Economics

Iron ore futures prices continued their downward trajectory on Thursday, impacted by robust global supply and persistent weakness in China’s steel market. Despite indications of potential monetary stimulus, losses were only partially mitigated.

The U.S. and Europe aim to reduce their reliance on China for rare earths, but low prices and Beijing’s market influence pose significant challenges.

The markets regulator, ASIC, has launched civil legal action against subsidiaries of COFCO, China’s biggest food processor and manufacturer, alleging they "manipulated the ASX24 market for Eastern Australia Wheat futures January 2023 contracts.”

Ford shares fell 12% at one stage in after-hours trading after it surprised the markets with a less-than-encouraging June quarter report. The report contained news that its EV division lost $US1.14 billion in the quarter and that warranty costs soared again.

Airlines are preparing for the end of the "revenge travel" surge by cutting ticket prices to fill surplus seat capacity as the two-year post-pandemic travel boom transitions to a more uncertain outlook.

There was a very telling contrast in the quarterly reports from General Motors, Tesla and Alphabet (Google) on Tuesday.

Tesla’s great U.S. rival, General Motors, had a strong second quarter and boosted its guidance for the rest of 2024. Unfortunately, this positive news went largely unnoticed in the markets, and shares fell more than 6%.

Another lesson Tuesday for the Tesla board and Elon Musk from the market: earnings and revenue matter more than all the off-the-cuff ideas and wacky products like robotaxis and Cybertrucks.

YouTube ad revenues jumped 13% in the three months to June, adding a nice bit of cream to what was already a solid result for parent company Alphabet.

Finally, a substantial policy change from the Chinese government: a surprise cut in interest rates on Monday.

As global markets evolve, small-cap stocks are emerging as a compelling opportunity for investors, particularly those in Australia, according to Sadhvi Gupta, Executive Director for Quantitative Investment Strategies at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

Another losing week for oil – despite growing optimism about a possible rate cut or cuts in the US.

A significant 60-plus point decline is expected for today’s reopening of trading on the ASX, following Wall Street’s sell-off and the local market’s 64-point slide the same day.

A big week lies ahead for the markets, with US inflation, the global fallout from Friday's major computer outage, the Trump comeback, Biden’s fade-out, investor nervousness about big techs (with the start of some significant earnings reports), and the endless speculation about a looming rate cut, which seems to be firming up at long last.

There was no hiding place in gold as the global CrowdStrike/Microsoft outage plunged markets and businesses into chaos and confusion on Friday. Gold fell sharply, confounding bulls who expected it to firm as a ‘safe haven’ in volatile times like those seen in Friday's trading.

America’s June 30 quarterly reporting season accelerates this week with 138 S&P 500 companies (including seven Dow 30 components) scheduled to release results.

American analysts won’t say so, but some outside the US are—this week saw the start of what could end up being called the Great Trump Rotation as investors abandon stocks perceived to be in the way of the former President’s presidential ambitions, such as companies using products, importing them, or working with companies from Taiwan, China, or Europe.

If media and other reports are accurate, the European Union’s attempts to impose significant tariffs on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles are encountering difficulties on two fronts.

Some analysis of the health of China’s depressed property sector in June attempted to suggest (almost desperately) that there was a hint of improvement in the data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Netflix has again surprised doubters by revealing better-than-expected numbers for its second quarter.

Wednesday’s big tech sell-off saw the top three most valuable stocks in the US become two if you use the $3 trillion value line as the qualifier.

While global investors are increasingly confident that the global economy is headed for a so-called soft landing, they have lost some of their fears about inflation, according to the July Bank of America Global Fund Manager Survey, released on Wednesday.