Market Reports

• Australian Market Report: The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 81.9 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 7649.2 at the close. All sectors, except energy, ended the trading session in the black. The Australian dollar rose 0.3 per cent overnight. It was fetching US64.34¢ soon after the sharemarket opened..... [more]

• U.S. Market Report: U.S. stocks rose on Monday in choppy trading after steep losses in the previous session as easing Middle East tensions buoyed risk appetite, while investors looked ahead to an action-packed week with major tech earnings and a key inflation print..... [more]

• European Market Report: European stocks closed higher on Monday as geopolitical worries, concerns about inflation and interest rate outlook faded a bit. Fears of a wider Middle East conflict ebbed after Iran and Israel completed 'measured' counterattacks that were calibrated to avoid any casualties..... [more]

• Asian Market Report: Asian stocks rebounded on Monday, while the dollar, oil and gold all pulled back from their recent highs as fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East ebbed..... [more]

Australian Business News

• Amendments to the later overhauled stage 3 tax cuts were examined by the federal government as early as June 2022, correspondence between Treasury and Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ office has revealed. A two-page ministerial submission, released under freedom of information laws, shows Treasury officials presented three separate options to amend the tax package in July 2022 following a request from the Treasurer’s office weeks after Labor won the 2022 election..... [more]

• New South Wales is facing a budget shortfall that's worse than the shock experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic due to an $11.9 billion GST hole, according to the state treasurer. In a speech on Monday, Daniel Mookhey will warn that the revenue gap will "almost certainly" mean the state loses its AAA credit rating, potentially pushing up the cost of borrowing..... [more]

• South Australia tops economic leaderboard again in State of the States report.... [more]

• Why Citi has a 'Sell' rating for every major Australia bank – CBA, Westpac, ANZ and NAB.... [more]

• Fortnum Private Wealth has created a new over-arching brand following its recent acquisition of Australian Unity’s Professional Financial Services business. The new brand, Entireti, has been announced as becoming the over-arching brand identity that encompasses the group’s business services and licensing offerings..... [more]

• We initiate coverage on McMillan Shakespeare (ASX: MMS) with a fair value estimate of $19 per share and assign the group no-moat, High Uncertainty, and Standard Capital Allocation ratings. McMillan is a business services provider with salary packaging, novated leasing, fleet management, and disability plan management as its key offerings. The shares are currently fairly valued. .... [more]

• Australia’s biggest superannuation fund has joined a protest vote against Woodside Energy’s failure to do more to address the climate crisis, saying it has unanswered questions about the fossil fuel company’s plans. AustralianSuper said it had spent “a lot of time reviewing and engaging” with Woodside on its climate transition plan before the company’s annual general meeting on Wednesday, and still had “ongoing concerns” about how it would reach net zero emissions by 2050..... [more]

• Why war, economic unrest and a looming US election could send Australian gold prices to new heights.... [more]

• The value of uranium mining company Boss Energy continues to go nuclear, with the miner jumping three per cent in trading on Monday after announcing its first production of yellowcake from the recommissioned Honeymoon project in remote South Australia..... [more]

• Lithium brine-focused Galan Lithium has signed a pivotal commercial agreement with the Catamarca government for both domestic and international export of concentrate from its Hombre Muerto West (HMW) project in Argentina, providing it with much bigger market access. Galan Lithium’s (ASX:GLN) 7.9Mt HMW project in Argentina’s slice of South America’s Lithium Triangle is a four-phase lithium brine development with a final production target of 60,000tpa lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) by 2030..... [more]

• Artemis Resources bolsters corporate skillset with board appointment.... [more]

• Groote Eylandt's manganese mine will not export any ore until January 2025 at the earliest following extensive damage from a tropical cyclone that hit the island in March. Tropical Cyclone Megan dumped a record 681 millimetres of rain on the Gulf of Carpentaria island on the weekend of March 16 and 17, with wind gusts more than 100 kilometres per hour recorded..... [more]

• Property landlord Stockland has joined forces with fuel supplier Ampol to roll out one of the biggest Australian shopping centre networks of AmpCharge fast and ultra-fast electric vehicle charging stations. The two ASX-listed companies will offer more 100 AmpCharge charging bays in 16 retail town centres..... [more]

• Recce Pharmaceuticals (ASX:RCE), developing a body of anti-infective drugs for Australian and international markets, posted the results of its latest quarterly on Monday. The company wound up March with $8.5M in cash; an increase of around 100% QoQ. Stocks were up nearly 2% to 54cps heading into the second hour of trade..... [more]

• Consumer advocacy group Choice has called on the competition regulator to stop supermarkets using slogans, designs or colours that imply a discount is on offer when it is not a genuine deal. The submission is informed by the group’s survey of 1,000 consumers which showed that one-in-four shoppers find it difficult to identify when a supermarket label represented real value, with the phrases “while stocks last” and “prices dropped” the most confusing..... [more]

• Farmers giving evidence at an inquiry into supermarket practices are expected to do so behind closed doors out of fear of retribution from the retail giants. It comes as the Queensland government establishes the Select Committee into Supermarket Pricing probe into the big four supermarkets, with the first hearing to be held in Bundaberg today..... [more]

• Star Entertainment Group’s shares have hit their lowest level in the company’s history, as executive chair David Foster and former boss Robbie Cooke prepare to front a gruelling inquiry into the casino operator’s culture. The Star’s share price has been in a tailspin ever since its NSW casino licence was suspended in 2022. It dropped to just 41c on Monday, down 10 per cent over the past week.... [more]

• Two companies that made up a major Queensland construction firm have collapsed, leaving nearly 1000 creditors more than $80 million out of pocket. At the end of last month, news.com.au reported that Allroads Pty Ltd had gone into in liquidation owing $24 million to 721 creditors..... [more]

• Cettire share price plunges 6% after major investor pulls the plug.... [more]

• Opinion - Stephen Bartholomeusz: What the Magnificent Seven’s $1.7 trillion meltdown tells us about the economy. In just seven trading days, the “Magnificent Seven” of the US sharemarket lost just over $US1 trillion ($1.7 trillion) of their market value within an overall market down almost 4.5 per cent..... [more]

• Comment - Steve Johnson: Time for small-cap investors to stop whingeing..... [more]

• Opinion - Elizabeth Knight: Australian politicians join the unhappy queue behind Tesla investors. There is no keener symbolism of the woes of Elon Musk’s Tesla than the fact it was overtaken in size last Friday by America’s largest oil company, ExxonMobil..... [more]

World Business News

• The dollar ticked higher against the euro and yen in subdued trade after last week's volatility, with markets taking their lead from the Fed's higher-for-longer messaging and a firmer Wall Street ahead of results from megacap growth companies..... [more]

• The US dollar is strengthening. Here’s what’s driving the rally and what it means for Americans .... [more]

• U.S. borrowers on lower incomes are increasingly struggling to keep up with their loan payments, according to recent data and bank executives, prompting banks to become more cautious about dishing out credit cards and car loans..... [more]

• Investors are betting that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. stock could have even more room to fall after suffering a double-digit drop. TSMC stock has fallen over 13% since April 11, a sell-off that's wiped out more than $100 billion in market value..... [more]

• Apple stock is BofA's Top Pick for 2024. Here's why.... [more]

• FIFA Said to Be Close to TV Deal With Apple for New Tournament. The agreement would give the tech company worldwide rights for a monthlong World Cup-style competition between top teams set to take place next year..... [more]

• Kroger (KR.N) and Albertsons Cos (ACI.N) are expanding their planned sale of grocery stores, offloading 166 more locations than previously agreed upon to C&S Wholesale Grocers as they work to get regulatory approval for their proposed $25 billion merger, the companies said on Monday. The companies have been looking to sell stores to address regulators' increasing concerns that the merger will lead to higher prices, store closures and job losses..... [more]

• Delta Air Lines, facing another union attempt to organize flight attendants, is raising their pay.... [more]

• What investors should know about the UAW’s organizing drive of VW.... [more]

• Tesla stock slid to a new 52-week low on Monday after the EV maker initiated another round of price cuts for its vehicles. The company cut the price of its Model Y, Model S, and Model X vehicles by about $2,000 in the US, and it initiated a round of price cuts in Germany and China as well as it faces a surge in competition..... [more]

• Disney technology executive Aaron LaBerge to leave company for personal reasons.... [more]

• A $12 billion high-speed passenger rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area has started construction, officials said Monday, amid predictions that millions of ticket-buyers will be boarding trains by 2028. “People have been dreaming of high-speed rail in America for decades,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement released to coincide with a ceremony at the future site of a terminal to be built just south of the Las Vegas Strip..... [more]

• Former JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes will join Airbus as the company’s North American leader. Hayes, JetBlue’s CEO for nine years, stepped down from the post on February 12. Hayes will take over the role of chairman and chief executive officer of Airbus Americas from Jeff Knittel, who announced his retirement on Monday..... [more]

• Express files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, announces store closures, possible sale.... [more]

• Argentina's economic activity likely plunged 5.9% year-on-year in February, a Reuters poll of market analysts showed on Monday, which would make a fourth straight monthly slide amid tough austerity measures under new libertarian President Javier Milei..... [more]

• European officials are threatening TikTok with massive fines and a possible forced suspension this week of parts of a new spinoff app, launched this month, that regulators allege contains addictive features. The warnings target TikTok Lite, a less data-intensive version of TikTok’s main app which contains a feature that rewards users with cash for engaging with TikTok content and app features..... [more]

• The EU needs to rethink its policies to make a 2035 ban on new petrol car sales feasible as electric vehicles (EVs) remain unaffordable and alternative fuel options are not credible, the EU's external auditor said, jeopardising its 2050 climate goals..... [more]

• Three co-founders of CVC Capital Partners, the private equity firm that bought up and then sold Formula One, have built up a combined €2.6bn (£2.2bn) fortune, according to the company’s prospectus published in the run-up to its stock market float..... [more]

• Asda seeks to raise £2.6bn to refinance debt burden.... [more]

• P&O Ferries seafarers have been told they will benefit from new French legislation that could double their pay, in what appears to be a significant U-turn by the controversial ferry operator..... [more]

• The explosion in popularity of bubble tea has minted at least six billionaires in China over the past few years. Bubble tea is a sweet tea-based drink that typically comes with soft, chewy tapioca "bubbles" that sink to the bottom of and require an extra large straw to be enjoyed. The drink was invented in Taiwan in the 1980s..... [more]

• HK Bankers Face More Job Cuts on China Slowdown, BI Says.... [more]

• Hong Kong’s economic recovery is slowly filling up retail spaces in the city, pushing vacancy rates to a three-year low. The rebound, however, is bypassing the northwestern part of the city because of the attraction of cheaper goods and services in Shenzhen and neighbouring mainland Chinese cities. The overall retail vacancy rate dropped to 9.6 per cent in March from 10 per cent a year ago, and is likely to hold steady over the next six months, according to the latest report by Midland IC&I..... [more]

• How Chinese firms are using Mexico as a backdoor to the US.... [more]