ASIC obtains orders to freeze funds and assets
ASIC has obtained urgent interim orders from the Federal Court to freeze the assets of Ashley Vincent Arandez and four companies of which he is a director. ASIC sought these orders on an urgent, ex parte, basis because it is concerned that Mr Arandez, and/or these four companies, have allegedly: carried on a financial services…
The global energy shock and the Aussie sharemarket
Energy and fuel prices have soared in 2022, with S&P/ASX 200 energy shares jumping 22.3 per cent year-to-date. Aussie-listed oil and gas companies have performed well, offering investors a natural hedge against rising inflation. In Australia, increasing input costs due to the Ukraine war, supply shortages and strong winter consumer demand have been pushing wholesale…
Mobile gaming industry revenue declines
BEIJING – Chinese mobile game developers saw their sales revenue drop 10.85 percent year on year in May to 16.6 billion yuan (about 2.48 billion U.S. dollars), according to a recent industry report. The revenue was also 2.15 percent lower than in April, according to the report released by CNG, a research institute on the…
China’s dairy output up 2.9% in May
BEIJING – The output of China’s major dairy companies rose 2.9 percent year on year in May, bucking the trend of decline in April, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. These enterprises, each with annual operating revenue of at least 20 million yuan (2.99 million U.S. dollars), produced about 2.76 million tonnes…
ASIC warns super trustees to be transparent
ASIC today released the findings from its review of superannuation trustees’ communications with their members following the first annual performance test for MySuper products. The test measures the performance of MySuper products against prescribed benchmarks according to a trustee’s own strategic asset allocation. Report 729 Review of trustee communications about the MySuper performance test (REP 729) focuses…
CommSec morning report Monday
In US economic data, new home sales rose from a 629,000 annual rate to 696,000 in May (survey: 588,000). The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index dropped from 58.4 to a record low 50.0 in June (survey: 50.2). European sharemarkets posted solid gains on Friday. The panEuropean STOXX 600 index rose by 2.6%, its best…
US markets in bear territory – misfortune or opportunity?
What we think about the price of an asset largely reflects whether we are a buyer or a seller of it. Most of us don’t have barrels of crude lying around but we do need to put fuel in our cars. We’re naturally inclined, therefore, to think the oil price is too high. On the…
Introducing land tax impacts property prices
In Tuesday’s budget, NSW will announce a switch from stamp duty to land tax. It will become the second Australian jurisdiction to do so, with the ACT halfway through a 20-year switchover. Homebuyers who accept the offer will be taxed annually on the value of their land, instead of hit with an upfront fee (that…
Beijing bourse sees 100 IPOs in 7 months
BEIJING, June 24 (Xinhua) – China’s Beijing Stock Exchange (BSE) embraced the listing of the 100th firm Friday as the newly established bourse attracts innovative smaller enterprises with its listing efficiency and smooth operation. The BSE started trading on November 15 last year. As part of China’s efforts to deepen capital market reform, the stock…
Evening report Friday
Despite a soft start to trade, the ASX 200 finished the session on a positive note, recording its first back-to-back gain this month after edging 50.3pts or 0.77 per cent higher to 6578.7. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, testified before Congress for a second day, reiterating that a recession remains a ‘possibility’. Our market was…
