Figma IPO ‘smashes open' IPO market for Canva
Figma shares closed up 250 per cent at $US115.50 on Thursday [Friday AEDT,] after an initial price of $US33 on the New York Stock Exchange. The trading gave Figma the largest first-day pop in at least three decades for a US-traded company raising more than $US1 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
ASX follows Wall Street to broad gains
The Australian sharemarket has followed a bullish lead from the US, with all sectors finishing well into the green on Tuesday. The S&P/ASX200 finished with a 1.2 per cent gain, tacking on 106 points to close at 8770, six points shy of the record recorded last month. The All Ords rose 1.2 per cent, while interest rate sensitive discretionary and financial shares were the biggest gainers. Expectations of a rate cut in the US are nearing 90 per cent, and the local bourse followed Wall Street's green sweep into Tuesday trading. Overnight the three major US indexes had their largest daily gains since May. 'The rally came after the bulls wrestled back control on Wall Street overnight, as the prospect of a sooner and deeper Fed rate cuts offset slowdown concerns stemming from last Friday's weak jobs report,' IG analyst Tony Sycamore said. 'The US interest rate market is now fully priced for a 25bp rate cut in September, with a cumulative 63 basis points of rate cuts expected between now and the end of the year.' Commonwealth Bank says a layer of uncertainty has been removed from the global economy with confirmation of 10 per cent baseline US tariffs, which will produce modest gains for the Aussie Dollar this week. Across the ASX on Tuesday, rare earth stocks benefited from talk of a floor price to counter China's massive industrial subsidies. Critical mineralist Iluka Resources rocketed to a 8.6 per cent gain ($5.78), and Lynas Rare Earths spiked 5.2 per cent on the back of its presentation to a major conference in Kalgoorlie. All 50 of the ASX's largest firms — except South32 — finished in the green, led by gains for sleep apnoea equipment firm Resmed (3.9 per cent), investors Washington H Soul Pattinson and Company (2.8 per cent) and Wesfarmers (2.8 per cent). NAB, Goodman, ANZ, Woodside, Westpac and Commonwealth all gained between 1.3 and 1.6 per cent. Commonwealth Bank's pick-up came after an announcement it had set aside $130m to transition Bankwest to a fully digital brand while absorbing its business banking. Investors were keen on TPG Telecom until they weren't, with the telco's share price starting hot and quickly descending into negative territory. Ratings agency S&P detailed reasons for its negative outlook on TPG, sinking the share price 0.4 per cent ($5.50). Credit Corp recorded a sharp 16 per cent gain following release of full-year profits, largely down to debt recoveries in the US. Ahead of financials, it was the ASX discretionary sector making leaps and bounds on Tuesday. Multinational English-language training provider Idp Education rose almost eight per cent ($3.93), while fragrance house Dusk lifted 5.7 per cent ($0.92). Propel Funeral Partners, skateboard company Globe and heating and cooling equipment seller Adrad all gained more than five per cent. These consumer stocks followed Wall Street's lead, as did the Asian markets. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.7 per cent, with South Korean shares jumping 1.6 per cent. The US President's threat to penalise India for buying Russian oil steadied the commodity's price following a three-day slide.
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
US to charge some foreign travellers up to $23,000 in visa bonds
The US Department of State has prepared plans to impose bonds of up to $US15,000 ($23,000) for some tourist and business visas, according to a preview of the notice. The 12-month pilot program will give US consular officers the discretion to issue bonds to visitors from countries identified as "having high visa overstay rates," the notice to be published on Tuesday, local time, said. It added that bonds could also be applied to countries "where screening and vetting information is deemed deficient, or offering Citizenship by Investment, if the alien [applicant] obtained citizenship with no residency requirement". But the notice does not specify the countries that meet this requirement, noting "until the Pilot Program countries are selected, the Department is unable to estimate the number of visa applicants that will fall within the scope". The pilot visa program is expected to take effect in two weeks, on August 20, and last a whole year. Consular officers will have three options for visa applicants subjected to the bonds: $US5,000, $US10,000 or $US15,000, but will generally be expected to require at least $US10,000, the notice said. Travellers will get their bonds back when they depart the US in accordance with the terms of their visas. If they do not comply, the bond deposit will be forfeited. The US State Department said in the notice that the pilot program would help assess the feasibility of processing and discharging bonds for tourist and business visas. It would also "inform any future decision concerning the possible use of visa bonds to ensure nonimmigrants using these visa categories comply with the terms and conditions of their visas and timely depart the United States". Further, if the program is deemed feasible, the department said "it would serve as a critical diplomatic tool to compel other countries to address overstays by their nationals and to address deficiencies in their identity verification standards". The proposal comes as President Donald Trump's administration cracks down on immigration to the US and tightens requirements for visa applicants. He issued a travel ban in June that fully or partially blocks citizens of 12 countries from entering the US on national security grounds, mainly impacting people from the Middle East and Africa. While the State Department is currently unable to estimate the number of applicants to be impacted by the visa bond policy, many of the countries targeted by Mr Trump's travel ban also have high rates of visa overstays. This could mean Chad, Eritrea, Haiti, Myanmar and Yemen will be affected. Other countries with high overstay rates include Burundi, Djibouti and Togo, according to US Customs and Border Protection data from the 2023 fiscal year. The US Travel Association, a group that represents major tourism firms, said in a statement that the scope of the visa bond pilot "appears to be limited," potentially affecting an estimated 2,000 applicants. They will most likely be "from only a few countries with relatively low travel volume to the United States," the association said. Mr Trump's immigration policies have led some visitors to skip travel to the US, with data showing the country is suffering a sharp decline in tourism, including an 11.6 per cent decrease in overseas visitors in March. Meanwhile, the US experienced its sharpest decline in Australian visitors since the height of the COVID pandemic in March this year, with a 7 per cent drop in visitor numbers. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) has toughened its travel advice for the US multiple times this year in response to the Trump administration's increasingly harsh border controls. While DFAT has not changed the US's overall rating from green, which means "exercise normal safety precautions," it has beefed up warnings about being detained at the border and requirements to carry identification inside the country. "Check US entry, registration, transit and exit requirements," it advises Australian travellers. "Whether you're travelling on a visa or under the Visa Waiver Program, ensure you understand all relevant terms and conditions before attempting to enter the United States."
The Australian
4 hours ago
- The Australian
Tesla chair Robyn Denholm sets easy path for Elon Musk's $US30bn payday
Australia's Robyn Denholm set the hurdles so low on Elon Musk's stunning $US30bn ($46.5bn) stock award that it all but guarantees a windfall even if the EV boss goes rogue or fails to deliver on promised growth bets in coming years. The Tesla board, led by Denholm are pushing the boundaries of executive pay in its 'good faith' award simply to keep onside with Musk. They just need to be upfront about why they are throwing remaining governance out the window. In her letter to investors seeking support to back the monster shareholder package, Denholm justified the future payments to reward Musk for the creation of past value at Tesla. Essentially, this makes up for a 2018 package worth around $US55bn that remains caught up in shareholder challenges. A US court overturned that package last year, declaring it was excessive. This has been an irritation for Musk ever since. All that Musk has to do to collect the multi-billion dollar package is turn up to work at Tesla for the next two years and then hold onto these new shares for another five years. For most employees – even executives – this is not an onerous ask. In a single swoop, Denholm has removed any additional incentive for Musk to grow the EV maker at the same rate as the past decade. There's no minimum hours – as a collection of big investors have demanded – there are no earnings or even share price targets. There's no clawback for behaving badly. Importantly, there's no tying Musk's reward to the successful delivery of Tesla new growth options – AI-led autonomous driving and robotics. Musk simply has to protect the company's shares from losing 90 per cent of value. Technically, if Tesla can hang on to its existing cash pile, $36bn. That gives it plenty of cushion. Play it again The argument goes along the lines of he's done it before and will do it again. Despite coming off a year of falling sales and rising competition. Arguably, Tesla is at a point when it needs guardrails in place as Musk bets it all on AI and robotics. 'Tesla is at a critical inflection point, Denholm says in her letter. However, Musk has an 'unparalleled track record of delivering shareholder value'. Denholm says the new award will incentivise him to remain there for the coming years, 'energising and focusing' him on Tesla so he can drive the carmaker into the next era of growth. Already, the bulk of Musk's net worth of more than $US360bn is tied to the value of his cornerstone stake in Tesla. It's a big call to expect he'd simply walk away without some sort of succession planning. Stock options or restricted stock packages are usually designed as stretch targets or hurdles. In this case, the strike price is at $23.34 a share. Tesla last traded at $US309.26. The difference represents the profit that would go to Musk. Shareholders will have the chance to vote on the deal at Tesla's November annual meeting. The $23.34 number comes from the exercise price set in the 2018 package. Using 2025's conditions set, the strike price allows for zero risk and ignores major changes in the market from then to now. At the time, Tesla had little competition and its technology was ahead of the pack. Today it is losing ground to Chinese EV rivals which have leapfrogged in terms of sales and tech. Tesla can do what it wants in terms of lucrative compensation packages, as long as it's transparent and gets support from shareholders for the move. The bigger issue is the risk that this gives other companies cover to also test the boundaries of executive pay. johnstone@ Read related topics: Elon Musk Eric Johnston Associate Editor Eric Johnston is an associate editor of The Australian. He has more than 25 years experience as a finance journalist, including a former business editor of The Australian. He has been business editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age and financial services editor with The Australian Financial Review. His work has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal. Companies The Albanese government can buy Austal's Australian shipbuilding assets at market price if any shareholder increases their stake to more than 20 per cent. Business BlueScope has joined forces with a cohort of global steel giants to explore a Whyalla bid in strategic push to develop the city as a hub for low-emissions iron production.
