Just as Australia’s road to recovery continues to drive the economy out of the Corona-induced recession, it’s been marred by the continuation of international border restrictions due to the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant. The two sectors most at risk are the travel and hospitality industries, which are banking on a huge festive season…
News of the new Coronavirus strain Omicron has once again triggered fear and volatility in global markets, with investor sentiment taking a hit. The team at BlackRock’s Investment Institute has released its weekly commentary report with a simple yet effective message, “staying invested amid new virus strain.” Sure, the new highly contagious virus strain could…
Morgans has released its Australian asset allocation strategy update for 2022. The wealth manager has retained its Overweight position to risk assets and Underweight traditional income assets. There has however been one big addition: the broker has included Alternatives to its portfolios. Alternatives will add value and diversification to portfolios, “with global short rates edging…
Australia’s leading alternative real estate investment manager, Qualitas, has officially closed its initial public offering (IPO), having raised $335 million based on an offer price of $2.50 per share. That gives a market capitalisation of $735 million for a listing on December 23, just before Christmas. Management will use capital raised at the IPO to…
Ventia Services Group (ASX:VNT) – Morningstar has given infrastructure services provider Ventia Services the thumbs-up following its recent listing on the ASX where it was downsized and re-priced at $1.70 a share due to an underwhelming response from the market. Morningstar said ‘it must have been an embarrassing circumstance for the lead managers” after the…
With the country seemingly now well past Covid and its lockdowns (although the omicron variant could change things), the Australian government is finalising plans to safely reopen Australia’s international border next month. Once 80% of the population is double vaccinated, current overseas travel restrictions related to Covid-19 will be removed, allowing Australians to travel overseas….
How rare are rare earths? Despite the ‘rare’ label, rare earths aren’t particularly rare. Rare earth elements are relatively plentiful in the earth’s crust, with cerium being the 25th most abundant element at 68 parts per million. This makes it as abundant as copper. So why are they called rare? It’s all about the processing….
Recently Listed companies SiteMinder (ASX:SDR) – Recently listed hotel commerce platform, SiteMinder, saw its shares rise 40% after listing on the ASX on Monday. The company added $500 million to the value of the business after raising some $627 million at $5.06 a share. This gives the company a cool market cap of $1.36 billion….
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for CBA, with shares suffering their worst single-day sell-off since March 2020. The sell-off was due to investors dumping the big bank following what was seen as a disappointing squeeze on profits caused by the record low cash rate and fierce home loan competition. CBA says its net…
Having dodged a bullet with its Victorian casino and gaming licence, Australia’s largest entertainment group, Crown Resorts (ASX: CWN) is back. Shares have risen from $8.64 in July this year to $11.33, staging a remarkable recovery of around 31%. Despite being brought to its knees by the Royal Commission investigating its suitability to hold its…
