ASX 200 futures: +0.4% to 8,319 points
Australian dollar: -0.4% at 67.2 US cents
S&P 500: +0.8% to 5,859 points
Nasdaq: +0.9% to 18,502 points
FTSE 100: +0.5% to 8,292 points
EuroStoxx 50: +0.7% to 5,041points
Spot gold: -1% to $US2,651/ounce
Brent crude: -1.9% to $US77.48/barrel
Iron ore: -+1% to $US106.44/tonne
Bitcoin: +4.5% to $US65,962
Prices current around 7:00am AEDT.
Live updates on the major ASX indices:
Out of the blocks, the ASX 200 has jumped 0.6% to a record high of 8,305.5-points.
Crown Resorts is owned privately, so there are no AGMS or publicly available annual reports.
The former Victorian regulator was so cowed and ineffective, an embarrassed state government created an entirely new one.
Today we learn the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) has fined Crown Melbourne $2 million for allowing 242 people who had self-excluded from gambling to place bets at the casino over an eight-month period between October 2023 and May 2024.
VGCCC chair Fran Thorn said in a statement:
“It is an offence under the Casino Control Act 1991(Vic) to allow an excluded person, including anyone who has self-excluded, to enter, remain or gamble in the casino.
“It also contravenes Crown Melbourne’s obligation to protect people at risk of gambling harm.
“Those who self-exclude must be able to trust that gambling providers will take all reasonable steps to enforce their decision to avail themselves of this harm prevention initiative.”
You might recall that Victoria’s royal commission into Crown didn’t attempt to re-litigate what had been found at the NSW inquiry, but had a particular failures and breaches of laws that aim to prevent problem gambling.
If there’s any glimmer of good news is that the breaches were detected through VGCCC’s “ongoing monitoring of the casino’s operations”, meaning that the regulator is actually regulating.
The annual general meeting of Telstra is kicking off.
After the welcome to country, the first thing noted is that a light lunch will be served, but that if the meeting is still going at that time (in two hours) the meeting will not be adjourned.
They’re now running through how to ask questions — something shareholders have the right to do at meetings.
If you want to view it — chairman-elect Craig Dunn is standing up now — you can do so here.
The cost of moving money has flamed up this year, notably in a parliamentary hearing in August that grilled the bosses of the Big Four banks.
Why does a $5 coffee cost you $5 if you pay in cash, but $5.05 if you pay with a card?
(Boring answer: businesses absorb the cost of dealing with cash, they separate out the cost of doing it digitally and add it as a surcharge. There are costs either way, but only one of them is visible).
Now the government is proposing to stop surcharges on debit cards. Who will pay to maintain the system? Unclear at the moment.
But definitely more to come on this.
Data from the tracking of spending by Westpac’s customers shows strong month-on-month and quarterly growth.
The Westpac Card Tracker uses millions of daily transactions to build an interesting picture of spending.
As head of Australian macro-forecasting Matthew Hassan notes:
“The detail continues to show gains centred on discretionary services but with notable lifts starting to show through for essential services and discretionary goods in the last few weeks.
“By state, the pick-up remains much more pronounced in NSW and Victoria, the quarterly growth pace in these well above that of peers.”
You can read the report here.
Ask Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock when the cash rate — and through that the repayments of the one-in-three Australians with an outstanding home loan — and she won’t tell you.
After her predecessor Philip Lowe repeatedly (but conditionally) suggested interest rates wouldn’t rise for years, and then started hiking rates, Ms Bullock has been extra careful to not say things that could be construed as commitments.
So instead, here’s Paul Bloxham, HSBC’s chief economist for Australia and NZ, with his take.
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I’ll admit, I was unaware that lubricant specialist WD-40 was an actual company. I thought it was just a brand.
But the company has slipped up in value this year.
The only reason I know is thanks to my colleague Stephen Letts, who wrote this informative list yesterday of the US companies reporting this week.
Tue: Citi, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, United
Wed: Morgan Stanley, Alcoa
Thu: Infosys, Blackstone, Netflix, WD-40
Fri: American Express, Proctor & Gamble
Shortly we’ll know new visitor numbers to Australia, something our tourism and hats-with-corks-dangling-from-them industries are keen awaiting.
The last figures showed big lifts:
Welcome new friends!
The new data is out at 1130 AEDT. Stay tuned.
Yep, you heard me right.
The Australian Institute of Petroleum’s figures reveal falls at the pump for the majority of consumers.
The big caveat is: for now.
That’s because the price of fuel lags the price of the crude oil product it’s refined from by some weeks. Overlaid on that is that there are price cycles in most capital cities, which largely don’t exist in regional markets.
Here are the most recent prices:
The lag to the wholesale price in Singapore is now only about a fortnight, so it’s likely we’ll see rises in next week’s data.
Are we done?
Our inflation issue, which the Reserve Bank has attempted to rein in using interest rate hikes, might be done.
Here’s Alan Kohler.
Easy to get caught up in the predictions and movements of Australian equities. So grateful to Imre Speizer from Westpac’s economics team for an outlook of events beyond our shores.
NZ: September’s REINZ data is expected to report a further increase in house sales, albeit from current lows; however, a sizeable inventory of unsold homes will likely keep house price growth muted for now. RBNZ Dep. Gov. Hawkesby speaks on financial stability.
Eurozone: While a rebound in industrial production is anticipated in August (market f/c: 1.8%mth), the overall picture remains bleak, as evinced by worsening views on the growth outlook from the ZEW survey of expectations. The ECB’s Bank Lending Survey will also provide a timely update on financial conditions.
UK: The unemployment rate is set to hold at its current level in August, following two months of decline (market f/c: 4.1%). The gradual easing in average earnings growth suggests the labour market is slowly moving into balance (market f/c: 4.9%yr).
US: A brief port strike and bad weather are expected to drive a weaker result in the Fed Empire State index for October (market f/c: 3.6pts). The FOMC’s Daly and Waller are also due to speak.
In case you missed it yesterday, my colleague Kate Ainsworth has a great examination of land banking, something that has been a focus in the white-hot topic of supermarket dominance.
Woolworths owns more than 100 sites and that’s being scrutinised by Australia’s competition watchdog as it cracks down on anti-competitive behaviour and alleged land banking by Coles and Woolworths.
The practice, known as “land banking”, refers to the strategic purchasing of sites by the supermarket giants to prevent their competitors from setting up shop.
Out of the 165 undeveloped sites, the ACCC says two-thirds — or 110 blocks of land in total — are held by Woolworths, with 42 owned by Coles and 13 by Aldi.
Check it out here.
Hello everyone.
Daniel Ziffer from the ABC business unit.
Thanks for joining me on our week-daily business blog, where we’ll bring you the latest from the markets, finance and economics.
Overnight on Wall Street, US indices all lifted.
The blue-chip Dow Jones was the smallest boost, up +0.5%, while the broader S&P 500 rose +0.9% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq a full percentage point, 1%.
The ASX 200 is looking like it will open higher off the back of that strong lead, with futures lifting +0.4% or +35-points to 8,319-points.
Get yourself started, Tuesday is on.
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