November 1, 2023

Judging by the flood of news late Wednesday about mass sackings across Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG), the investment bank’s interim results on Friday must be very grim. According to reports on the Financial Review website, Macquarie’s unexpected layoffs have left staff on edge. “Employees across the company’s banking and financial services arm have been called into

Stocks rallied Wednesday, rebounding from a dismal past three months, after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged for a second consecutive time — leading investors to think the central bank would stay put for the rest of the year. The Fed kept rates in a range of 5.25 per cent to 5.5 per cent,

The volatile building approvals data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics worked its now-familiar magic in September, revealing a fall of nearly 5%, partly reversing the solid gain in August. The ABS said the 4.6% fall (after the 8.1% rise in August) was driven by the now usual factor – a fall in approvals for

Judging by the positive market reaction, global packaging giant Amcor (ASX:AMC) delivered a bit of an upside surprise in its latest results, released on Wednesday, with shares rising more than 2% in morning trading. However, there seemed to be little positivity in the September quarter report. It reported lower revenues and net income for the

Panama City, Panama – The Panama Canal, a vital artery for global trade, is set to face significant cutbacks in the number of ships allowed to cross its historic waters due to an unprecedented drought caused by climate change. As more than 3 percent of the world’s trade passes through this nearly 110-year-old engineering marvel,

Iron ore prices have surged to their highest levels in over five weeks, and analysts at Citi suggest that the rally could continue, potentially pushing the steel-making commodity to $US130 per tonne by the end of the year. The key factor driving this optimism is the possibility of China increasing its policy stimulus measures, which

Unlike its US rivals such as GM and Ford, Toyota believes in the necessity of transitioning to electric vehicles. Ford and GM have begun hedging their bets on the EV transition due to the higher costs resulting from recent multi-year wage negotiations with the United Auto Workers Union. They argue that the early adopters have

As expected, the Federal Reserve in the US held its key Federal Funds Rate at a 22-year high on Wednesday, with no rate rise in sight. However, the central bank remains open to the possibility of further monetary tightening, given the ongoing strength of the US economy. Rates have been maintained in a range of

Believers like BHP in China’s economy, and the stimulus it brings to countries like Australia, remain steadfast even as the country’s property sector groans under bad debts and failures, and the government outlines even more financial support. Iron ore prices this week hit five-week highs of more than $US121 a tonne (on the SGX futures