Weak wages prevail in limp jobs market
Wages growth in Australia has come in at a weak 0.5 per cent for the March quarter – in line with expectations but still at levels showing any increases in size for the nation’s paypackets are “stuck in the doldrums”. Total hourly rates of pay, excluding bonuses, rose by 0.5 per cent in the March…
Banks continue to pull market lower
The share market is sharply lower amid a broad sell-off and steep falls by the major banks. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 was down 0.9 per cent at 1200 AEST, with the market’s only gains coming from the mining sector. CMC Markets chief market analyst Ric Spooner said investors were still selling bank shares due to the…
Oroton’s earnings plunge as sales slide
Struggling handbag retailer Oroton has warned its full year underlying earnings will fall as much as 85 per cent because of an ongoing sales slump. Oroton sees no end to the slide in its sales, which in the nine months to April were down 11 per cent on the same period a year ago. It…
Dulux resilient to potential property drop
Paints and adhesives supplier DuluxGroup expects its business will be fairly resilient to any downturn in the property market because people will still want to paint their houses. DuluxGroup managing director Patrick Houlihan says 65 per cent of the group’s business relates to the 10 million existing homes in Australia, and 15 per cent relates…
Stocks to watch
Stocks to watch on the Australian Securities Exchange: ANZ – ANZ BANKING GROUP – down 42 cents, or 1.4 per cent, at $29.12 CBA – COMMONWEALTH BANK – down $1.50, or 1.8 per cent, at $81.11 NAB – NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK – down 54 cents, or 1.7 per cent, at $30.96 WBC – WESTPAC –…
IG Research – The long and the short of it
It’s been a big night for the USD, but the focus sharply turns to the AUD, where traders have the prospect of facing both Aussie consumer confidence (out at 10:30 aest) and Q1 wage data (11:30 aest).The US session has been marked once again by political scandal, with Donald Trump’s maverick behaviour promoting political analysts…
Merkel, Macron: the new power couple to shake up the EU
Freshly elected French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are the new power couple leading the charge against anti-European populists and trying to put the struggling EU back on track, analysts say.French legislative elections in June could endorse Macron’s message of change, giving him a real power base, while the long-serving Merkel faces…
CommSec Daily Report Wednesday
The Australian market is under pressure on Wednesday, with the ASX 200 index slipping by 0.8 per cent at lunch. Around half of these losses are due to significant falls from the four major banks, which are down as much as 1.75 per cent. Weakness from supermarket chain owner Wesfarmers (WES) and Woolworths (WOW) is…
The EU: What happened to climate’s poster child?
The 28-member European Union, the third-largest emitter of planet-warming greenhouse gases after China and the United States, has long been held up as the poster child of efforts to save Earth’s climate.But after years of taking the lead in talks for a global climate pact, and making tough policy and investment choices to lessen fossil…
Dollar extends losses as Trump crisis fuels fears for agenda
The dollar sank Wednesday with a fresh crisis in the White House fuelling concerns that Donald Trump’s economy-boosting agenda could be run off-track.The administration was once again rocked by allegations over its links to Russia after it emerged the tycoon had divulged classified information to the nation’s foreign minister.That was followed late Tuesday by claims…
