rio tinto

ASX falls late, AGL (ASX:AGL) seeking battery approval, coal prices boosted by floods The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) fell into the close ending 0.1% lower, with the materials sector the biggest detractor falling 1.5%. The selling pressure came after one of the key Chinese smelting cities announced curbs on steelmaking operations as they seek to address environmental concerns. This sent…

Are investors looking at a dividend bonanza in 2021? According to Dr Don Hamson, Portfolio Manager of the Plato Australian Shares Income strategy, the drought may be coming to an end. According to one of the leading active income investors in the country, investors in the ASX 200 are looking at an improved dividend backdrop…

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….

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) season in Australia is becoming more of a forum for companies to update shareholders on the outlook for earnings, and for shareholders to push the ESG agenda, according to Martin Currie Australia, an active equity specialist investment manager. Reece Birtles, chief investment officer, and Will Baylis, portfolio manager, at Martin…

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….

Australia-China relations took another turn for the worse following China’s refusal to apologise for posting a controversial image. This grotesque illustration depicts a ‘photoshopped’ Australian soldier holding an Afghan child’s throat. The image was shared on social media by a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry after proof was found that 39 civilians and prisoners…

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%…

Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) today announced that CEO Jean-Sebastian Jacques, Head of Iron Ore, Chris Salisbury and Head of Corporate Affairs Simone Niven, will be stepping down from their roles following the Juukan Gorge incident. Whilst someone losing their job should never been seen as a positive, is this the first high profile ‘win’ for…

One of the main themes that played out this reporting season was the absence of company dividends. The cash doled out by the largest 50 ASX listed companies was by in large withdrawn to conserve capital during the pandemic. A study released this week by Janus Henderson looked at the dividends paid out recently by…

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…