Latest news with #US60
The Advertiser
10 hours ago
- Business
- The Advertiser
Warren Buffett donates record $US6b shares to charities
Warren Buffett has donated another $US6 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Gates Foundation and four family charities, his biggest annual donation since he began giving away his fortune nearly two decades ago. The donation of about 12.36 million Berkshire Class B shares boosted Buffett's overall giving to the charities to well over $US60 billion ($A92 billion). He donated 9.43 million shares to the Gates Foundation; 943,384 shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation; and 660,366 shares to each of three charities led respectively by his children Howard, Susie, and Peter: the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Sherwood Foundation and NoVo Foundation. Warren Buffett still owns 13.8 per cent of Berkshire's stock, based on reported shares outstanding. His $US152 billion net worth prior to Friday's donations made him the world's fifth-richest person, according to Forbes magazine. Buffett would rank sixth after the donations, which surpassed the $US5.3 billion he donated last June. He donated another $US1.14 billion to the family charities last November. In a statement, Buffett maintained he does not intend to sell any Berkshire shares. Now 94, Buffett began giving away his fortune in 2006. He changed his will last year, designating 99.5 per cent of his remaining fortune after his death to a charitable trust overseen by his children. They will have about a decade to distribute the money, and must decide where it goes unanimously. Susie Buffett is 71, Howard Buffett is 70, and Peter Buffett is 67. Warren Buffett has led Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire since 1965. The $US1.05 trillion conglomerate owns close to 200 businesses including Geico car insurance and the BNSF railroad, and dozens of stocks including Apple and American Express. Susie Buffett leads the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which funds reproductive health and is named for her mother, who was Warren Buffett's first wife. The Sherwood Foundation supports Nebraska non-profits and early childhood education. The Howard G. Buffett Foundation focuses on global hunger, combating human trafficking and mitigating conflicts. The NoVo Foundation has initiatives focused on marginalised girls and women, and on indigenous communities. Buffett said last June that donations to the Gates Foundation would end when he dies. Warren Buffett has donated another $US6 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Gates Foundation and four family charities, his biggest annual donation since he began giving away his fortune nearly two decades ago. The donation of about 12.36 million Berkshire Class B shares boosted Buffett's overall giving to the charities to well over $US60 billion ($A92 billion). He donated 9.43 million shares to the Gates Foundation; 943,384 shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation; and 660,366 shares to each of three charities led respectively by his children Howard, Susie, and Peter: the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Sherwood Foundation and NoVo Foundation. Warren Buffett still owns 13.8 per cent of Berkshire's stock, based on reported shares outstanding. His $US152 billion net worth prior to Friday's donations made him the world's fifth-richest person, according to Forbes magazine. Buffett would rank sixth after the donations, which surpassed the $US5.3 billion he donated last June. He donated another $US1.14 billion to the family charities last November. In a statement, Buffett maintained he does not intend to sell any Berkshire shares. Now 94, Buffett began giving away his fortune in 2006. He changed his will last year, designating 99.5 per cent of his remaining fortune after his death to a charitable trust overseen by his children. They will have about a decade to distribute the money, and must decide where it goes unanimously. Susie Buffett is 71, Howard Buffett is 70, and Peter Buffett is 67. Warren Buffett has led Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire since 1965. The $US1.05 trillion conglomerate owns close to 200 businesses including Geico car insurance and the BNSF railroad, and dozens of stocks including Apple and American Express. Susie Buffett leads the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which funds reproductive health and is named for her mother, who was Warren Buffett's first wife. The Sherwood Foundation supports Nebraska non-profits and early childhood education. The Howard G. Buffett Foundation focuses on global hunger, combating human trafficking and mitigating conflicts. The NoVo Foundation has initiatives focused on marginalised girls and women, and on indigenous communities. Buffett said last June that donations to the Gates Foundation would end when he dies. Warren Buffett has donated another $US6 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Gates Foundation and four family charities, his biggest annual donation since he began giving away his fortune nearly two decades ago. The donation of about 12.36 million Berkshire Class B shares boosted Buffett's overall giving to the charities to well over $US60 billion ($A92 billion). He donated 9.43 million shares to the Gates Foundation; 943,384 shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation; and 660,366 shares to each of three charities led respectively by his children Howard, Susie, and Peter: the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Sherwood Foundation and NoVo Foundation. Warren Buffett still owns 13.8 per cent of Berkshire's stock, based on reported shares outstanding. His $US152 billion net worth prior to Friday's donations made him the world's fifth-richest person, according to Forbes magazine. Buffett would rank sixth after the donations, which surpassed the $US5.3 billion he donated last June. He donated another $US1.14 billion to the family charities last November. In a statement, Buffett maintained he does not intend to sell any Berkshire shares. Now 94, Buffett began giving away his fortune in 2006. He changed his will last year, designating 99.5 per cent of his remaining fortune after his death to a charitable trust overseen by his children. They will have about a decade to distribute the money, and must decide where it goes unanimously. Susie Buffett is 71, Howard Buffett is 70, and Peter Buffett is 67. Warren Buffett has led Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire since 1965. The $US1.05 trillion conglomerate owns close to 200 businesses including Geico car insurance and the BNSF railroad, and dozens of stocks including Apple and American Express. Susie Buffett leads the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which funds reproductive health and is named for her mother, who was Warren Buffett's first wife. The Sherwood Foundation supports Nebraska non-profits and early childhood education. The Howard G. Buffett Foundation focuses on global hunger, combating human trafficking and mitigating conflicts. The NoVo Foundation has initiatives focused on marginalised girls and women, and on indigenous communities. Buffett said last June that donations to the Gates Foundation would end when he dies. Warren Buffett has donated another $US6 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Gates Foundation and four family charities, his biggest annual donation since he began giving away his fortune nearly two decades ago. The donation of about 12.36 million Berkshire Class B shares boosted Buffett's overall giving to the charities to well over $US60 billion ($A92 billion). He donated 9.43 million shares to the Gates Foundation; 943,384 shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation; and 660,366 shares to each of three charities led respectively by his children Howard, Susie, and Peter: the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Sherwood Foundation and NoVo Foundation. Warren Buffett still owns 13.8 per cent of Berkshire's stock, based on reported shares outstanding. His $US152 billion net worth prior to Friday's donations made him the world's fifth-richest person, according to Forbes magazine. Buffett would rank sixth after the donations, which surpassed the $US5.3 billion he donated last June. He donated another $US1.14 billion to the family charities last November. In a statement, Buffett maintained he does not intend to sell any Berkshire shares. Now 94, Buffett began giving away his fortune in 2006. He changed his will last year, designating 99.5 per cent of his remaining fortune after his death to a charitable trust overseen by his children. They will have about a decade to distribute the money, and must decide where it goes unanimously. Susie Buffett is 71, Howard Buffett is 70, and Peter Buffett is 67. Warren Buffett has led Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire since 1965. The $US1.05 trillion conglomerate owns close to 200 businesses including Geico car insurance and the BNSF railroad, and dozens of stocks including Apple and American Express. Susie Buffett leads the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which funds reproductive health and is named for her mother, who was Warren Buffett's first wife. The Sherwood Foundation supports Nebraska non-profits and early childhood education. The Howard G. Buffett Foundation focuses on global hunger, combating human trafficking and mitigating conflicts. The NoVo Foundation has initiatives focused on marginalised girls and women, and on indigenous communities. Buffett said last June that donations to the Gates Foundation would end when he dies.
Perth Now
12 hours ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Warren Buffett donates record $US6b shares to charities
Warren Buffett has donated another $US6 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Gates Foundation and four family charities, his biggest annual donation since he began giving away his fortune nearly two decades ago. The donation of about 12.36 million Berkshire Class B shares boosted Buffett's overall giving to the charities to well over $US60 billion ($A92 billion). He donated 9.43 million shares to the Gates Foundation; 943,384 shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation; and 660,366 shares to each of three charities led respectively by his children Howard, Susie, and Peter: the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Sherwood Foundation and NoVo Foundation. Warren Buffett still owns 13.8 per cent of Berkshire's stock, based on reported shares outstanding. His $US152 billion net worth prior to Friday's donations made him the world's fifth-richest person, according to Forbes magazine. Buffett would rank sixth after the donations, which surpassed the $US5.3 billion he donated last June. He donated another $US1.14 billion to the family charities last November. In a statement, Buffett maintained he does not intend to sell any Berkshire shares. Now 94, Buffett began giving away his fortune in 2006. He changed his will last year, designating 99.5 per cent of his remaining fortune after his death to a charitable trust overseen by his children. They will have about a decade to distribute the money, and must decide where it goes unanimously. Susie Buffett is 71, Howard Buffett is 70, and Peter Buffett is 67. Warren Buffett has led Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire since 1965. The $US1.05 trillion conglomerate owns close to 200 businesses including Geico car insurance and the BNSF railroad, and dozens of stocks including Apple and American Express. Susie Buffett leads the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which funds reproductive health and is named for her mother, who was Warren Buffett's first wife. The Sherwood Foundation supports Nebraska non-profits and early childhood education. The Howard G. Buffett Foundation focuses on global hunger, combating human trafficking and mitigating conflicts. The NoVo Foundation has initiatives focused on marginalised girls and women, and on indigenous communities. Buffett said last June that donations to the Gates Foundation would end when he dies.
West Australian
2 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
Not selling MinRes mining services unit says Mike Grey, with Onslow staying in the black a white-hot focus
The 'crown jewel' of Mineral Resources is not for sale, according to the man that oversees the division, because keeping it could help the company's flagship mine turn a decent profit even if iron ore crashes below $US60 per tonne. MinRes mining services chief executive Mike Grey shot down speculation a big chunk of the business unit he oversees could be flogged off to ease the company's swelling debt burden. The speculation emerged following a note published by Morgan Stanley this week. 'There's no truth to it all, no truth,' Mr Grey told The West Australian. Director of strategy, Tim Picton, chimed in to say the division – called CSI Mining Services – was the company's 'crown jewel'. 'You don't sell the crown jewel and mining services is the heart of our business and what makes us competitive against the majors,' Mr Picton said. 'We've got no plans to sell any of our assets, except the (mothballed) Yilgarn (iron ore complex).' CSI is the mining services provider at MinRes' majority-owned iron ore and lithium mines, and is also contracted to other operations run by the likes of BHP, Rio Tinto and Gina Rinehart. MinRes' $3.5 billion Onslow Iron project is arguably CSI's most important gig. Onslow is the only mine in the MinRes stable that can generate the meaningful sums of cash required to pay down the company's $5.8 billion debt pile. MinRes reckons its 57 per cent stake in Onslow can bring in annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $727 million when the iron ore spot price is $US90/t. The steelmaking commodity is currently at about $US92/t with Australia's big four banks broadly pencilling in the price to fall to $US80/t by the end of the year. MinRes predicts Onslow's break-even price is $US57/t. Mr Picton said this estimate does not include the money raked in from mining services at Onslow, which would push the break-even price 'down a material amount'. But all the estimates are contingent on Onslow Iron running smoothly, and so far, there have been numerous bumps along the road. The biggest bump has been the performance of its haul road that links the Kens Bore mine to the Port of Ashburton. MinRes is spending $230 million to fix and upgrade the road following cyclonic weather earlier this year and a spate of truck rollovers. The company struggled to attract drivers to transport ore along the road and recently had to lower its driver experience requirements while boosting the pay on offer. Mr Grey said those hiring struggles are now behind MinRes. 'The labour side has really stabilised across the supply chain recently which is really good,' he said. 'We're at our peak now with (truck) drivers.' MinRes plans to roll out autonomous trucks with no drivers in the cabs during the latter half of next year.
The Advertiser
6 days ago
- Business
- The Advertiser
Spotlight on inflation as state treasurers come clean
With a July rate cut looking increasingly uncertain, monthly inflation data will shed new light on the likelihood of more mortgage relief. The Reserve Bank of Australia takes greater stock in less volatile quarterly figures but the consumer price index for May will provide a valuable insight into inflation's direction of travel when released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday. After inflation came in higher than expected at 2.4 per cent in April, economists at ANZ are expecting the headline figure to ease to 2.3 per cent off the back of falling petrol prices. But conflict in the Middle East has sent crude oil soaring in recent days, so a reversal in prices is likely to come in the following months. From $US60 a barrel in May, some analysts have predicted oil could soar past the $US100 a barrel mark if the conflict between Israel and Iran spirals, with strikes on oil infrastructure and disruption to supply chains. That would have a widespread impact on Australian prices, given oil flows through to input costs, either directly via production or indirectly via distribution, for pretty much the entire economy. But ANZ commodities analysts Daniel Hynes and Soni Kumari think the $US100 a barrel scenario is unlikely. The most likely outcome (they assign about a 50 per cent chance) is for crude prices to reach $US75-85 a barrel, despite an extended conflict. "This would see supplies come under direct threat," the analysts said. "However, the oil market is better equipped to respond to that than it has been in the past. "(Oil exporting organisation) OPEC has over six million barrels per day of spare capacity that can be quickly activated." The Reserve Bank will likely look through the noise of volatile oil prices and focus on the underlying pace in the trimmed mean. On Tuesday, Australia's largest and third-largest regional economies, NSW and Queensland, will unveil the state of their finances. Together, the two account for about 20 per cent of all government expenditure in Australia and are increasingly contributing to mounting public debt. This has real consequences for the macro economy and the Reserve Bank's monetary policy strategy, e61 Institute economists Michael Brennan and Aaron Wong said. "State and territory finances are drifting onto an unsustainable path," they said. "Before the pandemic, state budgets were broadly balanced. This year, the states will run a collective cash deficit close to 2.0 per cent of GDP - bigger than the federal deficit, thus more than half the nation's total government sector deficit." NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey has conceded the state's remaining AAA credit ratings with agencies Fitch and Moody's are under threat amid the ongoing deficit. This would make borrowing costs more expensive and further constrain the state's spending capacity. The ACT will also reveal its budget on Tuesday, with its finances expected to remain in deficit. In his February budget update, Treasurer Chris Steel revealed the territory's projected deficit swelled by more than 50 per cent to $970 million from the previous update just seven months earlier. Wall Street investors were meanwhile on edge over the Iran-Israel conflict heading into the weekend, as the US considers whether to get involved. Trading was choppy for much of Friday, with the S&P 500 losing 12.53 points, or 0.21 per cent, to end at 5,968.34 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 95.27 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 19,451.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.47 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 42,210.13. Australian share futures fell 20 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 7,812. The S&P/ASX200 fell 18.2 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 8,505.5, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 17.9 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 8,723.5. With a July rate cut looking increasingly uncertain, monthly inflation data will shed new light on the likelihood of more mortgage relief. The Reserve Bank of Australia takes greater stock in less volatile quarterly figures but the consumer price index for May will provide a valuable insight into inflation's direction of travel when released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday. After inflation came in higher than expected at 2.4 per cent in April, economists at ANZ are expecting the headline figure to ease to 2.3 per cent off the back of falling petrol prices. But conflict in the Middle East has sent crude oil soaring in recent days, so a reversal in prices is likely to come in the following months. From $US60 a barrel in May, some analysts have predicted oil could soar past the $US100 a barrel mark if the conflict between Israel and Iran spirals, with strikes on oil infrastructure and disruption to supply chains. That would have a widespread impact on Australian prices, given oil flows through to input costs, either directly via production or indirectly via distribution, for pretty much the entire economy. But ANZ commodities analysts Daniel Hynes and Soni Kumari think the $US100 a barrel scenario is unlikely. The most likely outcome (they assign about a 50 per cent chance) is for crude prices to reach $US75-85 a barrel, despite an extended conflict. "This would see supplies come under direct threat," the analysts said. "However, the oil market is better equipped to respond to that than it has been in the past. "(Oil exporting organisation) OPEC has over six million barrels per day of spare capacity that can be quickly activated." The Reserve Bank will likely look through the noise of volatile oil prices and focus on the underlying pace in the trimmed mean. On Tuesday, Australia's largest and third-largest regional economies, NSW and Queensland, will unveil the state of their finances. Together, the two account for about 20 per cent of all government expenditure in Australia and are increasingly contributing to mounting public debt. This has real consequences for the macro economy and the Reserve Bank's monetary policy strategy, e61 Institute economists Michael Brennan and Aaron Wong said. "State and territory finances are drifting onto an unsustainable path," they said. "Before the pandemic, state budgets were broadly balanced. This year, the states will run a collective cash deficit close to 2.0 per cent of GDP - bigger than the federal deficit, thus more than half the nation's total government sector deficit." NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey has conceded the state's remaining AAA credit ratings with agencies Fitch and Moody's are under threat amid the ongoing deficit. This would make borrowing costs more expensive and further constrain the state's spending capacity. The ACT will also reveal its budget on Tuesday, with its finances expected to remain in deficit. In his February budget update, Treasurer Chris Steel revealed the territory's projected deficit swelled by more than 50 per cent to $970 million from the previous update just seven months earlier. Wall Street investors were meanwhile on edge over the Iran-Israel conflict heading into the weekend, as the US considers whether to get involved. Trading was choppy for much of Friday, with the S&P 500 losing 12.53 points, or 0.21 per cent, to end at 5,968.34 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 95.27 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 19,451.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.47 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 42,210.13. Australian share futures fell 20 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 7,812. The S&P/ASX200 fell 18.2 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 8,505.5, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 17.9 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 8,723.5. With a July rate cut looking increasingly uncertain, monthly inflation data will shed new light on the likelihood of more mortgage relief. The Reserve Bank of Australia takes greater stock in less volatile quarterly figures but the consumer price index for May will provide a valuable insight into inflation's direction of travel when released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday. After inflation came in higher than expected at 2.4 per cent in April, economists at ANZ are expecting the headline figure to ease to 2.3 per cent off the back of falling petrol prices. But conflict in the Middle East has sent crude oil soaring in recent days, so a reversal in prices is likely to come in the following months. From $US60 a barrel in May, some analysts have predicted oil could soar past the $US100 a barrel mark if the conflict between Israel and Iran spirals, with strikes on oil infrastructure and disruption to supply chains. That would have a widespread impact on Australian prices, given oil flows through to input costs, either directly via production or indirectly via distribution, for pretty much the entire economy. But ANZ commodities analysts Daniel Hynes and Soni Kumari think the $US100 a barrel scenario is unlikely. The most likely outcome (they assign about a 50 per cent chance) is for crude prices to reach $US75-85 a barrel, despite an extended conflict. "This would see supplies come under direct threat," the analysts said. "However, the oil market is better equipped to respond to that than it has been in the past. "(Oil exporting organisation) OPEC has over six million barrels per day of spare capacity that can be quickly activated." The Reserve Bank will likely look through the noise of volatile oil prices and focus on the underlying pace in the trimmed mean. On Tuesday, Australia's largest and third-largest regional economies, NSW and Queensland, will unveil the state of their finances. Together, the two account for about 20 per cent of all government expenditure in Australia and are increasingly contributing to mounting public debt. This has real consequences for the macro economy and the Reserve Bank's monetary policy strategy, e61 Institute economists Michael Brennan and Aaron Wong said. "State and territory finances are drifting onto an unsustainable path," they said. "Before the pandemic, state budgets were broadly balanced. This year, the states will run a collective cash deficit close to 2.0 per cent of GDP - bigger than the federal deficit, thus more than half the nation's total government sector deficit." NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey has conceded the state's remaining AAA credit ratings with agencies Fitch and Moody's are under threat amid the ongoing deficit. This would make borrowing costs more expensive and further constrain the state's spending capacity. The ACT will also reveal its budget on Tuesday, with its finances expected to remain in deficit. In his February budget update, Treasurer Chris Steel revealed the territory's projected deficit swelled by more than 50 per cent to $970 million from the previous update just seven months earlier. Wall Street investors were meanwhile on edge over the Iran-Israel conflict heading into the weekend, as the US considers whether to get involved. Trading was choppy for much of Friday, with the S&P 500 losing 12.53 points, or 0.21 per cent, to end at 5,968.34 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 95.27 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 19,451.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.47 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 42,210.13. Australian share futures fell 20 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 7,812. The S&P/ASX200 fell 18.2 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 8,505.5, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 17.9 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 8,723.5. With a July rate cut looking increasingly uncertain, monthly inflation data will shed new light on the likelihood of more mortgage relief. The Reserve Bank of Australia takes greater stock in less volatile quarterly figures but the consumer price index for May will provide a valuable insight into inflation's direction of travel when released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday. After inflation came in higher than expected at 2.4 per cent in April, economists at ANZ are expecting the headline figure to ease to 2.3 per cent off the back of falling petrol prices. But conflict in the Middle East has sent crude oil soaring in recent days, so a reversal in prices is likely to come in the following months. From $US60 a barrel in May, some analysts have predicted oil could soar past the $US100 a barrel mark if the conflict between Israel and Iran spirals, with strikes on oil infrastructure and disruption to supply chains. That would have a widespread impact on Australian prices, given oil flows through to input costs, either directly via production or indirectly via distribution, for pretty much the entire economy. But ANZ commodities analysts Daniel Hynes and Soni Kumari think the $US100 a barrel scenario is unlikely. The most likely outcome (they assign about a 50 per cent chance) is for crude prices to reach $US75-85 a barrel, despite an extended conflict. "This would see supplies come under direct threat," the analysts said. "However, the oil market is better equipped to respond to that than it has been in the past. "(Oil exporting organisation) OPEC has over six million barrels per day of spare capacity that can be quickly activated." The Reserve Bank will likely look through the noise of volatile oil prices and focus on the underlying pace in the trimmed mean. On Tuesday, Australia's largest and third-largest regional economies, NSW and Queensland, will unveil the state of their finances. Together, the two account for about 20 per cent of all government expenditure in Australia and are increasingly contributing to mounting public debt. This has real consequences for the macro economy and the Reserve Bank's monetary policy strategy, e61 Institute economists Michael Brennan and Aaron Wong said. "State and territory finances are drifting onto an unsustainable path," they said. "Before the pandemic, state budgets were broadly balanced. This year, the states will run a collective cash deficit close to 2.0 per cent of GDP - bigger than the federal deficit, thus more than half the nation's total government sector deficit." NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey has conceded the state's remaining AAA credit ratings with agencies Fitch and Moody's are under threat amid the ongoing deficit. This would make borrowing costs more expensive and further constrain the state's spending capacity. The ACT will also reveal its budget on Tuesday, with its finances expected to remain in deficit. In his February budget update, Treasurer Chris Steel revealed the territory's projected deficit swelled by more than 50 per cent to $970 million from the previous update just seven months earlier. Wall Street investors were meanwhile on edge over the Iran-Israel conflict heading into the weekend, as the US considers whether to get involved. Trading was choppy for much of Friday, with the S&P 500 losing 12.53 points, or 0.21 per cent, to end at 5,968.34 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 95.27 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 19,451.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.47 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 42,210.13. Australian share futures fell 20 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 7,812. The S&P/ASX200 fell 18.2 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 8,505.5, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 17.9 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 8,723.5.
Perth Now
6 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Spotlight on inflation as state treasurers come clean
With a July rate cut looking increasingly uncertain, monthly inflation data will shed new light on the likelihood of more mortgage relief. The Reserve Bank of Australia takes greater stock in less volatile quarterly figures but the consumer price index for May will provide a valuable insight into inflation's direction of travel when released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday. After inflation came in higher than expected at 2.4 per cent in April, economists at ANZ are expecting the headline figure to ease to 2.3 per cent off the back of falling petrol prices. But conflict in the Middle East has sent crude oil soaring in recent days, so a reversal in prices is likely to come in the following months. From $US60 a barrel in May, some analysts have predicted oil could soar past the $US100 a barrel mark if the conflict between Israel and Iran spirals, with strikes on oil infrastructure and disruption to supply chains. That would have a widespread impact on Australian prices, given oil flows through to input costs, either directly via production or indirectly via distribution, for pretty much the entire economy. But ANZ commodities analysts Daniel Hynes and Soni Kumari think the $US100 a barrel scenario is unlikely. The most likely outcome (they assign about a 50 per cent chance) is for crude prices to reach $US75-85 a barrel, despite an extended conflict. "This would see supplies come under direct threat," the analysts said. "However, the oil market is better equipped to respond to that than it has been in the past. "(Oil exporting organisation) OPEC has over six million barrels per day of spare capacity that can be quickly activated." The Reserve Bank will likely look through the noise of volatile oil prices and focus on the underlying pace in the trimmed mean. On Tuesday, Australia's largest and third-largest regional economies, NSW and Queensland, will unveil the state of their finances. Together, the two account for about 20 per cent of all government expenditure in Australia and are increasingly contributing to mounting public debt. This has real consequences for the macro economy and the Reserve Bank's monetary policy strategy, e61 Institute economists Michael Brennan and Aaron Wong said. "State and territory finances are drifting onto an unsustainable path," they said. "Before the pandemic, state budgets were broadly balanced. This year, the states will run a collective cash deficit close to 2.0 per cent of GDP - bigger than the federal deficit, thus more than half the nation's total government sector deficit." NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey has conceded the state's remaining AAA credit ratings with agencies Fitch and Moody's are under threat amid the ongoing deficit. This would make borrowing costs more expensive and further constrain the state's spending capacity. The ACT will also reveal its budget on Tuesday, with its finances expected to remain in deficit. In his February budget update, Treasurer Chris Steel revealed the territory's projected deficit swelled by more than 50 per cent to $970 million from the previous update just seven months earlier. Wall Street investors were meanwhile on edge over the Iran-Israel conflict heading into the weekend, as the US considers whether to get involved. Trading was choppy for much of Friday, with the S&P 500 losing 12.53 points, or 0.21 per cent, to end at 5,968.34 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 95.27 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 19,451.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.47 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 42,210.13. Australian share futures fell 20 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 7,812. The S&P/ASX200 fell 18.2 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 8,505.5, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 17.9 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 8,723.5.
