As I write Treasurer Frydenberg is on TV talking about a new phase of income support beyond September………keep an eye on news services for details.
– Afterpay (-1.5%); successfully raised $650m (9.8m shares) @ $66 a share. Trading @ 66.95.
– Alumina (-6.5%); needs to pay $212m in additional tax.
– Banks; ANZ -1.7% CBA -0.8% NAB -1.5% WBC -1.8%; The Australian Banking Association said that customers with reduced incomes and ongoing financial difficulty due to Covid-19 will be eligible for their six-month loan deferral to be extended by a further four months.
– Lynas (-1.5%); CEO Mike Harding will retire in September
– Northern Star (+4.5%); FY sales came in at the lower end of guidance but said the result was solid given the coronavirus pandemic.
– Regional Express (+1%); says there is strong interest in funding for its domestic operations. With o/s travel off the cards, is rural Australia the new Whistler/Bali/Europe? An old colleague called me yesterday from Dubbo Zoo where he is holidaying with his very young and glamourous wife. He told me “Dubbo Zoo is heaving. They sold out of rental bikes two days in a row.. lady told me that has never happened in July School holidays”.
– Treasury Wines (-0.1%); flat today but has been up for the last 6 days straight – press speculation the stock is a takeover target.
