BHP

Last year APRA ordered the big four banks to slash their dividends to conserve capital due to the COVID-19 pandemic; not that it was required, as boards had already decided to hoard as much capital as they could. Shareholders were dealt a rather large blow, especially self-retirees and super fund members. Banks have always been…

ASX down as Victoria braces, materials weaker, ALS profit jumps The ASX200 (ASX: XJO) finished 0.3% lower on Wednesday, with the materials and e-commerce sectors leading the fall.  BHP Group (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) remain under pressure, falling over 2% each as the hot commodity sector is cooled by increasing supply. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:…

ASX joins the record breaking party, A2 Milk drained, Crowning the Star  The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) finally joined the global party hitting an all-time high of 7,172 points on Monday. The list of constituents trading at similar records also continues to grow, with both BHP Group (ASX:BHP) and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) up +3.1% and 4.6% respectively, hitting their own all-time highs today as…

February in the rear-view mirror – bonds, corrections and inflation The Australian economy has emerged from the pandemic almost unscathed, with the economy growing 3.1% in the December quarter, among the fastest in the developed world. For the full year, the economy contracted by just 1.1%, with China one of the few countries recovering faster….

Tough finish to the week, Cochlear (ASX:COH) rallies despite taking a hit, QBE Insurance (ASX:QBE) reports billion dollar loss The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) dropped 1.3% on Friday, sending the benchmark to a 0.2% loss for the week despite a strong series of company reports. Friday’s weakness was driven by the energy sector, which fell 3.6% and mining, -2.4%,…

ASX falls 0.8%, retail in the spotlight, China’s economic miracle, QBE gets slammed The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) started the week on a negative footing, falling 0.8%. The discretionary retail (0.2%) and IT (0.5%) sectors were the only highlights but weren’t sufficient to offset a fall in the materials sector (-1.9%). It was the normal culprits pushing the market…

With 2020 behind us, the first year of the pandemic is now history, but recent headlines suggest it is far from over. The virus continues to spread, intermittent lockdowns have become the norm and Australia will soon roll up its sleeves after securing 53.8m doses of the AstraZeneca and 10m doses of the Pfizer vaccines….

OK, so you want to own a big global diversified bulk miner, to take advantage of the impending commodities boom – let’s take a look at the contenders, BHP and Rio Tinto. Here’s the tale of the tape. BHP (BHP, $36.35)Market capitalisation: $183.7 billionOne-year total return: +6.9%Three-year total return: +17.9% a yearFive-year total return: +14.2%…

It’s back: US markets down over 4%, dividends the story of the day, a deal with the devil The ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) finished another 0.8% higher, with everything but the IT, materials and utilities sectors adding to the rally. As reporting season comes to an end, dividend payments are driving daily movements with BHP Group…

With dividends at risk in many companies, a surprising sector is emerging as a payout powerhouse – mining. It used to be a truism that the cyclicality of the mining industry worked against dividends, as did the need for large capital spending and reinvestment in mine expansion and exploration. But the strong cashflows of some…