ASX set to edge up, Wall Street treads water
Wall Street closed its winning week and month with a quiet Friday following a mixed set of profit reports from Gap, Ulta Beauty and other companies navigating the challenges created by US President Donald Trump's on-and-off tariffs.
The S&P 500 finished the day nearly unchanged after edging down by less than 0.1 per cent. The Dow Jones added 54 points, or 0.1 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.3 per cent. The Australian sharemarket is set to edge higher, with futures on Saturday pointing to a gain of 8 points, or 0.1 per cent, at the open.
Gap weighed on the market even though the retailer reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
The company behind Banana Republic and Old Navy fell 20.2 per cent after saying tariffs on imports from China and other countries could add up to $US300 million ($466 million) to its costs this fiscal year. It has strategies set to mitigate up to half of that before it hits its profits.
This week and month on Wall Street have been dominated by questions about what will happen with Trump's tariffs, which investors worry could grind the economy into a recession, slash companies' profits and layer even more challenges on households already sick of inflation.
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Hopes had largely been rising that the worst of such worries had passed, which in turn sent stocks rallying, after Trump paused his tariffs on both China and the European Union. A US court then on Wednesday blocked many of Trump's sweeping tariffs. It all sent the S&P 500 in May to its first winning month in four and its best since November.
But the tariffs remain in place for now while the White House appeals the ruling by the US Court of International Trade, and the ultimate outcome is still uncertain.
Trump also briefly shook markets shortly before Wall Street opened for trading Friday, when he accused China of not living up to its end of the agreement that paused their tariffs against each other.
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West Australian
39 minutes ago
- West Australian
Everest ticks off extraction study to start Aussie rubidium industry
Everest Metals and Edith Cowan University (ECU) have achieved 97 per cent rubidium extraction in a joint engineering scoping study for Everest's Mt Edon project in Western Australia. The study is a key step in Everest's plans to pioneer a new rubidium industry in Australia. Everest plans to inject Australia onto the world rubidium stage by unlocking the nation's entry into a new and valuable critical mineral processing industry. The engineering study was completed at ECU's Mineral Recovery Research Centre, which Everest asked to help develop an innovative rubidium extraction process. The direct extraction process aims to extract the critical mineral in a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly manner from ore mined at the company's Mt Edon critical mineral project in WA's Mid West region. Demand for the rare mineral used in high-tech industries, such as defence, aerospace and communications, is expected to lift significantly. Research by global market research company Market Research Future projects global market usage to grow from US$4.46 billion (A$6.91B) in 2023 to US$7.2B by 2032 using a compound annual growth rate of 5.48 per cent. The study achieved exceptional results from phase three beneficiation and leaching testwork, which produced the outstanding 97 per cent recovery rate for rubidium oxide from Mt Edon's primary ore. Everest has elected to lock in a standard patent to protect its new-age technology, having realised the effectiveness of its extraction process. It jumped on a provisional patent for the process earlier this year. The company says the results confirm the project's potential commercial and technical viability, based on its plans for a processing plant capable of producing 750-1000 tonnes per annum rubidium chloride. Further studies are required to nail down an optimised process. Management believes the project can prosper from broad geopolitical initiatives, such as United States President Donald Trump's April executive order calling for an investigation into the national security risks associated with its dependence on imported processed critical minerals. The executive order outlines an urgent need to develop transparent, secure and US-aligned supply chains for required critical minerals. Rubidium has many high-technology applications and is listed as one of 35 critical minerals by several countries, including the US and Japan. Everest sees the current price of rubidium carbonate, near US$1170 per kilogram, as providing the project with strong potential to develop into a profitable operation. Downstream applications are fuelling rapid growth with an increase in demand for rubidium salts. With the engineering study complete, Everest has work underway to increase the efficiency of its extraction technology and reduce costs. During testwork, data from samples indicated the beneficiation process enhanced rubidium liberation and therefore its availability for downstream extraction, removing gangue minerals. Beneficiation led to higher leaching efficiency and improved outcomes, resulting in the 97 per cent recovery levels. The innovative extraction method is part of a process involving mining, beneficiation to concentrate the rubidium-bearing minerals, followed by roasting-leaching-crystallisation to produce rubidium chloride. Further analysis is required to evaluate the technical and economic risks for scalability and operational stability. The company plans to run additional bench-scale and pilot-scale testwork to validate its process before building a full-scale plant. Everest has an agreement with the CSIRO to enhance its understanding of rubidium, caesium and lithium mineralogy. The increased knowledge of the critical minerals is expected to improve the company's processing methods and overall recovery rates. Everest applied to the Minerals Research Institute of WA for funding under its METS Innovation program. The application sought matched funding to support upcoming metallurgical and purification testwork. The company expects to receive word on its application this month. It is also exploring grant funding opportunities and potential future funding options through domestic and international critical mineral initiatives to help scale up to a pilot plant next year. Mt Edon is 420 kilometres northeast of Perth and 5km southwest of the State's former gold rush settlement of Paynes Find. The project has an inferred mineral resource of 3.6 million tonnes grading 0.22 per cent rubidium oxide and 0.07 per cent lithium oxide. Management says the resource contains a world-class component of 1.3Mt at 0.33 per cent rubidium oxide and 0.07 per cent lithium oxide. The high-grade zone contains 56 per cent of the total contained rubidium tonnes at Mt Edon, which has 7900t of the rare critical mineral. Everest says its initial resource is based on drilling along 400 metres of strike within a 1.2km-long pegmatite corridor on a 192.4-hectare granted mining lease. Drilling was conducted to a vertical depth of 140m below surface, with 61 reverse circulation drill holes plunged in over 2779m to determine the estimated resource. Everest holds a 51 per cent stake in Mt Edon with the potential to take over the entire operation in a joint venture farm-in agreement with private company Entelechy Resources. The company is aiming big: It is looking to develop a fledgling industry locally, supply a growing market globally, and support the nation's defence needs with a reliable rubidium supply. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact:
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Australia must ease zoning to fix housing crisis: OECD
An influential global economic body has weighed in on Australia's housing debate, urging governments to relax zoning restrictions to ease home prices. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development warned Australia to boost housing supply and address falling affordability as it revealed a downgrade to its economic growth forecast for 2025. The Paris-based policy forum said Australia's gross domestic product would grow at 1.8 per cent this year, down 10 basis points from its prediction in March, as Donald Trump's tariffs hit demand for Australian exports, especially if China experiences a marked slowdown. The organisation downgraded its global growth forecasts from 3.1 per cent to 2.9 per cent this year. "Australia's exposure to US tariff increases is limited given that exports to the United States represent only about five per cent of total exports," the OECD said in its Economic Outlook, released on Tuesday. "The impact of global trade tensions on the Australian economy is more likely to come via the depressing effect of higher tariffs and policy uncertainty on investment worldwide, manifested in part by lower prices for iron ore, coal and natural gas." But economic growth is expected to accelerate to 2.2 per cent next year - an increase from its prediction earlier this year and in line with the OECD's estimate of Australia's economic potential. As interest rates decline and workers experience continued growth in real wages, swelling disposable income should boost private consumption, offsetting a slowdown in public spending. The OECD's forecast for 2025 is lower than the Reserve Bank's estimate of 2.1 per cent but in line with its 2026 prediction. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said it was a "stark reminder of the risks posed by tariffs and trade tensions, conflict and fragmentation". But with GDP set to increase over the next two years, Australia was turning a corner as the rest of the world took a turn for the worse, Dr Chalmers said. Inflation will remain close to target, averaging 2.3 per cent over 2025 and 2026, the OECD projected. That's below RBA estimates, which predict headline inflation accelerating to 3.1 per cent by the end of the year as government energy subsidies roll off. The OECD said the central bank would be warranted to continue easing interest rates but must be nimble to change path in case of unexpected external shocks. Longer term, Australia needs to fix stagnating productivity growth and make housing more affordable. Recently implemented competition reforms should be complemented with other policies strengthening investment, "including improved incentives for house-building, especially for social housing, and public investment to improve electricity grid connections". The OECD said easing zoning restrictions would strengthen competition and productivity, as well as raise housing investment to "reverse the long-standing decline in housing affordability". The body said it was important that state and local governments in charge of housing supply are given financial incentives to reduce regulatory complexity and streamline approvals. The comments chime with comments by federal assistant minister for productivity Andrew Leigh, who singled out local councils and stultified planning systems for "structural failure" in meeting supply targets in a speech to the Chifley Research Centre earlier on Tuesday. "Too often, the planning process is built for avoidance, not delivery. Zoning schemes reward conformity over quality," he said. "The consequences are visible everywhere - from rising rents and overcrowding, to the growing number of people priced out of the communities they grew up in."
Canberra Times
an hour ago
- Canberra Times
Australia must ease zoning to fix housing crisis: OECD
"The impact of global trade tensions on the Australian economy is more likely to come via the depressing effect of higher tariffs and policy uncertainty on investment worldwide, manifested in part by lower prices for iron ore, coal and natural gas."
