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Topic:Stock Market
Australian shares look set for sharp falls at the open. As Donald Trump delayed some tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods, fatigue at the policy whiplash hit US markets, sending the Nasdaq into a correction, down 10pc from its peak.
Star Entertainment could run out of cash as early as today, as it's yet to confirm a rescue deal to the market.
We'll bring you the latest on what's happening on the markets throughout the day in our live blog, plus insights from our specialist business reporters.
Disclaimer: this blog is not intended as investment advice.
By Samuel Yang
Price current around 08:37am AEDT
Live updates on the major ASX indices:
By Samuel Yang
Insignia Financial has granted two key suiters access to its books after both Bain Capital and CC Capital raised their respective takeover bids to $3.34 billion, marking a pivotal moment in an escalating bidding war.
Insignia said on Friday the two firms now vying for control of one of Australia's largest wealth management firms had increased their per-share offers to $5 each — an 8.7% premium over their previous $4.60 bids.
Bain, best known in Australia for acquiring Virgin Australia out of administration, and CC Capital, a Wall Street-based private equity firm, now appear to have the upper hand after investment giant Brookfield entered the contest last month with a matching bid.
Insignia, formerly known as IOOF, oversees approximately $327 billion in client assets, making it the third-largest player in Australia's superannuation sector.
Australia's publicly traded wealth management firms are drawing interest from investors attracted to the country's thriving pension system.
By Samuel Yang
The embattled casino operator Star Entertainment seems to have lost a major shareholder.
The company posted a statement on the stock exchange last night, saying it's become aware that State Street Corporation and its subsidiaries ceased to be a substantial shareholder on 4 March 2025.
"The Company’s Constitution, as well as certain agreements entered into with Liquor and Gaming New South Wales and the Queensland Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation, contain restrictions prohibiting an individual from having a voting power of more than 10% in the Company," Star said in an ASX announcement.
"The Company may refuse to register any transfer of shares which would contravene these shareholding restrictions or require divestiture of the shares that cause an individual to exceed the shareholding restrictions."
Shares in Star Entertainment have been suspended since Monday because it failed to report half-yearly profit results to the ASX by last Friday's deadline.
The company previously said that it couldn't finalise the results unless it received a substantial cash injection to stave off financial collapse.
The Australian Financial Review reported yesterday that Hong Kong investors have offered $50 million in exchange for the Brisbane casino and the rest of its Queensland operation.
So how did Star get here? Watch this short explainer video.
By Stephanie Chalmers
When the Reserve Bank cut the official cash rate by 25 basis points last month, lenders reacted quickly, letting customers know home loan rates were dropping.
However, they have been slower to explain how the changes will affect savings rates.
Unlike the relief felt by home loan borrowers, a lower savings rate means customers will earn less interest on their money in the bank.
51 banks have cut at least one of their savings rates since the February RBA decision, says Canstar, a financial comparison site. That's as of March 6.
Most have passed on the full 0.25 percentage point cut.
The highest ongoing savings rate is now 5.4 per cent — but there are monthly terms and conditions that need to be met to qualify for that rate.
Canstar's database shows eight banks offering at least one ongoing saving rate above 5 per cent, although each one comes with monthly conditions.
So, to know what you're signing up for and the rate you're likely to actually get on your savings, be sure to check the fine print.
Read more here from business reporter Emily Stewart:
By Samuel Yang
By Samuel Yang
Australia's largest coal-fired power station is unreliable and driving up electricity prices, according to a new report that argues against the viability of keeping coal plants open beyond their scheduled closure dates.
The report from clean energy consultancy group Nexa Advisory questions the wisdom of a New South Wales government deal to extend the life of the Origin Energy-owned Eraring.
Last year, the state's Labor government struck a deal with Origin to keep the 43-year-old coal plant open for an additional two years, until August 2027.
Under the agreement, the state government agreed to cover Origin's operational losses of up to $225 million a year from 2025.
Nexa Advisory's report argues against further taxpayer assistance for Eraring, given the plant's "unreliability" due to frequent outages.
Nexa analysed the performance data of Eraring and found each of its four units had experienced about 6,000 hours, equivalent to two months, of downtime annually over the last four years and that these outages had affected the plant's availability when it was needed most.
The report on Eraring comes as a federal election looms, with the viability of keeping the nation's aging coal-fired power stations going for longer under the Coalition's nuclear plan among the issues on the table.
As coal plants age, planned and unplanned outages have become more frequent.
When outages occur it pushes up wholesale electricity prices because more expensive forms of power, like gas, are then relied upon to meet demand when renewables cannot.
Those price increases are eventually passed onto households and businesses.
Watch this story by Business Reporter Rhiana Whitson.
By Samuel Yang
President Donald Trump on Thursday exempted goods from both Canada and Mexico under a North American trade pact for a month from the 25% tariffs that he had imposed earlier this week, the latest twist in fast-shifting trade policy that has whipsawed financial markets and business leaders.
The exemption, which will expire on April 2, covers both of the two largest US trading partners. Trump had earlier only mentioned an exemption for Mexico, but the amendment he signed to his order for 25% levies on imports from both – which went into effect on Tuesday – covers Canada as well.
For Canada, the amended order also excludes duties on potash, a critical fertilizer for US farmers, but does not fully cover energy products, on which Trump has imposed a separate 10% levy. A White House official said that is because not all energy products imported from Canada are covered under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade that Trump negotiated in his first term as president.
Trump imposed the tariffs after declaring a national emergency due to deaths from fentanyl overdoses, asserting that the deadly opioid and its precursor chemicals make their way from China to the US via Canada and Mexico. Trump has also imposed tariffs of 20% on all imports from China as a result.
The exemptions will expire on April 2, when Trump has threatened to impose a global regime of reciprocal tariffs on all US trading partners.
The development comes a day after Trump exempted automotive goods from the 25% tariffs he imposed on imports from Canada and Mexico as of Tuesday, levies that economists saw as threatening to stoke inflation and stall growth across all three economies.
US stock markets resumed their recent sell-off on Thursday, with investors citing the rapid-fire, back-and-forth developments on tariffs as a concern due to the uncertainty they are fanning. Economists have warned that the levies may rekindle inflation that has already proven difficult to bring fully to heel, and slow demand and growth in its wake.
All 11 sectors on the benchmark S&P 500 index were trading lower on the session, with the biggest losses in consumer discretionary, real estate and technology equities.
The Nasdaq was set to drop 10% from its December 16 closing level, marking a correction.
By Samuel Yang
Good morning and welcome Friday's markets live blog, where we'll bring you the latest price action and news on the ASX and beyond.
A tumble on Wall Street overnight sets the tone for local market action today.
The Dow Jones index dropped 1.1 per cent, the S&P 500 lost 1.8 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite down 2.5 per cent.
ASX futures were down 66 points or 0.8 per cent to 8,032 at 7:23am AEDT.
At the same time, the Australian dollar was flat at 63.34 US cents.
Brent crude oil rose 0.3 per cent, trading at $US69.53 a barrel.
Spot gold dropped 0.1 per cent to $US2,914.83.
Iron ore rose 0.7 per cent to $US100.45 a tonne.
Topic:Cyclones
Topic:Cyclones
Topic:Cyclones
Topic:Law, Crime and Justice
Analysis by Michelle Grattan
Topic:Law, Crime and Justice
Topic:Energy Industry
Topic:Dance
Topic:Viticulture
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AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)
