DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Lynas Rare Earths signs updated contract with US govt for Texas facility
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Aug 1 (Reuters) - Lynas Rare Earths (LYC.AX) said on Tuesday it had signed an updated contract with the U.S. Department of Defense for the construction of the heavy rare-earths component of its rare-earths processing facility in Texas. Under the contract, a contribution of about $258 million by the U.S. government is currently allocated to the project, higher than the $120 million contribution announced last year, Lynas said. Lynas, the world's largest producer of rare-earths outside of China, said the updated contract follows detailed design work and cost updates for the project. Lynas' Texas facility will serve both the DoD and commercial customers, and is targeted to be operational in the financial year 2026. Feedstock for the facility will be sourced from the company's Mt Weld deposit and Kalgoorlie facility in Western Australia, the miner added.

Persons: Lynas, Himanshi, Maju Samuel, Sherry Jacob, Phillips Organizations: U.S . Department of Defense, U.S, DoD, Thomson Locations: Texas, China, Lynas ' Texas, Mt Weld, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Bengaluru

☆ Japan chip equipment supplier Disco to set up center in India - Nikkei
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Aug 1 (Reuters) - Japan's Disco Corp (6146.T) wants to establish a center in India to support its clients and serve as a base for marketing to the country's semiconductor industry, the Nikkei reported on Tuesday, citing a company executive. The chipmaking device supplier will consider opening an applications laboratory, which performs test cuts and other experimental processing at customer's request, in India, the report said. Plans for the lab will depend on how client companies are progressing in their Indian expansions, the Nikkei said. Reporting by Himanshi Akhand in BengaluruOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Himanshi Organizations: Nikkei, Thomson Locations: India, Bengaluru

☆ Singapore Airlines flags near-term competition in international travel
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 27 (Reuters) - Singapore Airlines (SIAL.SI) said on Thursday it expects competition to intensify in the coming months as carriers scramble to take advantage of strong overseas travel demand that helped the city-state's flagship airline to post a record first-quarter profit. "Macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties, as well as inflation, could pose challenges for the airline industry," the company said. Singapore Airlines said it will monitor these trends closely, and adjust its capacity and network accordingly. The airline reported a net profit of S$734 million ($554.84 million) for the three months ended June 30, compared with S$370 million a year earlier. Passenger load factor — a measure of how many seats are filled on planes — for Singapore Airlines was 88.9% in the quarter, compared with 79.0% a year ago.

Persons: Himanshi Akhand, Archishma Iyer, Shinjini Organizations: Singapore Airlines, Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, HK, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, Singapore, Bengaluru

July 17 (Reuters) - Shares of Endeavour Group (EDV.AX), Australia's biggest pub owner, hit a record low on Monday after a surprise state government decision to impose identification checks and gambling limits on poker machine users. Victoria, Australia's second-most populous state, said at the weekend it would make poker machine users register for an ID card to prevent money laundering and set a loss limit in advance to restrict problem gambling. Analysts were divided on the scale of the impact on Endeavour, the country's biggest owner of poker machine licences, given the company does not break out poker machine profit in its results. The change also adds pressure on other states, particularly New South Wales (NSW), to follow suit and heed community demands for greater regulation of poker machine gambling. Australia is home to one-fifth of the world's poker machine licences, the most of any jurisdiction outside Las Vegas.

Persons: Australia's, midsession, Today's, Byron Kaye, Himanshi, Navya Mittal, Subhranshu Sahu, Stephen Coates Organizations: Endeavour Group, Australia's, Analysts, Endeavour, Woolworths, Labor, Jefferies, Thomson Locations: New South Wales, NSW, Sydney, Australia, Las Vegas, Bengaluru

☆ National Australia Bank to change home loan refinancing criteria
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 7 (Reuters) - National Australia Bank (NAB) (NAB.AX) on Friday said it would refresh its approach to like-for-like refinancing criteria to help customers who would otherwise fail to meet an industry standard that assesses their ability to repay loans. Last month, top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX) cut its buffer rate for some borrowers refinancing their existing home loan to 1% from the industry standard of 3%. After NAB, ANZ Group Holdings (ANZ.AX) is the only bank left among the top four to ease refinancing loans criteria for customers unable to meet APRA standard. NAB said the changes to its refinancing criteria will apply from July 21, but added that it will take a "case-by-case" approach when assessing appropriate serviceability. Reporting by Himanshi Akhand and Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H KOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Himanshi Akhand, Sameer Manekar, Varun Organizations: National Australia Bank, NAB, Reuters, The, Prudential Regulation Authority, APRA, Reserve Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac Banking Corp, ANZ Group Holdings, ANZ, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Federal court rules against Australia's AMP in class action proceedings, shares tank
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 5 (Reuters) - Australia's AMP Ltd (AMP.AX) tanked on Wednesday after the country's federal court ruled against the wealth manager in class action proceedings that challenged the validity of some of the changes to its 'buyer of last resort' policy. AMP was also the top loser on the benchmark index (.AXJO), which was last down 0.4%. The court, on Wednesday, determined amounts payable in the amount of A$813,560 and A$115,533 to the class action's lead applicant Equity Financial Planners and sample group member Wealthstone, respectively. AMP acknowledged the court's decision and noted a process will be required to determine the impact of the decision on other group members of the class action suit, subject to any appeal. "Noting the complexity of the matter, AMP is reviewing the judgment in detail to determine the full effect of the judgment and its next steps," AMP added.

Persons: tanked, Wealthstone, Himanshi, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Australia's AMP, AMP, Financial Planners, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Automaker Stellantis signs battery metals offtake deal with Australia's Kuniko
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 3 (Reuters) - Australia's Kuniko (KNI.AX) said on Monday it had signed an offtake and equity investment agreement with automaker Stellantis (STLAM.MI) to support the development of its Norwegian battery metals projects. Stellantis would invest 5 million euros ($5.45 million) at an issue price of A$0.467 per share in the battery metals miner in return for a near 20% stake, Kuniko said. Kuniko shares rose as much as 58.1% to A$0.680, their highest level since Oct. 31. Under the deal, announced by Stellantis on Friday, the carmaker will also get 35% of the nickel sulphate and cobalt sulphate produced from Kuniko's Norway exploration projects for nine years. The funds from the Stellantis' equity investment will be used to advance Kuniko's brownfield and greenfield battery metals exploration projects in Norway, the company said.

Persons: Stellantis, Kuniko, Himanshi Akhand, Rishav Chatterjee, Rashmi Aich, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Thomson Locations: Norway, Bengaluru

☆ Akhand Bharat: Why a map in India's new Parliament is making its neighbors nervous
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Akhand Bharat,” tweeted Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi alongside a photograph of the map. “Akhand Bharat in (the) New Parliament. It also took place on the birthday of the late Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the man widely considered to have developed the Hindutva ideology and one of the first proponents of Akhand Bharat. “We have to see the dream of Akhand Bharat in this lifetime and it has started with (this),” said deputy chief minister of the state of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis. Faisal Khan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images/FileExperts say such rhetoric has made India’s neighbors nervous.

Persons: Arindam Bagchi, Ashoka, Akhand Bharat, Bharat, ”, Pralhad Joshi, Akhand, Manoj Kotak, Bharat ”, Bharat ’, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, –, KP Sharma Oli, Baburam Bhattarai, Shahriar Alam, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, “, Salil Tripathi, Narendra Modi, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Savarkar, Modi, Amit Shah, Praful, Sushant Singh, Manjunath Kiran, Critics, Devendra Fadnavis, Faisal Khan, Ayesha Jalal, Fahd Humayun Organizations: CNN, India’s Ministry, External Affairs, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Parliamentary, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, stoke, Mahasabha, Hindustan Times, Centre for Policy Research, Getty, India’s, Anadolu Agency, Tufts University Locations: Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, New Delhi, India, Afghanistan, Myanmar, “, Kathmandu, New York, Mumbai, ” India, Indian, Kashmir, Karnataka, Bangalore, Maharashtra, Srinagar

☆ Interim stop order for Humm's BNPL products revoked
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 29 (Reuters) - Australian fintech company Humm Group (HUM.AX) said on Monday an interim stop order issued by the country's corporate regulator restricting it from issuing buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) products to new customers had been revoked. The interim stop order issued last week against Humm's unit was related to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's (ASIC) concerns regarding the target market determination for its BNPL products. Target market determination rules require issuers of BNPL products to consider whether a product aligns with the financial objectives, circumstances and needs of consumers. "Hummgroup has addressed ASIC's concerns regarding the target market determination for the humm Buy Now Pay Later product," the company said in statement. The company's BNPL product is again available to new customers following the revocation, it added.

☆ Tyro Payments ends buyout discussions with Potentia after rejecting A$875 mln bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 22 (Reuters) - Australia's Tyro Payments (TYR.AX) said on Monday it has ended deal discussions with suitor Potentia Capital, months after the payment terminals firm rejected the private equity group's A$875 million ($593.5 million) buyout proposal. Potentia's decision to withdraw the offer follows Tyro granting it due diligence and engaging in "extensive negotiation" of material commercial terms, Tyro said in a statement. "Tyro also worked with Potentia to develop processes that could potentially address regulatory requirements to reduce risk to Tyro by providing increased confidence of completion in a reasonable timeframe," it added. Potentia had first offered to buy Tyro for A$1.27 per share in September, then improved its offer to A$1.60 in December. Tyro rejected both offers, saying they undervalued the company.

☆ Qantas eyes return to 100% of pre-COVID capacity by March 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 19 (Reuters) - Qantas Airways Ltd (QAN.AX), Australia's flagship carrier, said on Friday it expects its international capacity to reach about 100% of pre-COVID-19 levels by March 2024, as it plans to add more seats and aircraft to its global network. The carrier plans to add about 1 million seats to its international network over a 12-month period starting late-October, Qantas said. "The rebound in demand for international travel since borders reopened has been incredibly strong...," CEO Alan Joyce said in a statement, while flagging a mismatch between supply and demand for international flying. Qantas swung to a record profit in the first half of this financial year as raging travel demand jacked up fares and earnings. The airline will need about 300 more pilots and cabin crew by the end of the year to support extra flying, it said.

[1/2] A small toy figure and imitation gold are seen in front of the Newcrest logo in this illustration taken November 19, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationMay 15 (Reuters) - Australian gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd said on Monday it would back Newmont Corp's (NEM.N) A$26.2 billion ($17.8 billion) takeover offer in one of the world's largest buyouts so far this year. Newcrest shareholders would receive 0.400 Newmont share for each share held, with an implied value of A$29.27 a share, higher than a previous exchange ratio of 0.380 that Newcrest's board rejected in February. "This transaction will combine two of the world's leading gold producers, bringing forward significant value to Newcrest shareholders through the recognition of our outstanding growth pipeline," said Newcrest Chairman Peter Tomsett. Newcrest shareholders will be able to choose to receive New York Stock Exchange-listed Newmont shares or Australian-listed CHESS Depository Instruments (CDIs) as payment.

☆ Australia's InvoCare gets higher $1.3 bln offer from TPG, shares jump
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 15 (Reuters) - Australia's InvoCare Ltd (IVC.AX) said on Monday it had received a higher A$1.86 billion ($1.26 billion) offer from TPG Global, weeks after the private equity firm revoked its A$1.81 billion pursuit for the funeral services provider. Shares of InvoCare rose 11.5% to A$12.36 by 0050 GMT, while the broader market (.AXJO) was up 1.4%. Last month, TPG withdrew its buyout bid after it was not granted access to the New South Wales-based company's books following its A$12.65 per-share indicative offer — a 41.3% premium at the time. InvoCare said on Monday it had agreed to provide TPG a chance to undertake a five-week due diligence on an exclusive basis to deliver a binding offer. The company intends to recommend shareholders vote in favour of TPG's latest offer if it becomes a binding deal, InvoCare added.

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationMay 15 (Reuters) - Australian gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd said on Monday it would back Newmont Corp's (NEM.N) A$26.2 billion ($17.8 billion) takeover offer in one of the world's largest buyouts so far this year. If the deal gets Newcrest shareholders' approval and other regulatory approvals, it would lift Newmont's gold output to nearly double its nearest rival, Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO), further solidifying Newmont's position as the world's biggest gold producer. Newcrest shareholders will be able to choose to receive New York Stock Exchange-listed Newmont shares or Australian listed CHESS Depository Instruments (CDIs) as payment. Newcrest said it recommended its shareholders vote in favour of the deal at a meeting expected to be held in September or October. The deal requires Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) sign off as well as Newcrest and Newmont shareholders to vote in support the transaction among other regulatory approvals.

2 lender, fell short of analyst forecasts in half-year profit released on Thursday and took a hit to its share price after warning that the windfall from rising interest rates had peaked. The update signals a tough new phase for Australia's lenders which have benefited from a year of rising interest rates by charging more to borrowers while limiting the amount they pay deposit-holders. "What the market's concerned about is the exit NIM (net interest margin)," said Hugh Dive, chief investment officer at Atlas Funds Management which holds bank stocks. In personal banking, which includes mortgages, profit shrank slightly due to a A$393 million impairment charge. The bank had telephoned 7,000 borrowers deemed to be most vulnerable to rising interest rates and just 13 had requested assistance.

☆ Australia's Medibank served with third class-action suit over cyber breach
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 5 (Reuters) - Australia's Medibank Private Ltd (MPL.AX) said on Friday it was served with another class-action suit related to the cyber hack incident last year in which personal data of current and former customers was leaked on the dark web. The third class-action suit related to the incident was filed in the country's federal court by law firm Slater & Gordon on behalf of affected current and former Medibank customers, and healthcare service providers. In recent months, similar class action suits against the company have been filed by law firms Baker & McKenzie and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. Medibank, which is also under investigation from the country's privacy regulator on how it handles personal information, said it would defend the proceedings. Reporting by Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australia's Origin Energy raises earnings view on unexpected UK gains
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 1 (Reuters) - Australia's Origin Energy (ORG.AX) on Monday sharply raised the full-year earnings outlook for its key energy markets division for a second time, helped mainly by a stronger-than-expected contribution from U.K.-based energy retailer Octopus Energy. Origin now expects underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for its energy markets division for fiscal year 2023 to be between A$950 million ($628 million) and A$1,200 million, much higher than the prior range between A$600 million and A$730 million. Origin holds a 20% stake in Octopus Energy, which last year contributed a loss of A$36 million to Origin's EBITDA. Shares of the Sydney-headquartered company were up 0.4% at A$8.38 by 0017 GMT. ($1 = 1.5124 Australian dollars)Reporting by Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian SchmollingerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ TenneT awards $25 bln in contracts to build North Sea-to-shore connections
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Tosterling Muhammed Husain | Muhammed Husain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMSTERDAM, March 30 (Reuters) - Dutch state-owned electric grid company TenneT (IPO-TTH.AS) has awarded 11 contracts worth a combined 23 billion euros ($25 billion) to build systems connecting wind farms in the North Sea to shore, it said on Thursday. The contracts are being awarded to consortia led by Hitachi Energy and by General Electric, and caused shares in Petrofac (PFC.L), part of the Hitachi group, to spike as much as 73%. TenneT is spending tens of billions of euros over the next decade to connect North Sea wind farms to the electric grid in Germany and the Netherlands. The other consortium of Hitachi Energy (6501.T) and London-based Petrofac Ltd said it had signed a 13 billion euro agreement for six projects. The Dutch and German governments are in talks for Germany to buy TenneT's German operations in light of the company's massive investment needs, estimated at over 100 billion euros in the coming decade.

☆ Australia's Latitude takes systems offline, Federal Police investigate cyberattack
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 20 (Reuters) - Australian fintech firm Latitude Group Holdings Ltd (LFS.AX) said on Monday it had taken its platforms offline as the cyberattack detected last week remained active, adding the Federal Police was investigating the incident. Last week, the firm said personal information, mostly drivers' licence copies or licence numbers, of about 330,000 customers and applicants was stolen. Latitude said the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Cyber Security Centre were looking into the attack. Latitude shares have not traded since March 15, a day before the company first disclosed the cyberattack. Reporting by Harshita Swaminathan and Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australian regulator accepts PayPal unit's undertaking for money laundering laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 17 (Reuters) - Australia's financial crime regulator said on Friday it accepted an enforceable undertaking from payments giant PayPal Holdings' (PYPL.O) local unit to ensure its compliance with the country's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws. In 2019, AUSTRAC, which is tasked with ensuring compliance with the laws, had ordered PayPal Australia Pty Ltd to appoint an external auditor to look at fund transfers after the regulator identified concerns with its reporting obligations. "PayPal Australia self-identified a reporting obligation issue to AUSTRAC. We have fully co-operated with AUSTRAC throughout their investigation..." a PayPal Australia spokesperson said. AUSTRAC said in a statement that PayPal has already undertaken significant work, including an independent audit, to ensure its compliance with the anti-money laundering obligations.

☆ Australia's IPH detects breach in IT systems
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 16 (Reuters) - Australian intellectual property services provider IPH Ltd (IPH.AX) said on Thursday it had detected unauthorised access to a portion of its IT environment, mainly affecting document management systems of its head office and two of its member firms. The information in document management systems include administrative documents, and some client documents and correspondence in case of the two member firms, Spruson & Ferguson (Australia) and Griffith Hack, the company said. IPH said it was working with external cyber security advisers to conduct a forensic investigation, adding that it has notified the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) of the incident. Australia has seen a rise in cyber attacks since late last year, with breaches reported by at least eight companies, including health insurer Medibank Private Ltd (MPL.AX) and telco Optus. Reporting by Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

March 14 (Reuters) - Australia's economic health will be its central bank's compass for plotting the course of rate hikes, as stringent regulation insulates its banking sector from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) (SIVB.O), analysts at top domestic banks said. Analysts at three of the top four lenders - Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX), National Australia Bank (NAB.AX), and ANZ Group Holdings (ANZ.AX) - continue to expect the RBA to deliver its 11th consecutive rate hike next month. 0#RBAWATCH"The Australian domestic fundamentals remain consistent with further tightening from the RBA," Adelaide Timbrell, senior economist at ANZ Research said. Australian banking sector, while not immune to the collapse of SVB, is in a "more insulated" position, Rodrigo Catril, senior FX strategist at NAB said. Globally, banking stocks have taken a hit from the collapse of SVB despite of assurances from U.S. authorities, prompting a reassessment of interest rate expectations.

☆ Australia's 'Big Four' banks to hike home loan rates to match RBA move
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 9 (Reuters) - Australia's so-called 'Big Four' banks said on Thursday they would pass on the central bank's latest quarter-percentage point interest rate hike in full to their home loan customers. Among the top four lenders, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX), National Australia Bank (NAB.AX), and ANZ Group Holdings (ANZ.AX) will hike their rates from March 17, while Westpac Banking Corp's (WBC.AX) will hike its rates from March 21, the banks said in separate statements. Interest rates in the country have already gone up by 350 bps since last May, when they were at an all-time low of 0.1%. However, RBA Governor Philip Lowe said the central bank was closer to pausing its aggressive cycle of rate increases as policy was now in restrictive territory, and suggested a halt could come as soon as April. Reporting by Navya Mittal and Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

As a result, the world's largest listed miner reported underlying profit attributable from continuing operations of $6.6 billion, down from $9.72 billion a year earlier. That missed a Vuma Financial estimate of $6.82 billion, as earnings from copper and coal came in lower than analysts had expected. Shares of the global miner fell as much as 2.8% to A$47.11, their lowest since Jan. 6 and were down 2% at 0138 GMT in a broader market (.AXJO) that was down 0.5%. BHP also said it expected aggressive global interest rate hikes from last year to slow growth sharply across the developed world. BHP has threatened not to invest in Queensland after the state hiked its coal royalties to the highest rate in the world.

Woolworths and smaller rival Coles Group Ltd (COL.AX) have experienced wild swings in Australian consumer behaviour since COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 sparked grocery stockpiling. As with Coles' interim result reported on Tuesday, the Woolworths profit gain was helped by a sharp decline in COVID-19 related expenses. Woolworths shares were up 2% by midsession, against a 0.3% dip in the broader benchmark(.AXJO), as analysts cheered the prospect of profit margin growth at a company exposed to rising supply costs. "Momentum in the key Australian Food business remains solid, with sales growth rates better than expected in early 2H23," E&P Financial retail analyst said Phillip Kimber in a client note. Woolworths declared an interim dividend of 46 Australian cents per share, compared with 39 Australian cents a year earlier.

Search resuls for: "Akhand"

25 mentions found