prime Minister Scott Morrison once brandished a lump of coal in parliament, crying, “This is coal - don’t be afraid!”.... [more]

• Gas exports blamed for soaring electricity prices and job losses. Australians are reeling from electricity prices that have soared more than 130 per cent since 2015. Among the reasons for the rocket-rise: profiteering by wholesalers and the so-called 'gold-plating' of the electricity distribution network. But the real culprit? Gas..... [more]

• The operator of the pipeline that supplies the South-West with gas from the Pilbara plans to cut tariffs for most users as it predicts a sharp drop in demand for its capacity. The Australian Gas Infrastructure Group, which owns the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline, yesterday issued a draft of the plan for 2021 to 2025 it must submit to the Economic Regulation Authority by December..... [more]

• The major gold miners’ stocks are drifting sideways with gold, their early-year momentum sapped by the recent stock-market euphoria. But they are more important than ever for prudently diversifying portfolios, a rare sector that surges when stock markets weaken..... [more]

• Iron ore price poised to touch $US100 a tonne for first time in five years.... [more]

• Minotaur Exploration Ltd (ASX:MEP) has obtained binding commitments to complete an oversubscribed placement to sophisticated and institutional investors to raise $1.25 million. Capital raised will fund exploration work across the company’s portfolio of base metals projects..... [more]

• Ora Gold enters into agreement for $1-million debt facility with private company Ioma.... [more]

• Iron ore prices have leapt higher again pushing Rio Tinto shares through the landmark $100 level, in the wake of reports of low inventories and record steel production in China and fresh supply concerns from Brazil..... [more]

• Ironbark Zinc appoints Danny Segman as non-executive director. The board looks forward to working with Segman as the company progresses through the financing stage of its Citronen Base Metals Project..... [more]

• Virgin Australia boss Paul Scurrah has given his clearest indication yet that the airline intends to retain a majority stake in Velocity, the airline's frequent flyer program, even as it weighs a float of the lucrative loyalty business..... [more]

• Automotive Holdings Groupwill be remembered as a wasted opportunity. Just 15 years after its sharemarket float, it is in the process of being gobbled up by a smaller, better respected rival that has quickly won over shareholders to the benefits of a combined company..... [more]

• Neuren Pharmaceuticals shares are up more than 20 per cent after the Melbourne biotech company reported positive results for its drug candidate NNZ-2591 in two preliminary studies..... [more]

• QBE has announced its chief operating officer David McMillan will leave the company after two years to become CEO at a UK-based firm. The UK insurer has not made an announcement yet but is expected to do so before the opening of the London Stock Exchange on Friday evening AEST..... [more]

• The new chief executive of Andrew Forrest’s Harvest Road agribusiness is confident WA can become a premium agrifood powerhouse, and that his company will lead the charge by focusing on sustainably produced meat and marine proteins..... [more]

• The power and influence of the Murdoch media over Australian democracy has consumed a lot of oxygen during this year's federal election campaign. So much that it almost passed by unnoticed that one of the family's key assets in this country has been desperately gasping for air..... [more]

• A former senior Facebook executive has called on governments and technology platforms to scrutinise the impact of social media on elections and opinions can be swayed after a surprise Coalition win in the weekend's federal election. Facebook Australia and New Zealand’s former managing director Stephen Scheeler has warned the rapid change of online communication has changed the way people form opinions, including about politics, in ways that have real-world consequences..... [more]

• Citadel Group shares have plunged 35 per cent to a two-year low after its revenue took a hit due to delayed decision-making by federal and NSW governments in the lead up to elections. The Canberra-based information management company said its gross profit margin for year to June 30 would be reduced to about 46 per cent..... [more]

• WA consumers who shop for free-range eggs may be getting duped into buying mislabelled substitutes, including caged and fertilised broiler eggs from the Eastern States, State Parliament was told this week. The issue is being investigated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission after it was raised earlier by Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan, but the Nationals WA have called for concerns to be addressed more urgently..... [more]

World Business News

• Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Sunday he recommended “gently” driving oil inventories down at a time of plentiful global supplies and that OPEC would not make hasty decisions about output ahead of a June meeting..... [more]

• Canada will move quickly to ratify the new North American trade pact, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Saturday, a day after the United States agreed to lift tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum..... [more]

• The US has reached a deal with Canada to lift tariffs on steel and aluminium imports in a move that could lead to approval for a new North American trade deal. In a joint statement, the US and Canada announced that a 25% tariff on steel imports, and of 10% on aluminium, will end in 48 hours..... [more]

• China's top diplomat calls for U.S. restraint on trade, Iran. China’s senior diplomat Wang Yi told U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday that recent U.S. words and actions had harmed the interests of China and its enterprises, and that Washington should show restraint, China’s foreign ministry said..... [more]

• Three reasons China-US trade war won’t cool down soon. The tariff battle will be tough to win and expensive. It is currently costing each American $11 per month.... [more]

• Interest Rates on New Federal Student Loans Will Dip Slightly.... [more]

• Anti-money laundering specialists at Deutsche Bank recommended in 2016 and 2017 that multiple transactions involving legal entities controlled by Donald J. Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, be reported to a federal financial-crimes watchdog..... [more]

• The cannabis industry is hiding a dirty little secret. According to Evan Mills, a California-based energy and climate change scientist, the marijuana industry has a major problem…and it’s likely to get worse before it gets better..... [more]

• Alphabet Inc’s Google has suspended business with Huawei that requires the transfer of hardware and software products except those covered by open source licenses, a source close to the matter told Reuters on Sunday, in a blow to the Chinese technology company that the U.S. government has sought to blacklist around the world..... [more]

• Online giant Amazon has announced a big investment in food courier Deliveroo. The exact figure was not given, but Amazon is the biggest investor in Deliveroo's latest round of fund raising, which in total raised $575m (£450m)..... [more]

• Britain’s Co-op Bank approached Barclays Plc in November about Barclays acquiring it, but the talks did not proceed beyond the exploratory stage, the Telegraph newspaper reported late on Saturday..... [more]

• The pound has sunk to a four-month low against the dollar after cross-party Brexit talks between the Conservatives and Labour collapsed. On Friday evening, the pound was 0.52% lower against the dollar at $1.273, having had its worst week in a year..... [more]

• Voters in Switzerland approved on Sunday a shake-up of the corporate tax system, heading off what its finance minister had called an existential threat to the country’s role as a business hub..... [more]

• The Benetton family wants Generali to remain in Italian hands and is ready to tighten its grip on Europe’s third-biggest insurer along with other Italian investors, Luciano Benetton said in a newspaper interview..... [more]

• Microsoft and Sony have formed a partnership on video games streaming, despite being fierce competitors. It is expected Sony will use Microsoft’s Azure cloud service to host its upcoming PlayStation streaming service..... [more]

• Modi’s jobs deficit: J&J’s largest India plant idle three years after completion. It was supposed to be Johnson & Johnson’s biggest manufacturing plant in India..... [more]

• Indian equities, rupee and bonds are set to rally on Monday after almost all exit polls suggested that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was likely to secure a clear mandate at the 2019 national elections..... [more]

• Venezuela oil minister says economy, oil industry under U.S. siege.... [more]

• Opinion - Bob Kohut: Surviving the Trade War Fallout.... [more]

• Analysis - David Court: Let's face it, the Uber IPO was a disaster. A few years ago, tech stocks were hot property. New listings would land on Wall Street, investors would get really excited, and the market would drive the initial public offering through the roof..... [more]