Regulator zeros in on Bally's Star rescue deal
The American gaming giant will control Star, which operates casinos in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, after providing a $300 million lifeline earlier this year. It has already flagged its intention of overhauling management as part of a turnaround plan and Bally's chairman Soo Kim is expected to join the board of the ASX-listed gaming group.
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ABC News
5 hours ago
- ABC News
Novo Nordisk names new CEO amid share price slump and concerns over Wegovy, Ozempic sales
Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, known for its weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic, has named Maziar Mike Doustdar as its new chief executive, relying on an experienced company insider to make up ground lost to market rivals. Mr Doustdar's appointment came on Tuesday after the abrupt removal in May of his predecessor Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen by Novo and the Novo Nordisk Foundation — the company's controlling shareholder. The new CEO joined Novo in 1992 and currently serves as vice-president for international operations, a role he took after leading the company's businesses first in the Middle East and then in South-East Asia, Novo said. His most urgent challenge, according to investors and analysts, is to revive Novo's performance in the United States, the largest market by far for weight-loss drugs and where they are most profitable. Novo launched its weight-loss drug Wegovy nearly two-and-a-half years before its US rival Eli Lilly's Zepbound. Zepbound prescriptions surpassed those of Wegovy this year by more than 100,000 a week. The appointment comes at a challenging time for the global pharmaceutical industry as US President Donald Trump threatens to impose tariffs on imports and calls on drug makers to lower their American prescription prices. Mr Jorgensen led Novo through a period of meteoric growth as it led the weight-loss drug boom, becoming Europe's most valuable listed company after the launch of Wegovy in 2021. At its peak in June 2024 Novo was worth as much as $US615 billion ($946.4b). Novo shares have plunged over the past 12 months, amid investor concerns about the company's experimental drug pipeline and its ability to navigate challenges in the US market, such as the threat to its sales from compounded copies of Wegovy and Lilly's Zepbound. On Tuesday, Novo cut its full-year sales and operating profit forecasts for the second time this year, sending its shares down as much as 17 per cent. "The lowered sales outlook for 2025 is driven by lower growth expectations for the second half of 2025," the company said in a statement. "This is related to lower growth expectations for Wegovy in the US obesity market, lower growth expectations for Ozempic in the US GLP-1 diabetes market, as well as lower-than-expected penetration for Wegovy in select IO (International Operations) markets." Novo now expects 2025 sales growth of between eight and 14 per cent in local currencies, down from its previous forecast range of between 13 and 21 per cent. It also lowered its operating profit growth estimate to between 10 and 16 per cent, down from 16 to 24 per cent previously. Sales rose 18 per cent year-on-year in both the second quarter and the first half of the year, Novo said. Its operating profit increased by 40 per cent in the April-June quarter and by 29 per cent in the first half, the company added. Booming sales of Wegovy catapulted Novo to become Europe's most valuable listed company in 2024, peaking at about 615 billion euros ($1.09t), but the value has since fallen by more than half. The company is scheduled to release full second-quarter earnings on August 6. Reuters
Perth Now
11 hours ago
- Perth Now
Cautious investors lift ASX 200
Cautious traders lifted the ASX from an early fall on Tuesday but are still waiting for Wednesday's key CPI figure and US tariff fallout. The benchmark ASX200 eked out a small 6.9 or 0.08 per cent gain to 8,704.6 after falling by as much as 0.6 per cent on the open. The broader All Ordinaries also finished in the green up 3.20 points or 0.04 per cent to 8,966.70. Australia's dollar firmed marginally up 0.06 per cent to buy 65.25 US cents. Markets pared back early losses during Tuesday's trading. Picture NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard. Credit: News Corp Australia On an overall quiet day of trading, seven of the 11 sectors finished in the green, led by energy, industrials and healthcare stocks. Woodside Energy gained 1.57 per cent to $26.60 and Santos jumped 2.06 per cent to $7.91 on the back of rising oil prices. Healthcare giant CSL gained 0.52 per cent to $272, Pro Medicus gained 0.86 per cent to $323.21 and Fisher Paykel Healthcare jumped 1.44 per cent to $33.78. It was a mixed day for the market heavyweight big four banks. Commonwealth Bank shares slipped 0.35 per cent to $174.29 while Westpac fell 0.06 per cent to $33.19. Offsetting the falls were gains from National Australia Bank which closed 1.17 per cent higher to $38.20 and ANZ which eked out a 0.03 per cent gain to $30.32. The initial excitement in the markets on the back of a US-EU trade deal over the weekend quickly died down as the White House announced a possible bounce in the tariff rate. Under the new plan the 'Rest of World', including Australia, could now face tariffs of 15 to 20 per cent, up from the 10 per cent initial base rate. senior financial market analyst Kyle Rodda said market excitement on the back of trade talks between the US and the EU was short lived. 'Wall Street failed to hold onto the post US-EU trade deal buzz but that's only because of the mountain of event risk that the markets confront in the coming days,' he said. 'The August 1 trade deadline loomed as potentially the biggest story of the week'. Seven of the 11 sectors finished higher on a quiet day of trading. NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers Credit: News Corp Australia But Mr Rodda pointed out that with deals worked out between the US and the EU, Japan and potentially China means markets attention will shift to macroeconomic figures and corporate earnings. Australia's key macroeconomic data comes out on Wednesday with the release of the quarterly CPI figures. Economists say a quarterly trimmed mean inflation rate between 2.6 and 2.7 per cent over the year, would fall in the RBA's target band of 2 to 3 per cent and open the door for further interest rate relief. In company news, shares in jeweller Michael Hill jumped 2.47 per cent to $0.42 on the bell after the business announced founder Sir Michael Hill died at age 86 earlier on Tuesday. 'To every endeavour he pursued, Michael brought a deep sense of purpose, an enduring curiosity, open-mindedness and creativity that challenged all of us to embrace ever more lofty goals and be unconstrained in our thinking – a legacy that will continue to inspire us,' Michael Hill chairman Rob Fyfe said in a statement to the ASX. Boss Energy continued its slump following the announcement of its result on Monday, dropping another 5.51 per cent to $1.80. The stock fell more than 40 per cent after warning the market it is unlikely to meet its production targets at its Honeymoon project in South Australia on the back of costs and concerns about the uranium quality. Shares in wagering company Tabcorp finished 1.31 per cent higher to $0.78 after Aware Super told the market it exited its stake on July 24 on the back of strong gains made earlier this year.
AU Financial Review
11 hours ago
- AU Financial Review
A new home in 20 days, promises the ‘Henry Ford' of modular housing
Nick Lenaghan edits the property section, which covers all aspects, from residential real estate and housing and construction to commercial property – office, retail, industrial – and major ASX-listed developers and real estate investment trusts.
