More funds sought to fight cattle disease
SYDNEY, AAP – A $600 million budget commitment to Australia’s agricultural sector fails to adequately address a potentially deadly livestock disease that could decimate the cattle industry, stakeholders say. The budget doesn’t spend enough on Australia’s biosecurity system, with insufficient investment in lumpy skin disease, National Farmers Federation CEO Tony Mahar said. “An investment of…
Qld farmers want reef law science auditor
BRISBANE, AAP – Queensland farmers are calling for a national scientific auditor to check the impact of runoff laws on the Great Barrier Reef after state parliament rejected a Katter’s Australian Party bill to ease the rules. KAP deputy leader Nick Dametto’s bill had sought wind back the Labor government’s 2019 reef protections which penalised…
Miners help ASX within 100pts of record
SYDNEY, AAP – Mining shares have helped the ASX to rise and move within 100 points of its records despite poor showings from overseas markets. The market was higher by 0.36 per cent on Thursday and has had seven consecutive days of gains. BHP, Fortescue and Rio Tinto were keeping the market up despite US…
Gold and the Rouble
A few days ago Russia’s central bank announced it would buy domestic gold at RUB5000 per XAU gram until June 30. The announcement was largely ignored due to the lack of peace agreement traction and the weak levels of USDRUB above 100.After all who would sell gold at that level However, optimism has increased significantly…
States send budget bouquets and brickbats
SYDNEY, AAP – STATE GOVERNMENTS REACT TO THE FEDERAL BUDGET VICTORIA – Labor Treasurer Tim Pallas * “We’ll get six per cent of new infrastructure spending, despite the fact that we’re about 26 per cent of the nation’s population and economy. It’s increasingly apparent that the Commonwealth are short-changing Victorians for purely political agendas and…
Telstra head Andrew Penn to retire
SYDNEY, AAP – Telstra’s chief financial officer Vicki Brady will take over as chief executive following the retirement of the company’s long-serving head, Andrew Penn. The telco, regarded by analysts as a high-yielding and low volatile stock, has faced long-term structural headwinds after customers abruptly moved away from fixed-line phone services, the company’s former main…
Pressure mounting on Star amid inquiry
SYDNEY, AAP – Star Entertainment faces a class action by shareholders on top of a public inquiry into whether it should keep its Sydney casino licence. Law firm Slater and Gordon has filed a class action against Star, seeking compensation for shareholders on claims of “misleading or deceptive representations” about its compliance with regulatory obligations….
Crypto heist one of the largest on record
LONDON, RAW – Blockchain project Ronin says that hackers have stolen cryptocurrency now worth almost $A824 million from its systems, in what would be one of the largest cryptocurrency heists on record. The project said that unidentified hackers on March 23 stole some 173,600 ether tokens and 25.5 million USD Coin tokens. At current exchange…
Wall St rallies on Ukraine-Russia hopes
NEW YORK, RAW – US stocks have risen, with the Dow and S&P notching their fourth straight session of gains, on optimism some progress was being made toward a deal to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Russia pledged to cut down on military operations around Kyiv and in northern Ukraine, while Ukraine proposed…
Sixth straight day of gains for ASX
SYDNEY, AAP – Shares have risen to their highest level since mid-January on the ASX and extended their winning streak to a sixth consecutive day. A tech-led rally in the US helped sentiment and the Australian market closed higher by 0.7 per cent, a few hours before the federal budget is due. ASX technology shares…
