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☆ Investor Tribeca presents Glencore with ideas to raise shareholder value – How it may unfold
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Kenneth Squire | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Tribeca has been a shareholder of Glencore for seven years and has been engaging with management for a year. The company has excellent core asset quality in copper, zinc and coal, as well as a world-leading commodity trading business. Notably, Bluebell Capital Partners agitated for a demerger of Glencore's thermal coal business in 2021. However, in 2023, after acquiring a 77% interest in Teck's steelmaking coal business, Glencore stated its intention to demerge its combined coal and carbon steel businesses. The same can be said for the divestment of the trading business.

Persons: Glencore, David Aylward, Gary Nagle, astutely, Berkshire Hathaway, Ivan Glasenberg, Ken Squire Organizations: Glencore, Tribeca Investment Partners, Tribeca, Financial Times, Australian Securities Exchange, London Stock Exchange, BHP, Rio Tinto, Bluebell Capital Partners, LSE, Rio, NYSE, 13D Locations: Switzerland, Australia, Africa, South America, Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore, London, Tribeca, Glencore, Swiss, Rio, Europe, cyclicality, Berkshire

☆ Alphabet cuts ties with Australian AI firm that helped train Bard and Google Search
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai departs federal court on October 30, 2023 in Washington, DC. Appen, based in Australia, has helped train AI models for a star-studded list of tech behemoths. Five customers — Microsoft , Apple , Meta , Google and Amazon — have in the past accounted for 80% of Appen's revenue. Alphabet accounted for roughly one-third of Appen's revenue, meaning the decision to end the relationship will impact "at least two thousand subcontracted Alphabet workers," according to a statement Monday from the Alphabet Workers Union. Alphabet has cut contractual ties with Appen , the artificial intelligence data firm that helped train Google's chatbot Bard, Google Search results and other AI products.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, Pichai, Appen, Bard, Appen's, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Bard, didn't, Bard chatbot Organizations: Google, Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet Workers, Appen, Revenue, Australian Securities Exchange, CNBC, Adobe, Nvidia, U.S . National Labor Relations Board Locations: Washington ,, Australia

☆ Australian bourse operator partners with TCS for long due trading software overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Himanshi Akhand | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A board displaying stock prices is adorned with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) logo in central Sydney, Australia, February 13, 2018. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 20 (Reuters) - Australian bourse operator ASX Ltd (ASX.AX) said on Monday it entered a deal with TATA Consultancy Services (TCS) <TCS.NS> to design and replace its trading, clearing and settlement system, after months of backlash since pulling a blockchain-based overhaul of the system last year. The estimated cost for the first release of the Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS) project is between A$105 million ($68.33 million) and A$125 million, to be incurred over multiple years, ASX said. ASX's initial attempt to overhaul CHESS earned rebuke from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and Reserve Bank of Australia, with the regulators demanding more thorough reporting on plans to update the 30-year-old software. ($1 = 1.5366 Australian dollars)Reporting by Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru Editing by Chris Reese and Diane CraftOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: David Gray, Joe Longo, Helen Lofthouse, Himanshi, Chris Reese, Diane Craft Organizations: Australian Securities Exchange, REUTERS, TATA Consultancy Services, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Reserve Bank of Australia, Accenture, TCS, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia, Australian, Bengaluru

A board displaying stock prices is adorned with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) logo in central Sydney, Australia, February 13, 2018. That will, however, take time, with the overhaul now expected to finish in 2029, some 13 years after it began. It also prompted the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to open an investigation into the exchange's disclosures about the project. ASX said it expected the first stage of the new project, clearing software, to cost between A$105 million and A$125 million with delivery around 2026. The cost and timing of the settlement and other software will be decided in 2024.

Persons: David Gray, Tim Whiteley, Joe Longo, Longo, Byron Kaye, Himanshi, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Australian Securities Exchange, REUTERS, Tata Consultancy Services, New, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia, India, Finland, Canada, New York, Bengaluru

☆ Asia markets head for mixed session as investors digest Biden-Xi meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

People are reflected in a glass while looking at electronic boards displaying stock information at the Australian Securities Exchange. Asia-Pacific markets geared up for a mixed session Thursday as investors digested high-level discussions between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, while it was left to be seen if optimism about further signs of cooling U.S. inflation would carry through the day. Biden and Xi met Wednesday outside of San Francisco in their first face-to-face encounter in a year. Separately, the South Korea stock market was set to open an hour later than usual, at 10 a.m. South Korea time. The delayed open is intended to ease rush-hour traffic as college entrance exams were administrated across the country.

Persons: Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Biden, Xi Organizations: Australian Securities Exchange ., Economic Cooperation, U.S, South Locations: Australian Securities Exchange . Asia, Pacific, San Francisco, Asia, China, South Korea

☆ As oil prices rise, these global stocks are set to outperform: Bank of America
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Amala Balakrishner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has seen oil prices jump as investors consider the risk of wider geopolitical issues across the Middle East. These rising prices will benefit a number of stocks, according to Paulina Strzelinska, quant strategist at Bank of America. Outperformers when natural gas prices rise In a separate screen, Bank of America revealed its list of companies that tend to outperform when natural gas prices rise. Equinor is listed on both the Oslo Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, while Rio Tinto is listed on the London Stock Exchange and Australian Securities Exchange. Meanwhile Anglo American has a dual listing on the London Stock Exchange and Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Persons: Paulina Strzelinska, Brent, Duncan Wanbald, — CNBC's Michael Bloom, Sam Meredith Organizations: Hamas, Bank of America, Bank, Boliden, Royce, Aegon, Galp Energia, Wolters Kluwer, London Stock Exchange, Oslo Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, Rio Tinto, Australian Securities Exchange, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Reuters Locations: Israel, Europe, Antofagasta, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Rio Tinto, Rio, American, Johannesburg

☆ Virgin Australia clocks first profit in 11 years as travel demand recovers
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aircraft from Australia's second largest airline, Virgin Australia, sit on the tarmac at the domestic terminal of Sydney Airport in Australia, August 19, 2018. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 10 (Reuters) - Bain Capital-owned Virgin Australia said on Tuesday that the airline returned to a profit for the first time in 11 years for fiscal 2023, buoyed by a strong recovery in travel demand following the COVID-19 pandemic. The carrier reported a statutory net profit after tax of A$129 million ($82.93 million) for the full year ended June 30, 2023, compared with a loss of A$565.5 million in 2022. Virgin Australia now has a considerably stronger balance sheet with continued significant improvement in its cost base, CFO Race Strauss said in a statement on Tuesday. Virgin was upbeat on its capital position, reporting total debt including leases of A$2.3 billion and over A$1 billion of cash on the balance sheet.

Persons: David Gray, Bain, Race Strauss, Strauss, Roushni Nair, Nausheen, Rashmi Organizations: Virgin, Sydney Airport, REUTERS, Bain Capital, Virgin Australia, Australian Securities Exchange, Reuters, GQG Partners, Airlines, Thomson Locations: Australia's, Virgin Australia, Australia, Bengaluru

☆ PWC Aussie mess is classic do as I say not as I do
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MELBOURNE, Sept 29 (Reuters Breakingviews) - PWC Australia is likely to need a long time to recover from what is turning out to be a self-inflicted double whammy. Now the independent review sparked by the furore has laid bare another problem: PWC Australia took a do as I say not as I do approach to running its own shop. The report, commissioned by PWCA in May, written by one of the country’s corporate grandees, Ziggy Switkowski, and published on Wednesday, outlines a series of corporate governance failures. What’s worse, and even more ironic, is PWC Australia’s aversion to tapping external advice. Many of the changes will come from applying, “to the extent feasible”, the Australian Securities Exchange’s corporate governance principles and recommendations.

Persons: Tom Seymour, PWCA, Ziggy Switkowski, “, Kevin Burrowes, That’s, Una Galani, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Reuters, Lehman Brothers, Silicon Valley Bank, Australian Securities, Thomson Locations: MELBOURNE, Australia, Silicon

☆ Australia passes law to encourage competition for main market operator ASX
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A pedestrian is reflected in a window where an investor sits looking at a board displaying stock prices at the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in Sydney, Australia February 9, 2018. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies ASX Ltd FollowSYDNEY, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Australia passed a law on Wednesday to support competition in post-trade settlement and clearing for financial markets, challenging the near-monopoly status held by ASX Ltd (ASX.AX). After ASX cancelled a costly overhaul of its trading platform, the federal government said it was opening up the market to let other players in. Though Australian financial regulators have called for greater competition in clearing and settlement functions for years, a failed overhaul of ASX's all-in-one legacy software system renewed pressure from market participants to challenge its near-monopoly. In other major financial markets, clearing and settlement, or confirming the transfer of stock ownership and updating share registries, are managed by separate entities to the market operator.

Persons: David Gray, Jim Chalmers, Byron Kaye, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Australian Securities Exchange, REUTERS, ASX Ltd, Senate, Reserve Bank of Australia, Australian Securities and Investments, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia

☆ The generative AI boom should have been Appen's time to shine. Here's what went wrong
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

For Appen, that would mean finding specialists in particular types of information that can bolster generative AI systems. Even before the generative AI transition, wages for Appen's data labelers were a sticking point. Kim Stagg, Appen's vice president of product, said the work required for generative AI services was different than what the company has needed in the past. "With generative AI, we see a different demand." The company's plunging stock price suggests that investors don't see the company's business offerings transferring to the generative AI space.

Persons: Jonathan Raa, Mike Monegan, he'd, Appen, it's, Armughan Ahmad, Mark Brayan, Ahmad, Monegan, he's, Appen's, Helen Johnson, Fab Dolan, Sujatha Sagiraju, Elena Sagunova, Jen Cole, Jukka Korpi, Still, OpenAI's, Google's Bard, didn't, Bard chatbot, Ed Stackhouse, raters, Erik Vogt, Vogt, hadn't, Kim Stagg, we've, Stagg, Lisa Braden, Harder, Canaccord Organizations: Nurphoto, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon, Nvidia, Revenue, CNBC, Australian Securities Exchange, Adobe, U.S . National Labor Relations Board Locations: Seattle, Europe, Middle East, Africa

☆ It's been a challenging year for IPOs — globally and for us, ASX CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailIt's been a challenging year for IPOs — globally and for us, ASX CEO saysHelen Lofthouse, CEO of the Australian Securities Exchange, says there were "no surprises" in its results.

Persons: IPOs, Helen Lofthouse Organizations: Australian Securities Exchange

☆ Crypto firm Animoca Brands cuts target for new fund again -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Animoca Brands said in November that it was working on a new Animoca Capital fund with a target of $2 billion, but then halved that target in January to $1 billion. Recently, it has trimmed the target by another 20% to $800 million, two people familiar with the matter said. Latest data on the platform show that the company’s market cap stood at just under 1.9 billion Australian dollars ($1.26 billion) earlier this week. A spokesperson for Animoca Brands declined to comment on its fund raising plans. Animoca Brands was removed from the Australian Securities Exchange in 2020 by the regulator because of its aggressive expansion into the cryptocurrency industry.

☆ LG Chem Buys Stake in North Carolina Lithium Miner
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Yusuf Khan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

South Korea’s LG Chem will take a stake in Piedmont Lithium Inc., boosting its North American presence and banking on incentives to scale up its role in U.S. electric-vehicle supply chain. LG Chem will commit $75 million to Piedmont in return for a 5.7% stake in the miner, whose shares are listed on the Nasdaq and Australian Securities Exchange. PREVIEWThe U.S. is our key market and by preemptively securing raw materials this deal allows LG Chem to provide North American customers with products that satisfy IRA standards, said Mr. Hak-Cheol Shin, Vice Chairman and CEO of LG Chem in a statement. LG Chem is planning to build a $3 billion cathode plant in Clarksville, Tenn., slated to open in 2027. Already, Piedmont has an existing contract to supply Tesla with 50,000 tons annually until 2025, in addition to its new LG Chem supply deal.

☆ Bain Capital Considers Virgin Australia IPO as Travel Demand Rebounds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Rhiannon Hoyle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ADELAIDE, Australia—Bain Capital is considering an initial public offering of Australia’s second-largest airline in what would be a new test of investor appetite for carriers in a turbulent postpandemic recovery. On Monday, Bain Capital said as a first step, it will soon ask advisers about the best timing, structure and metrics for relisting Virgin Australia on the Australian Securities Exchange .

SYDNEY, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Bain Capital said on Monday it is looking to relist Virgin Australia - a move that comes as the domestic aviation market bounces back strongly from its pandemic lows. "In the coming months we will consider how to best position Virgin Australia for continued growth and long term prosperity," Mike Murphy, a Sydney-based partner at the U.S. private equity firm said in a statement. "It is Bain Capital’s current intention to retain a significant shareholding in a future IPO of Virgin Australia." Bain bought Virgin Australia for A$3.5 billion ($2.45 billion) including liabilities in 2020 after the airline was placed in voluntary administration. There were just $614.2 million worth of IPOs in Australia in 2022, down nearly 93% from $8.4 billion a year earlier, according to Refinitiv data.

☆ Asia-Pacific markets set to trade mixed on cooled U.S. inflation outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

People look at a smartphone in front of electronic boards displaying stock information inside the Australian Securities Exchange, operated by ASX Ltd., in Sydney, Australia. Markets in the Asia-Pacific were set to trade mixed as expectations of cooled inflation in the U.S. lifted investor sentiment in the region. On Friday, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey showed the one-year inflation outlook fell to 4%, the third straight monthly decrease and the lowest level since April 2021. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5% in its first hour of trade. The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 25,830 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 25,780 — lower than the Nikkei 225 's last close at 26,119.52.

Critically, experts say, nothing that's transpired in the crypto market in 2022 undermines the inherent value of the blockchain. "So while this has been a shock to the market, a lot of people in the space remain sanguine about the future of blockchain technology." He said stock trading, buying and selling real estate, and borrowing and lending money remain ripe for disruption by blockchain technology. "The ethereum blockchain could turn out to be this major infrastructure layer for the future of technological services," Abner said. He said prospective crypto users must prepare for a steep learning curve going forward, because it ultimately involves trusting only yourself to be in charge of your assets.

☆ Australian Securities Exchange to cut up to 200 jobs from blockchain project
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Dec 2 (Reuters) - The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX.AX) will cut up to 200 contractors working on a project to replace its main trading platform with so-called blockchain technology after cancelling the overhaul, the company told Reuters. After announcing plans in 2016 to replace its decades-old platform with distributed ledger technology, which is also referred to as blockchain, the world's 13th-largest stock exchange pulled the project last month citing an independent report which found it was riddled with problems. The exchange had retained some contractors involved in the overhaul to work on a review of the project or other roles at the company, the spokesperson added. The ASX said last month that it would take a charge of up to A$255 million in its December 2022 half-year results. Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The LNG industry argues that all of those of measures would result in lower investment and lower natural gas production over time, which would ultimately lead to higher prices. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent surge in energy prices amid fears over the loss of Russian exports of natural gas, LNG, crude oil and coal has provided Australia's LNG exporters with windfall revenues. But it has also led to higher prices in the domestic market, and calls from businesses and households for action to make LNG more affordable. The LNG industry is happy to meet one of those demands, namely ensure sufficient supply is offered to domestic consumers before being made available to the LNG exporters. What gas consumers want is capped prices and guaranteed volumes.

related investing news Cathie Wood's ARK Invest keeps buying more crypto assets despite FTX bankruptcy Crypto.com is smaller than FTX but still ranks among the top 15 global exchanges, according to CoinGecko. Kris Marszalek, CEO of Crypto.com, speaking at a 2018 Bloomberg event in Hong Kong, China. Marszalek has spent the early part of the week trying to reassure users and regulators that the business is fine. FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said his company's assets were "fine" two days before he was desperate for a rescue because of a liquidity crunch. Marszalek said on Monday that this was just a reflection of the assets Crypto.com customers were buying.

☆ Australia shares down 2% in negative Asia session after Fed signals more hikes ahead
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Abigail Ng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

A man looks at an electronic board displaying stock information at the Australian Securities Exchange, operated by ASX Ltd. on March 16, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. Shares in the Asia-Pacific dropped on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled further hikes ahead after raising rates by 75 basis points as expected, saying it was "premature" to talk about pausing the tightening cycle. "We still have some ways to go and incoming data since our last meeting suggests that the ultimate level of interest rates will be higher than previously expected," he said. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was last down 2.23%. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped around 1%.

Perpetual rejected a $A30 per share offer proposal from Barings Private Equity Asia (BPEA), which was recently bought by EQT (EQTAB.ST), and Australian firm Regal Partners (RPL.AX). Perpetual shares rose by as much as 10.1% early on Thursday, the company's best session in more than two years, before retreating to be up 6.6%. Perpetual said it would press on with its planned A$2.51 billion acquisition of rival Pendal Group (PDL.AX) announced in August. The private equity offer represents a premium of about 11.5% to Perpetual's last close of A$26.90. BPEA is one of the region's largest private equity firms and was bought by EQT in March.

☆ Coal Miner Peabody Energy in Deal Talks With Australian Rival Coronado
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Rhiannon Hoyle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Peabody’s pretax earnings in the second quarter were its highest in more than a decade. ADELAIDE, Australia— Peabody Energy is in talks to combine with an Australian rival that could result in a new global giant worth some $6 billion, illustrating how the coal-price surge that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is transforming the sector’s fortunes. Peabody, the largest American coal producer, is discussing a deal with Coronado Global Resources which has operations in the U.S. and Australia. In a regulatory filing with the Australian Securities Exchange on Wednesday, Coronado said negotiations were occurring.

☆ Asia-Pacific markets inch lower as investors weigh Fed hike
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Abigail Ng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

An electronic board displays stock information at the Australian Securities Exchange, operated by ASX Ltd., in Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. Asia-Pacific shares slipped on Friday as investors continue to weigh the Federal Reserve's aggressive stance. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 opened slightly higher but gave up gains to fall 1.16% on its return to trade after a holiday on Thursday. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.18%. On Wall Street overnight, stocks fell for a third consecutive day over recession fears following the Fed's latest 75-basis-point rate hike.

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