Live updates: Rio Tinto snaps up Arcadium Lithium for $9.9b, Wall ...

Could Google be forced to break up its business?

30 minutes agoWed 9 Oct 2024 at 10:39pm

Market power of 'big box' retailers to be scrutinised by Senate inquiry

54 minutes agoWed 9 Oct 2024 at 10:16pm

Need a recap on yesterday's finance news?

1 hours agoWed 9 Oct 2024 at 9:55pm

1h agoWed 9 Oct 2024 at 9:19pm

Prices current around 8:15am AEDT.

Key Event

30m agoWed 9 Oct 2024 at 10:39pm

It could be a possibility, with the US Department of Justice saying it may ask a judge to force Alphabet's Google to divest parts of its business.

It's off the back of a judge's landmark ruling in August, which found that Google had built an illegal monopoly to become the world's default search engine. (In the US alone, Google processes 90% of internet searches.)

As for the parts of Google's business it could be forced to divest, it could include its Chrome internet browser and Android operating system, with the DOJ saying they're used to maintain its monopoly in online search.

Broadly speaking though, these suggestions are part of remedies being considered to potentially reshape how Americans find information online while also giving its competitors space to grow and trimming Google's revenues.

As a result, Alphabet's share price closed 1.5% lower on Wall Street.

Key Event

54m agoWed 9 Oct 2024 at 10:16pm

Large format retailers like Bunnings, Petstock and Ikea will be in the spotlight when a Senate inquiry examines whether they have too much market power.

The so-called "big box retailer price setting" inquiry was called by Nationals senator Ross Cadell, who was also part of the Senate inquiry into our supermarkets.

This inquiry aims to interrogate whether large format retailers are standing over their suppliers and if they have been abusing their significant market power.

Its terms of reference could also see major names roped in, including Bunnings, Mitre 10, alcohol chain Dan Murphy's, Chemist Warehouse, Ikea, Petstock and Petbarn.

You can read the full story by my colleague Emilia Terzon below.

(And if you're a supplier to major retailers, you can get in touch with her at [email protected] or [email protected].)

Key Event

1h agoWed 9 Oct 2024 at 9:55pm

You're in luck — Alan Kohler has you covered, including New Zealand's Reserve Bank cutting interest rates.

As he points out, the RBNZ is in good company, joining the likes of central banks in the US, UK, Europe, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden and China at Club Rate Cuts*.

You can catch up below ????

(*Not a real club.)

Key Event

1h agoWed 9 Oct 2024 at 9:31pm

All three of Wall Street's main indices ended higher when Wednesday trade wrapped up in New York earlier this morning.

At the end of trade, the Nasdaq was up 0.6%, the Dow rose by 1%, while the S&P 500 ended 0.7% higher to close at a new record high.

So what was behind Wall Street's positivity? Interest rates, of course!

Specifically, meeting minutes from the US Federal Reserve that showed a "substantial majority" of officials supported the 0.5 percentage point rate cut at its September meeting.

But it wasn't the minutes alone that sent US stocks higher — investors are waiting with bated breath for September's inflation data, which will be coming out overnight.

Inflation is expected to show signs of further cooling, with economists predicting the annual inflation rate to come in at 2.3% — down from the current 2.5% — which could pave the way for another rate cut by the Fed next month.

(Just don't expect another supersized cut — 0.25 percentage points is the current consensus.)

Key Event

1h agoWed 9 Oct 2024 at 9:15pm

Well hello and happy Thursday! It's October 10 and I'm here to guide you through all of the business and financial markets news this morning.

Unlike the weather here in Brisbane this morning (????️????), Australian shares are set to follow the Wall Street sunshine and open 0.4% higher when trade gets underway in a few hours.

There's a bit to unpack from overnight — think interest rates, inflation, and a possible forced break up of Google in the US.

We'll circle back to those shortly, but let's start with big news that came after the ASX shut up shop yesterday.

That news was Rio Tinto announcing its all cash deal to buy Arcadium Lithium for a cool $US6.7 billion ($9.9 billion), which will see Rio become the third-largest miner of the metal in the world.

We'll get an idea of what investors make of the deal when the ASX opens a little later this morning — but for now, make yourself a coffee (if you haven't already), and let's get this show on the road.