Little progress on ending US shutdown
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Democrats would pass new legislation to try to reopen parts of the government next week after talks between the Trump administration and Democratic negotiators failed to end a two-week partial government shutdown. President Donald Trump is demanding $US5.6 billion to build a wall along the US border with Mexico…
CommSec Daily Report Friday
Latest NewsLocal shares are giving up a portion of gains made over the past three sessions with the ASX 200 easing 49 points or 0.88% to 5612 around lunch on Friday. It was a mixed session on Wall St with stocks see-sawing throughout the US session as markets still digest developments in the ongoing US-China…
BlackRock confirms intentions to focus on Asia Pacific
BlackRock has announced that its Asia Pacific branch’s new Head and Chair will be Geraldine Buckingham. The US investment giant sought to promote from within as it looks to increase its market share in the region, which is rapidly becoming of interest for large funding. Disruptive tech is likely to shape much of the finance…
Facebook to launch independent body for calls on content
Facebook announced Thursday it is creating an independent body to make potentially precedent-setting calls on what content should be yanked from the social network.The announcement came as Facebook reported it has ramped up its ability to quickly detect ‘hate speech’ and other posts violating community rules, with the leading social network under pressure from regulators…
EU hopes fade for November summit to seal Brexit deal
EU officials on Tuesday poured cold water on hopes of holding a special summit this month to seal a Brexit divorce, saying talks have made some progress – but not enough.‘Clear that more work is needed in Brexit negotiations. We remain determined to reach a deal,’ the European Union’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier tweeted from…
Australia establishes a drought resilience fund
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government has confirmed that it is putting away up to $5bn in future funds to help enable the agricultural sector to become more resistant to droughts. This year saw many crops and livestock wiped out by severe droughts and extreme weather, and the government had to intervene at the time…
Meditation the antidote to travel stress
Airports are stress hubs. Lengthy queues for security checks, $6 coffees, rushes and delays, and dealing with too many people with too much luggage. Once on the plane, it gets worse: the armrest hogs, the chair recliners and the general lack of personal space – not to mention fears of flying. Perhaps we should spend…
Mid cap shares outperform blue chips
New directions for Aussie investors?Sharemarket Insights & StrategyAussie blue-chip shares under-perform: Mid-sized companies and international shares have outperformed ‘Mums and Dads’ stocks over the past five years. It is useful for investors to understand how different asset classes are performing as it may highlight opportunities. Smaller returns from major Australian companiesMany Australians got their start…
CommSec Daily Report Monday
Latest newsWhile the Australian market is slipping for an eighth day, equities have bounced off intraday lows and at lunch the ASX 200 is down just 0.04 per cent. The index is coming off the back of its worst weekly performance in seven months and while it did hit decade highs less than a fortnight…
Webjet profits take off on bookings surge
Webjet shares have soared to a record high after the online travel group posted a 63 per cent jump in underlying full-year profit as bookings surged across its divisions. Underlying profit rose to $55.7 million, while revenue for the year to June 30 jumped 54 per cent to $291 million. The company’s total transaction value…
