The stock market was sharply lower by late afternoon and the weak Australian dollar remained vulnerable as investors reeled amid fears about the risks of slowdown in the global economy. Markets in Asia were also not immune to the steep falls on Wall Street last Friday, as investors sought shelter in... Read More

North Queensland Metals says a takeover offer from West Australian-based Conquest Mining is “inadequate”. On June 3, Conquest offered North Queensland shareholders half a Conquest share plus 10 cents in cash for each North Queensland share held, valuing the target at about $58 million. C... Read More

Arrow Energy said today that a proposed $3.44 billion takeover of the bulk of its Australian assets by Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina remained on track to be sealed by late July. In a slideshow presentation lodged with the Australian Securities Exchange, Arrow said its shareholders were still expe... Read More

The total number of job advertisements in Australian newspapers and on the internet rose 4.3 per cent in May compared with April, an ANZ survey showed today. The average number of ads per week was 167,633, contributing to a 21.7 per cent annual increase, said ANZ, which compiles the data. The number... Read More

The market value of local mining companies that operate solely in Australia has plunged 12 per cent since the Rudd government announced its controversial resources tax plan on May 2, as international fund managers reassess their Australian investments. However, the market value of miners that operat... Read More

The latest company to wade into the Australian Mining Super Tax debate is Future Fund, whose Chairman David Murray has called the tax significantly flawed and said it poses a threat to Australia’s investment reputation. He also said that it creates a “sovereign risk” to Australia. Murray is th... Read More

The prospect of National Australia Bank increasing its capital raising to fund the planned takeover of Axa Asia Pacific (APH) is firming as the retail bank faces growing pressure over its share price. The bank’s stock price has tumbled from $28 when it launched its bid in December to $24.36 ye... Read More

Australia’s biggest banks have become the victims of aggressive international hedge funds, which are shorting the banks’ stocks after growing concern about the strength of the domestic property market. The top four banks have suffered a sustained selldown since April, as the US funds sla... Read More

Australia’s financial markets are set to experience significant change. As always, change brings opportunities and risks. With change also comes challenge. And in the context of competition for market services in Australia, there are challenges aplenty for government, regulators, exchange oper... Read More

Mining super Xstrata has made a bold move in retaliation to the impending Resource Super Profits Tax (RSPT) soon to emerge from the Australian government by abandoning work at two of its Queensland-located mining projects. “The RSPT has created significant uncertainty for the future of mining... Read More

The Australian economy grew at a much slower pace in the first quarter than at the end of last year as the withdrawal of Kevin Rudd’s economic stimulus to combat the GFC, surprising weakness in business investment and sluggish growth in export volumes took some of the steam out of activity. Bu... Read More

Insurance Australia Group’s shares fell as much as 10.8 per cent today following the company’s warning that it was cutting its full-year insurance margin because of problems in its UK motor insurance business. By early afternoon IAG shares were down 19 cents, or 5.3 per cent, to $3.42 in... Read More

Rupert Murdoch’s early bet with applications for the iPad seems to have paid off, with almost 20,000 subscribers paying to download his newspapers. This includes 4500 subscriptions for The Australian’s $4.99-a-month app, launched last Thursday on the eve of the iPad’s Australian re... Read More

Tony Abbott today warned miners to ignore Kevin Rudd’s “honey words” about tax consultation as Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest hit back at the Prime Ministers’ allegations that they had been misleading the public. Mr Forrest, the Fortescue Metals Group chief executive, to... Read More

An indicator of inflation in Australia rose 0.5 per cent in May compared with a month earlier, adding to views that building price pressures in the economy will need to be offset by higher interest rates. The newly introduced 25 per cent government tobacco tariff was singled out as the biggest contr... Read More

Rio Tinto chief executive Tom Albanese has declared that the government will become a risky “silent partner” in the Australian mining industry through its controversial resource super-profits tax (RSPT), which could limit international investment in the sector. The world’s third-la... Read More