Santos smells a rat: the unseen hand in the $36.4b game
Investment bankers talking up Foreign Investment Review Board risks, hedge funds recycling similar lines and theories, negative stories landing in different news publications almost in unison, and a plucky all-Australian industry player all-of-a-sudden pointing to its balance sheet and looking for 'opportunistic growth'. These are all hallmarks of a blossoming campaign.
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Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Gold bright spot on flat day of trade on ASX
Shaky US jobs data and the subsequent sacking of the labour statistics chief has seen investors flocking to Australian gold stocks on Monday. While the ASX200 closed up by the barest of margins on Monday, the gold index benchmark grew 3.5 per cent to start the week. At the close of trade, strong consumer staples and materials sectors had dragged the S&P/ASX200 to a 0.02 per cent gain, closing up 1.7 points to 8663.7. The All Ords rose 0.06 per cent. Gold shares were the shimmering highlight on the day, with the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold benchmark gaining 3.57 per cent. Western Australian, Northern Territory and Alaskan operator Northern Star Resources – up 13 per cent on the year – tacked on another 5.6 per cent gain ($16.16) following the presentation of details from a site visit in Kalgoorlie. Australian gold miners have built warchests with a flood of investors seeking safehaven. Credit: Supplied The inland city is hosting the Diggers and Dealers mining forum this week, and the historic town will be heaving following Monday's sterling gold results. Bellevue Gold shot up 6.4 per cent ($0.82), Mineral Resources' price lifted 3 per cent ($30.76), and Evolution Mining rose 2.5 per cent ($7.23). Evolution Mining boss Lawrie Conway warned the Kalgoorlie conference that boom cycles had been squandered before. 'As an industry, we have been poor allocators of capital through these periods of record margins,' he said on Monday. The gold price has risen $1000 in the space of four months. 'It's imperative for us … when the cycle turns, our shareholders aren't left looking and saying, 'Where is the cash?',' Mr Conway said. Six of eleven ASX sectors finished in the red on Monday, with financials and energy losses weighing heavy. Photo: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard Credit: News Corp Australia Across the border, the Whyalla steelworks and its associated iron ore mines are the target of a potential offer from Bluescope Steel and an international consortium. That news pushed Bluescope's share price down 1.2 per cent, closing at $23.10. The surge in gold has been ignited and sustained by rumblings in the US. Underwhelming jobs data at the end of their week prompted Donald Trump to sack the Bureau of Labor Statistics chief, sowing doubt in US economic data. 'The dire US jobs report raised expectations of a Fed rate cut in September and prompted risk aversion flows, including buying of gold,' said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore. 'The rebound from the $US3265 support zone suggests gold is consolidating gains from the first half of this year in a range between $US3450 and $US3250.' After an eight-month high a couple of weeks ago, the Aussie dollar has settled at 64.8 US cents. Trailing the materials sector at the top of the heap, consumer staples also had a bountiful day. This charge was led by gains for Coles (1.7 per cent) and Woolworths (1.3 per cent). In lock-step, health and wellness food company OMG Group shot to a 7 per cent gain ($0.008), while Farm Pride Foods, Pure Foods Tasmania, Synlait Milk and Ricegrowers Ltd all rose more than 3.6 per cent. From the farmgate to the bar stool, pub and hospitality giant Endeavour Group surged to a 2.9 per cent gain on the news its dual chairman-chief executive was quitting over board disagreements. Endeavour owns Dan Murphy's and BWS. The company already lined up former Virgin Australia chief executive, Jayne Hrdlicka, to take charge in the new year. Despite Monday's bump, Endeavour shares are down 23 per cent on this time last year. With an essentially flat day in local trading, six of 11 sectors finished in the red, with financials, energy and industrials being the dead weight.
Herald Sun
an hour ago
- Herald Sun
Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and McDonald's reject US beef
Don't miss out on the headlines from Companies. Followed categories will be added to My News. Woolworths, Coles and McDonald's say they will not import US beef following Australia's loosening of biosecurity restrictions. In a contentious move, the federal government has allowed Canadian and Mexican cattle killed in the US to be imported into Australia. Following the change to this 20-year policy, the Trump administration slapped Australia with the lowest of its universal tariff rates, applying a 10 per cent levy on Australian exports. Despite the North American beef now allowed to land in Australia, consumers are unlikely to see much US beef on supermarket shelves or in fast-food restaurants. Aldi, Coles, McDonald's and Woolworths all say Australian customers will be eating homegrown beef. 'We apply an Australia-first approach, and 100 per cent of our fresh red meat is sourced directly from Australian farmers, with whom we have longstanding relationships,' a Woolworths spokesperson told NewsWire. 'We have no plans to change that approach.' Spokespeople for Aldi and Coles say there are no plans to change from 100 per cent Australian beef. Some 80 million kilos of beef are dished out by the Golden Arches each year, and McDonald's too says it will not be buying from North America. 'We'll continue to source 100 per cent Aussie beef for our menu and provide our customers with the great taste, quality, and value they know and love.' Last month, Agriculture Minister Julie Collins confirmed Australia would remove the ban on American beef from cattle originating in Canada and Mexico after a decade-long review. The US has similar, granular farm animal tracing as in Australia that largely stamps out diseases spreading from beast to beast. Regulations are more lax in Canada and Mexico. The federal opposition criticised the move, suggesting Australia had bargained away its biosecurity to get a better negotiating position with the Trump administration over the President's sweeping global tariffs. The government rejected this claim. The Nationals also called for an independent review of the US beef import rules. US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Australia changing its rules was a nod to President Trump's acumen. 'This is yet another example of the kind of market access the President negotiates to bring America into a new golden age of prosperity, with American agriculture leading the way,' Ms Rollins said last month. 'It's absurd that non-scientific trade barriers prevented our beef from being sold to consumers in Australia for the last 20 years.' In the wake of President Trump's economy-rattling 'Liberation Day' tariff announcements earlier this year, countries have been scrambling to carve out exemptions or deals with the US. Australia and the US have a free trade agreement, and in 2024, the US exported twice as much to Australia as it imported from Down Under – $50.6bn versus $23.8bn. Despite the trade agreement and Australia being in a trade deficit, the US administration put its global baseline 10 per cent excise on Australian products. Australia was one of the few countries to escape with just a 10 per cent levy when the extended negotiation deadline came and went on Friday, August 1. Originally published as 'No plans': Aussie supermarkets, fast-food giants reject US beef
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Federal Ag Minister's Indonesia visit leads to signing of wheat protocol and export of rendered products
Australia will start exporting animal-rendered products to Indonesia for the first time in seven years following a successful trade visit by Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins. The breakthrough comes after Ms Collins travelled to Jakarta and West java last week to finalise a series of agriculture and biosecurity agreements, building on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's earlier visit in May. A new bilateral protocol, signed during the visit, clears the way for six Australian establishments to restart exports of rendered products — including meat and bone meal from cattle and sheep — used primarily in animal feed. The trade is worth more than $100 million annually to Australian producers. Exports have been suspended since 2018 after the Indonesian Government raised concerns about the presence of pork material, traceability issues, and third-party packaging. Six Australian establishments have been approved by the Indonesian Government to export rendered products. Rendered products consist of meat and bone meal from bovines and ovines, and with the products primarily used for animal feed. Wheat exports were was also on the agenda, with a protocol to maintain Australia's export accessibility to Indonesia and ensure high biosecurity standards. Export of wheat to Indonesia was valued at $1.76 billion in 2023-2024. A mangosteen operational workplan was also agreed upon during the visit, ensuring biosecurity risks will be managed and providing an export route of the fruit. Ms Collins additionally signed a memorandum of understanding between the two countries on biosecurity cooperation activities, and re-established a bilateral Forestry Working Group with the new Indonesian Ministry of Forestry. Ms Collins said the Albanese Government continued to 'strengthen' Australia's partnership with Indonesia. 'It was great to travel to Jakarta to meet with my ministerial counterparts, where we finalised a number of two-way agricultural trade and biosecurity agreements,' she said. 'These agreements will ensure more of our world-class products are on Indonesian tables and will unlock significant benefits for farmers and producers in both of our nations.' The two-way agricultural trade between Indonesia and Australia was valued at $5.5 billion in 2023-2024. As part of the visit Ms Collins participated in trade events and and visited a feedlot in West Java. 'The quality, safety and reliability of Australia's agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries are valued by our friends in Indonesia, and it's great to see how our products support Indonesia's food security,' Ms Collins said.
