Ireland

Wall Street's major indexes closed at record highs on Monday for the second consecutive day as investors were optimistic about the prospects of a U.S. China trade deal. They also looked forward to an exciting week that will include high-profile earnings from the technology sector and the widely anticipated U.S. rate cut. U.S. president Donald Trump and his Chinese equivalent Xi Jinping will meet on Thursday in order to decide on a plan that could pause the tougher U.S. duties and China's export restrictions on rare earths. This would ease market jitters about a possible trade war, and send Wall...

The two companies announced on Tuesday that Australian natural gas producer Tamboran Resources had signed an agreement with Irish oil and gas company Falcon Oil & Gas to purchase it in a deal worth C$239,000,000 ($171.81,000,000) in cash plus stock. The agreement aims to strengthen Tamboran’s position in the Beetaloo Basin in Australia’s Northern Territory. This area is known for its immense natural gas potential. It also reflects the growing interest in untapped resources in this region, and exploration activities are expected to increase in the next few years. Through the deal, the firm would consolidate their presence in the...

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway announced on Thursday that it had made a new investment into UnitedHealth Group, after the insurer was targeted by many Americans who were upset about the direction the country's healthcare is taking. Berkshire reported that it owned 5,04 million UnitedHealth Shares worth approximately $1.57 billion at the end of June. The disclosure was made in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission document detailing Berkshire’s U.S. listed common stock holdings at June 30, 2010. UnitedHealth shares surged by 8.5% after-hours. Buffett's conglomerate said that it also sold 20 million Apple shares in the second quarter. This reduced...

APA Corp beat Wall Street expectations for quarterly profits on Wednesday as higher natural gas prices and stronger production in Egypt helped to blunt the impact from lower oil prices and reduced total output. The shares of the company rose 2% during extended trading. Natural gas prices have rebounded since last year, mainly due to hotter weather conditions, higher demand for electricity generation, and lower U.S. stock injections. APA's average realized gasoline prices increased by nearly 29% to $2.28 per 1,000 cubic feet in the second quarter of last year. The volume of natural gas rose by 7%, to 894...

Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland, said on Tuesday that a group of former leaders from around the world are urging Europe not to let trade wars or defence spending divert attention away from climate change issues. The Elders, the group created by Nelson Mandela as former South African president, will meet with EU and NATO in late this month to discuss ways to soften upcoming corporate climate disclosure regulations to address concerns about competitiveness. Robinson, Ireland's former president from 1990-97, said that she was concerned about the plans, but that the bloc has an opportunity to seize the leadership...

Artificial intelligence bulls are dusting off an old economic theory that dates back 160 years to explain why stocks in the sector may still have more to offer, despite China's new cheap AI model DeepSeek. The tech stocks fell on January 27th after DeepSeek was launched. DeepSeek, which costs a fraction of the rival AI models but requires less sophisticated chips and is cheaper than the other AI models, raised concerns about the West's massive investments in data centres and chipmakers. The biggest one-day decline in market capitalisation of any company in history was caused by the U.S. advanced chips...

U.S. oil and gas business Kosmos Energy stated on Thursday it was in early talks for an all-share acquisition of West Africa-focused Tullow Oil. Earlier in the day, Tullow resolved current media speculation by revealing that there is no certainty of any deals being made or of the regards to any possible deals. Kosmos Energy has a deadline of 5 p.m. London time on Jan. 9, 2025, to decide whether to reveal a firm intention to make a deal or to declare that it will not pursue the acquisition. The Dallas, Texas-based business has a market cap of $1.75 billion,...

Dublinbased corporation DCC said on Tuesday it would put its healthcare division up for sale and take a look at options for its innovation company in order to concentrate on energy, its biggest and fastest growing unit. Chief Executive Donal Murphy said DCC had been a varied group because it was established more than thirty years back, however that its greatest opportunity was now in the energy shift. We have chosen it remains in the very best interest of shareholders to focus exclusively on the energy service, he informed Reuters. Shares in DCC leapt as much as 18% to 5,865...

Australian shares rose on Thursday driven by gains in heavyweight miners and financials, while mining giant Rio Tinto offered to purchase U.S.based Arcadium Lithium in a $6.7 billion deal a day earlier. The S&P/ ASX 200 index increased 0.5% to 8,225 by 2331 GMT. The standard ended 0.1% greater on Wednesday. After the marketplace closed on Wednesday, Rio Tinto said it will buy Arcadium Lithium in an all-cash deal to end up being the world's. third-largest lithium miner. Shares of the iron ore miner increased as much as 0.8% to. A$ 119.220. The mining sub-index snapped a two-day losing streak....

The personal equity owners of Flowco have begun preparations for an initial public offering of the oilfield companies that could value it at as much as $ 2 billion and come as early as the first half of 2025, according to individuals familiar with the matter. Jefferies, JPMorgan Chase and Piper Sandler have actually been tapped as the lead underwriters for the stock exchange flotation, the sources said, cautioning that the timing and the size of the offer went through market conditions. Flowco has filed in complete confidence with U.S. regulators for its IPO, the sources stated, requesting privacy to...

U.S. oil and gas manufacturer Devon Energy beat experts' quotes for second-quarter profit on Tuesday and raised its full-year production forecast. Shares were up 2.6% at $43.05 in aftermarket trade. Based upon our strong efficiency for the very first half of 2024, we now anticipate our full-year 2024 production guidance to be 5 percent greater than our original outlook, CEO Rick Muncrief said. The Oklahoma-based firm now expects 677,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily (boepd) to 688,000 boepd for the present year. Devon Energy, in July, stated it had actually participated in an offer to obtain Williston Basin service of...

U.S. oil and gas manufacturer ConocoPhillips' secondquarter revenue beat Wall Street estimates on Thursday, gaining from higher output and product costs. The beat comes as ConocoPhillips is pursuing a $22.5 billion takeover of Marathon Oil, one of the largest offers of the quarter that is presently under review by the Federal Trade Commission. The combination would develop a company pumping 2.26 million barrels of oil and gas daily, and add 1.32 billion barrels of proven reserves to ConocoPhillips' 6.8 billion. The Houston, Texas-based business said its strategies to close the Marathon handle late fourth quarter stays on track, and restated...

James Hardie Industries, a fibre?cement manufacturer in Australia, raised its yearly earnings forecast after exceeding analyst?estimates during the third quarter. This sent its Sydney listed shares up 14%. Dublin-based company reported an increase of 10% in its inorganic sales in the Siding and Trim division. Solid gains were also observed in other segments, such as Deck, Rail and Accessories. This helped the company to post a net income adjusted for quarter of $142.2 millions, which was higher than Visible Alpha's estimate of $130.1 but lower than last year's 153.6 million. The company raised its forecast for annual adjusted operating profits...

TechMet, a U.S. investment vehicle, is looking at portfolio additions. This includes bidding on a Ukraine Lithium deposit. However, the CEO is concerned that Europe is falling behind in developing a vital minerals sector, which will help to counteract Chinese dominance. Brian Menell, CEO of TechMet, said that the company, which is privately held, has stakes in ten companies, from Brazilian Nickel to South Africa’s Rainbow Rare Earths. He hopes to add to this number within 12 months. In an interview, he stated that "this short-term period market weakness due to the supply of nickel, lithium, cobalt, and rare earth...

Investors angry over the $8.8 billion takeover by AZEK of U.S.-based building products company James Hardie this year have purged its board of directors, including two of its top executives. James Hardie, the company that acquired AZEK, received a waiver by the Australian Securities Exchange to avoid holding a shareholder vote. Proxy votes released ahead of the annual meeting on Wednesday show that Rada Rodriguez, Anne Lloyd's chair and Peter-John Davis are leaving after a majority voted against them. Investors voted against Lloyd by 67.3%, while the two other directors failed to receive majority support. Aproximately two thirds of all...

James Hardie shares listed in Australia fell by more than 11% Thursday, and are on track for their largest two-day decline ever after the fibre cement manufacturer forecasted 2026 earnings that were below analyst expectations. The company cited a weak North America marketplace as a reason. The share price has dropped 36% in the last two days to A$28.34, losing more than A$9 Billion ($5.78 Billion) in market value. This sell-off reflects broader investor dissatisfaction with Australia listed companies that have failed to meet their targets. The selling began on Wednesday, after the company announced that it would have adjusted...

James Hardie, a fiber cement manufacturer, forecast underlying earnings for the full year below expectations on Wednesday as rising borrowing costs and tariffs in the U.S. dampened housing market activity and demand. James Hardie predicted adjusted operating earnings of between $1.05 and $1.15 for fiscal year 2026. This is below Visible Alpha's consensus estimate of $1.23. It earned $1.1billion in fiscal 2025. In a press release, CEO Aaron Erter stated that "over the course of the summer the single-family construction activity was weaker than expected and we have adjusted expectations to account for the softer demand." Homeowners defer large-ticket remodeling...

In May, major U.S. exchange-traded fund (ETF) trackers of Chinese stocks saw inflows as a U.S./China tariff truce boosted the sentiment following a large sell-off last month. By the Numbers Global investors have bought a total of $401.7 million worth of four major U.S. listed China ETFs – iShares MSCI China, iShares China Small-Cap, KraneShares CSI China Internet, and Xtrackers CSI 300 China A Shares ETF – this month. Data from LSEG Lipper revealed that the outflow was $3.8 billion in April. Lipper's records show that the outflows in April were second to only a $4.4 Billion outflow from November...

ASX, the Australian stock exchange operator, announced on Sunday that they had begun a process to implement their rules for shareholder approvals of mergers and purchases. The ASX announced its decision to review the listing process a day before fibre-cement manufacturer James Hardie said it would conduct a shareholder vote prior to making any decisions to change its ASX listings status. Investors in Australia recently called for a review of the listing rules. They argued that it is unfair that companies are able to issue shares without shareholder approval. James Hardie proposed to acquire AZEK for $8.75 billion, and they...

In a Thursday statement, the U.S. Trade Rep Jamieson Greer said that he and his Vietnamese counterpart had a productive meeting in which they both agreed to make rapid progress in reciprocal trade. Greer and Vietnam’s Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Han Dien spoke Wednesday and "instructed [their] teams to engage in technical discussion in the coming days in order to discuss efforts on expanding market access and addressing unfair trade practices," according to the statement. The statement stated that "Both sides agreed it is important to make rapid progress toward reciprocal and equal trade between the United States...

A group of investors called for the review of Australia's listings rules. They claimed it was "unreasonable", that companies could issue large amounts of shares without shareholder approval to fund acquisitions. Investors wrote to the Australian Stock Exchange on Wednesday, stating that James Hardie's proposed $8.75 billion purchase of AZEK would dilute the interests of existing AZEK shareholders and "irreversibly alter their rights" without a vote. Investors, including top pension funds AustralianSuper and UniSuper and institution investors Schroder Investment and Fidelity Australia, called on ASX to require shareholder approval for any share issuance over a certain threshold and for listing...

On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced that it would impose a 25% duty on all beer imports. The beverage and empty aluminum aluminum cans will be added to a list containing derivative products which are subject to aluminum tariffs. In a Federal Register announcement, the Commerce Department stated that duties on beer will be collected at 12:01 am EDT Friday, April 4, starting with empty aluminum cans. The notice reversing Trump's previous aluminum tariff changes only lists the tariff code for malted beer. The notice does not mention a subordinate tariff code for beer imported in glass bottles. The Commerce...

Finances reach two-week high James Hardie's worst session for nearly a full year Losses from miners and consumers By Roushni Nair March 24, 2019 - Australian shares finished flat on Monday, as gains in financials countered losses in mining. Meanwhile, building materials company James Hardie fell after it announced its agreement to purchase U.S. artificial flooring maker AZEK at $8.75 billion. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index edged up by 0.07% to 7,936.9 point. Financials rose by over 1% to their highest level for two weeks. The 'Big Four" banks increased between 0.5% to 2.5%. Henry Jennings is a senior analyst...

These are the most popular stories from the Wall Street Journal. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch their accuracy. James Hardie Industries, a building materials company, has agreed to purchase AZEK in the United States, a manufacturer of decking, railings and pergolas. The deal is worth $8.75billion. After a successful campaign of pressure against Paul Weiss law firm, the White House is intensifying its attacks on the legal sector, leaving some firms scrambling for a way to avoid the White House's crosshairs. Mark Carney, Canada's prime minister, called an election for Sunday. Voters will be sent...