Australia

Australian shares recovered early losses and closed little?changed? on Thursday. Gains in heavily-weighted miners offset?a??drop? in top oil & gas producer Woodside Energy, after its CEO announced a surprising move to lead BP. After a three-day decline, the S&P/ASX 200 Index fell up to 0.4% and closed unchanged at 8,588.20. The main index, however, was on track to end its last full trading week in 2025, with a 1.3% drop, as sticky inflation and strong economic growth shattered expectations of future interest rate reductions. The markets now expect the central bank to make its next move upwards in the second...

The British Financial Reporting Council announced on Monday that it has opened an investigation into Ernst & Young’s audit of Shell’s 2024 financial reports for possible violations of audit partner rotation regulations. Shell announced in July that it would update the 2023 and 2024 annual reports, due to EY not complying with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s audit partner rotation rules. The financial statements, however, would remain unchanged. U.S. SEC regulations require 'lead and review audit partners' to rotate every five years, with a cooling-off period of five years. 'Other key partners must rotate every seven?years after a two-year...

SolGold announced on Friday that it would "recommend to its shareholders, Jiangxi copper?an improved offer?valuing the gold and copper mining company at approximately?842?million pounds? ($1.13 billion) amid a worldwide race for copper assets. Jiangxi Copper has increased its offer to 28 pence per Share, marking the third time that it has proposed to buy SolGold. This is a 7.7% rise from their previous bid of 26 pence per Share which was rejected last month. SolGold, a company based in Ecuador, said that its board will tell shareholders to accept Jiangxi Copper's (JCC) offer if it is firm. JCC's pursuit for...

The Australian government released on Thursday its first offshore oil and natural gas acreage available for auction since 2022. The five areas are located in the Otway Basin, offshore of?Victoria in Commonwealth waters. They were announced a day after?the Victorian Government offered state waters for companies to bid on. In 2020, over 40 areas - most of them in the north - were put up for bids. By 2022, there were only 10. Canberra hopes that the offer will prevent a future shortage of gas on Australia's east coast. Madeleine King, Resources Minister, said: "Exploration will be key to meeting...

The General Administration of Customs reported on Monday that coal imports from China, the largest buyer in the world, dropped 20% from their record high of the previous year. Imports in November, at 44.05 millions metric tons, were up by 6% compared to 41.74 tons in October. Imports in November of the previous year had reached 54.98 millions tons, a monthly record. The China Coal Transportation and Distribution Association's (CCTD) website reported in late November that although imported coal has a slight price advantage, this arbitrage has decreased as domestic coal prices have fallen. CCTD stated that due to supply...

Investors said that BHP should focus on its own growth strategy and move away from Anglo American, following the Australian firm's last minute appeal to the London listed company, which is close to a $60 billion deal with Canada's Teck Resources. In recent days, the world's biggest miner contacted Anglo's board to determine if there was any interest in a merger. This was reported by Sunday. BHP announced on Monday that it would not pursue the bid, but instead focus its efforts on growth. The decision to leave comes before the votes of Teck and Anglo shares - scheduled for...

BHP Group, the mining company, has renewed its takeover bid for rival Anglo American, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. This comes just months after BHP and Teck Resources, the Canadian miner, agreed to merge to form a global heavyweight in the copper industry. Anglo American refused to comment. BHP didn't immediately respond to an outside normal business hours request for a comment. Bloomberg News, citing sources familiar with the situation, reported that BHP made overtures to Anglo American recently. The report added that discussions are still ongoing and a deal is not certain. Anglo American has...

Australian shares closed Monday at near-four-month lows, as declines among major banks offset the strong performance of the energy sector. Investors also reassessed their positions in an uncertain environment for monetary policy. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed at 8,635.40, its lowest level since mid-July. Financials closed at a four-month low, down 0.2%. Commonwealth Bank of Australia shares fell by nearly 1% to a new low. CBA, Australia's largest lender, has lost more than 10% of its value since the beginning of last week, after its disappointing earnings and warnings about margin pressures affected market sentiment. Tim Waterer, KCM Trade's...

Customs data released on Friday showed that China's imports of coal in October were down 10% from the previous year, due to a holiday which reduced the number working days during the month. Imports will be supported in 2025 by the winter restocking of products during the last two months. Imports in October fell from 46.25 to 41.74 millions metric tons, a drop of almost ten percent. Imports in September reached 46 million metric tonnes, a record high for nine months. Feng Dongbin is vice-general manager of Fenwei Digital Information Technology. He said that imports decreased sequentially, and also from...

The Australian government will introduce a bill on environmental protection into the parliament on Thursday. It said that this would help businesses by making approvals of resource and construction projects faster and easier. The center-left Labor party hopes that its legislation will give a boost to an economy geared toward resource extraction. Australia is one of the world's largest producers of metals, coal and gas. The environment ministry released a statement saying that "these vital changes had been waiting five years for delivery, and we have seen our environment going backwards, and businesses losing time and money." The bill will...

The oil prices rose by about 5% after Washington imposed new sanctions against major Russian companies for the war in Ukraine. Major stock indexes also edged up as gains from U.S. energy stocks and European energy shares offset some disappointing earnings reports. The sanctions were announced late on Wednesday and targeted major Russian suppliers Rosneft, Lukoil. The U.S. announced it was ready to take additional action, as it urged Moscow to immediately agree to a ceasefire. Energy was the leading sector to gain on Wall Street, according to the S&P 500 index. Energy was the last sector to gain 1.2%....

BHP Group's CEO stated at the annual general meeting that it will be forced to make "difficult" decisions for its metallurgical business in Australia, if no regulatory changes are made to help it. BHP announced last month that it would cut 750 positions and suspend operations at a Queensland coal mine, which it shares with an affiliate of Mitsubishi. It blamed low prices and high royalties from the state government for its poor returns. Mike Henry, CEO of the miner’s annual general meeting, said: "Without change there will be without a doubt more difficult decisions." The incoming chair Ross McEwan,...

Australian shares were up slightly on Thursday as gains in healthcare and banking stocks offset a fall in mining stocks. This comes a day after mixed data about inflation left the central banks' monetary policy uncertain. S&P/ASX 200 Index?edged?up?0.1% to 8,707.50 at 0012 GMT. The benchmark index rose by 0.2% on Tuesday. The Reserve Bank of Australia has set a target range of 2%-3% for core inflation. However, the data released on Wednesday shows that consumer prices increased 3.4% from a month earlier in November. This is slower than the alarmingly high rate of 3.8% seen in October. RBA already...

BlueScope Steel shares were down by 2% on early Thursday trading after the company turned down an A$13.2 Billion ($8.87 Billion) takeover bid from Australian conglomerate SGH and U.S. based Steel Dynamics. BlueScope's shares were trading slightly below the A$30 per share cash offer, which indicates investors believe a deal can still be struck despite the official rejection by the board. SGH shares traded 0.7% lower on Thursday after BlueScope stated that the offer "significantly undervalued" SGH after trading closed Wednesday. Steel Dynamics shares ended Wednesday's U.S. trade 2.8% lower. Macquarie analysts predicted that the takeover fight would continue. They...

BlueScope Steel's investors are hoping for a A$13.2 Billion ($8.92 Billion) buyout offer from SGH and U.S. based Steel Dynamics to gain their support to sell Australia’s largest steelmaker. BlueScope closed Wednesday with a 1.12% increase in its shares at A$29.87. This is a fractional amount below the A$30 offer that was made public on Monday. The BlueScope board has yet to deliver an official recommendation on the all-cash bid, which was the fourth approach from Steel Dynamics put to the Melbourne-headquartered firm since late 2024. SGH, owned by Australian billionaire Kerry Stokes would purchase BlueScope, and then sell the...

BlueScope Steel, an Australian steelmaker, said Monday that it received a preliminary?takeover bid in December from a consortium consisting of SGH?and U.S. based Steel Dynamics. The offer valued the steelmaker at $8.78 billion (?A$13.15?billion). SGH Ltd, a Sydney-listed industrial conglomerate and Steel Dynamics, a Nasdaq listed company, made a cash offer of A$30 per share on December 12. This represents a premium over BlueScope’s closing price on December 11 and a premium exceeding 22.7% above its Monday close. SGH, owned by Australian billionaire Kerry Stokes, would acquire all?BlueScope shares and sell its North American business to Steel Dynamics. BlueScope’s board...

European stocks rose on Monday as investors bought up defense stocks following the U.S. military strikes against Venezuela. This sparked new 'geopolitical' concerns. The STOXX 600 pan-European index was 0.3% higher by 0810 GMT. As investors return from their New Year holidays, trading volumes should normalize. Defense?index grew by 2.7%, reaching its highest level in two months. The technology and basic resources also rose by 2.1% and 2% respectively. Investors continue to monitor the impact of the 'dramatic capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas?Maduro over the weekend by U.S. forces. Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he would temporarily place Venezuela...

According to Barclays, activist investors who want companies to improve their performance launched a record-breaking number of campaigns in 2025. Market volatility, favorable financing terms, and increased deal activity created the ideal environment for lobbying for change. Blue-chip activists including Elliott Investment Management and a large number of newcomers launched attacks in 2025 on global companies, urging them to improve operations, replace board members, or even sell themselves. Activists attacked well-known brands like athleisure brand Lululemon Athletica and ride-hailing service Lyft. PepsiCo, the maker of soda and snacks, and Yeti, a cooler and drinkware manufacturer, were also targeted. The data...

Australian shares rose on Monday as mining and gold stocks extended gains to reach record highs. This was due to a rise in commodity prices that overshadowed the losses of?energy companies. S&P/ASX 200 index increased 0.2% to 8,777.90 by 2319 GMT. The benchmark index fell by 0.4% before the markets closed on Boxing Day and Christmas Day. The mining stocks rose by 1.1%, reaching a new record high. Copper prices reached a new high on Friday and iron ore prices also increased. Rio Tinto, the world's largest iron ore company, rose 0.7% following a?briefly reaching another record high. The Anglo...

China's iron ore state buyer uses increasingly aggressive tactics against mining giants like BHP in order to tighten their grip on the $132 Billion seaborne market, and to extract better terms from steel?mills. This is happening just as an enormous new supply source is about to strengthen China's hand. China Mineral Resources Group, (CMRG), in November asked their steel mills and traders to refrain from buying spot cargoes for a second BHP-product. This was months after the group blacklisted a product that had raised concerns with Australia's top supplier. Analysts and traders said that the standoff over a supply deal...

SolGold, a gold and copper mining company, announced on Wednesday that it had reached an agreement to be purchased by Jiangxi Copper. The deal valued SolGold at $867 million pounds ($1.17billion). The 28 pence per share deal represents a 43% premium over SolGold, a company focused on Ecuador that closed its stock price the previous day (November 19), the day Jiangxi approached the company to do a deal. SolGold's share price closed at 25.65 pence on Wednesday, a trading session that was shortened due to the holiday. The agreement gives Jiangxi the control of SolGold's Cascabel Project in Ecuador's Imbabura...

Export Finance Australia has sent a non-binding support letter to Latrobe Magnesium, Australia. The letter could be used to fund the construction of a magnesium plant in Victoria. The U.S. will provide support for the development of stage 2 of the commercial magnesia extraction facility as part of a deal with Australia that aims to counter China's dominance of the minerals industry. Magnesium, which is used to produce steel and titanium in China, is the world’s largest producer. Construction of the 'plant, which will process up to 10,000 tons of magnesium each year, is estimated to cost approximately A$250,000,000 ($166.70...

Guinea and EGA talk to avoid legal battles over assets seized EGA loses GAC license due to row over alumina refinery Nimba Mining to increase bauxite production By Maxwell ?Akalaare Adombila DAKAR, 16 December - Guinea and Emirates Global Aluminium are in discussions over a 'possible bauxite agreement, which would see the company sourcing the 'aluminium /feedstock from Guinea’s state-owned Nimba Mining. Guinea's military government, following a dispute that lasted a year over the construction an alumina refining plant, revoked Guinea Alumina Corporation's licence in July. The company then transferred its mining assets to Nimba Mining. Sources, including a government...

Three industry sources have confirmed that gold mining companies in the Ivory Coast are now paying an 8% royalty backdated to January after months of disputing its legality. The world's largest cocoa producer has replaced the previously linked 3%-6% contract rate with a flat 8%?rate. The miners refused to pay at first, claiming that it was illegal because their contracts protected them from fiscal changes. They then entered into negotiations with the government in order to get the new royalties scrapped. The three people who are familiar with the issue, but declined to be identified because they weren't authorised to...