Markets

Back in vogueBitcoin nears highest level since post-bubble crash

Bitcoin is approaching levels not seen since just after the burst of the cryptocurrency market bubble almost three years ago.

Casey Wagner

More customersMillennials drive Afterpay’s stunning quarter

Shares in the market darling have shot to near-record highs after the buy-now, pay-later provider reported stunning first-quarter sales that have more than doubled from this time last year.

Daniel Newell

Muted startASX flat, tech surges on Afterpay results

Australia’s share market improved to be trading almost even after a downbeat first hour from continued US worries about the coronavirus.

Steven Deare

Board blindsidedAltura mounts rearguard action to prevent fire sale

The board of the collapsed lithium miner has put forward a recapitalisation plan to prevent the sale of its assets to neighbour Pilbara Minerals.

Stuart McKinnon

Online surgeLockdown lights fire under Coles Q1 sales

Lockdown measures instituted across a coronavirus-ravaged Victoria have helped to deliver Coles a super-sized first quarter.

Daniel Newell

Challenges aheadResponsible banking here to stay in COVID recovery

Bankwest boss Sinead Taylor is quietly optimistic on COVID-19’s impact on customers and staff, and WA’s economy once government support it switched off.

Danielle Le Messurier

PaydayBoral sells USG stake for $1.43b

Building product group Boral is set to sell its 50 per cent stake in its Australian plasterboard business to co-owner Gebr Knauf for $1.43 billion.

Kate Purnell

Online rushNick Scali sale surge continues

A surge in online sales has boosted Nick Scali’s first-half profit expectations, with the furniture retailer shrugging off potential supply delays.

Rebecca Le May

Investor interestAustralia joins in global IPO frenzy

Australia is finally catching up to the surge of initial public offerings globally, with the country on track to deliver the busiest month for new listings since the start of the year.

Harry Brumpton

Slow startASX edges higher as banks and miners drop

Investors on the Australian share market had modest gains to start the week, as slight falls in the banks and miners were offset by the rest of the market.

Steven Deare

Full of fizzCoca-Cola Amatil confirms $9.3b takeover deal

The deal values the Australian-based bottler at a 19 per cent premium to its last trading price before they went into a halt on Friday.

Harry Brumpton, Ruth David, Dinesh Nair and Manuel Baigorri

Big hitWestpac books $1.2b charge for laundering, refunds

The charge is the latest blow to Australia’s oldest bank, which last month was hit with a $1.3b penalty for the country’s biggest breach of anti-money laundering laws.

Edward Johnson

Done deal?Support grows for Shandong’s bid for Cardinal Resources

Cardinal is eager to put the seven-month tit-for-tat bidding war behind it, saying it is causing “unwarranted delays” to developing the project.

Daniel Newell

Deepest wellStrike Energy plunges new depth in Perth Basin

The gas play is drilling the deepest well on the Australian mainland just 350km north of Perth as part of an appraisal program for its West Erregulla discovery.

Stuart McKinnon

$8b deal?Europeans set to swallow Australia’s Coca-Cola Amatil

Coca-Cola European Partners, the world’s biggest independent bottler of the storied soft drink, is reportedly in talks to acquire Australian-based Coca-Cola Amatil to expand in the Asia Pacific.

Ruth David, Harry Brumpton, Dinesh Nair and Manuel Baigorri

Leases ‘invalid’Billionaires in legal wrangle over Pilbara mine

Andrew Forrest and Chris Ellison are embroiled in a dispute over what was to be Australia’s first Aboriginal-owned iron ore mine.

Stuart McKinnon

Debate watchASX down, miners and health lower

Investors were watching early exchanges in the last presidential debate before the US election on Friday as the Australian share market lagged due to miners and healthcare.

Steven Deare

On the boardsIluka’s royalties spin-off makes ASX debut

Deterra has been split off from the mineral sands miner as a vehicle to hold a lucrative royalty stream from BHP’s Mining Area C in the Pilbara.

Daniel Newell

New routesQantas’ swipe at WA after revealing $100m border hit

Chairman Richard Goyder took a swipe at the WA and Queensland governments during today’s AGM, saying decisions to keep them closed did not seem based on health risk.

Geoffrey Thomas

Shipbuilder respondsAustal denies wrongdoing amid ABF corruption claims

The shipbuilder has denied any wrongdoing amid media reports of corruption by Australian Border Force staff stemming from milestone payments for eight Cape Class patrol vessels.

Daniel Newell

Going downUS stimulus drops ASX into sea of red

Australia’s share market has slipped after Wall Street closed lower on economic stimulus concerns, while the dollar crept above US71¢.

Steven Deare

Another profitMusk makes it five in a row, shoots for 500,000

Tesla has reported a fifth-consecutive quarter of profits and says it remains on track to deliver 500,000 cars in 2020 despite weaker sales in the rest of the global auto industry.

Dana Hull