3m agoFri 24 Oct 2025 at 12:28am
Market snapshot
- ASX 200: +0.14% 9,045 points
- Australian dollar: flat 65.13 US cents
- S&P 500: +0.6% to 6,738 points
- Nasdaq: +0.9% to 22,941 points
- Dow Jones: +0.3% to 46,734 points
- FTSE: +0.7% to 9,578 points
- EuroStoxx 600: +0.4% to 574 points
- Spot gold: +0.06% to $US4,126/ounce
- Brent crude: -0.4% to US65.74/barrel
- Iron ore: +0.1% $US105.3/tonne
- Bitcoin: +0.7% to $US110,350
Values approx. at 11:26am AEDT.
5m agoFri 24 Oct 2025 at 12:26am
Woodside Energy’s new partnership on Louisiana LNG helps de-risk: analyst
Woodside Energy’s new partnership with US infrastructure provider Williams will help de-risk its Louisiana LNG project, according to RBC Capital Markets analyst Gordon Ramsay.
The partnership would especially help the Australian oil and gas giant with the feed gas supply and pipeline development, with Williams leading the gas procurement strategy, Mr Ramsay said.
“This transaction helps lower Woodside Louisiana LNG project capex and LNG offtake risk.
“Woodside’s total capex for the Louisiana LNG Project is now expected to be $US9.9 billion (prior estimate $US11.8 billion at FID).
“Williams has also secured the right to 1.6 million tonnes per annum of LNG offtake from the Louisiana LNG project.”
Woodside has agreed to sell an 80% interest and operatorship of the Driftwood Pipeline (Louisiana LNG Line 200 gas supply pipeline project), as well as a 10% interest in Louisiana LNG HoldCo (prior WDS 100%), to Williams.
After completion of this transaction Woodside will own 90% of HoldCo, which also owns 60% of Louisiana LNG infrastructure (Stonepeak 40%).
Mr Ramsay said he expected Woodside to announce future Louisiana LNG HoldCo equity sell down transactions with high quality partners involving additional LNG offtake.
21m agoFri 24 Oct 2025 at 12:10am
University of Adelaide admits to $1.25m staff underpayment
The University of Adelaide says it “deeply regrets” underpaying more than 800 casual academic staff around $1.25 million over eight years.
The underpayment, which the university said it uncovered after “[increasing] its auditing activities and monitoring of payments in response to the prevalence of underpayments in the sector”, affected 838 staff members between March 2017 and May 2025.
The error is equivalent to an average of nearly $1,500 underpaid per staff member.
Our South Australia state political reporter Thomas Kelsall has more.
34m agoThu 23 Oct 2025 at 11:57pm
Japan September core CPI rises 2.9pc year-on-year
Japan’s core consumer prices rose 2.9% in September from a year earlier, according to the government data released on Friday.
The core consumer price index, which includes oil products but excludes fresh food prices, compared with economists’ median estimate for a 2.9% annual gain.
Stripping away the effect of fresh food and energy, consumer prices rose 3.0% in September from a year ago.
Reporting with Reuters
48m agoThu 23 Oct 2025 at 11:43pm
Top and bottom movers
Let’s have a look at the top five and bottom movers (so far).
Best performers:
- Alcoa, +9.5%
- Temple & Webster Group, +5.6%
- Pilbara Minerals, +4.9%
- Karoon Energy, +4.8%
- Catapult Sports, +4.3%
Bottom performers:
- Whitehaven Coal, -2.9%
- Champion Iron, -2.3%
- Perenti, -2.1%
- Deep Yellow Ltd, -2%
- Bellevue Gold, -1.9%
1h agoThu 23 Oct 2025 at 11:29pm
New trend on younger investors and SMSFs amid market volatility: CommBank
Further on, super, younger investors and self-managed super funds (SMSFs) are increasingly allocating more of their investments to high-yield cash accounts amid market volatility, the Commonwealth Bank has found.
Between 2023 and 2025, investor allocations to term deposits and high-yield savings rose from 9% to 11%, as newer investors use cash as a buffer, while SMSFs prioritise stability and liquidity, the bank notes.
“This trend is particularly prevalent among younger investors between 18-24, where allocations rose from 14% to 19%,” it said.
“This shift is also evident in CommSec’s Commonwealth Direct Investment Account (CDIA), which has seen balances grow 14% since mid-2024 as investors seek flexibility to act quickly when markets change.”
1h agoThu 23 Oct 2025 at 11:14pm
ASX opens up
The ASX 200 is up by 0.02%, to 9,043.40 today.
Over the last five days, the index has gained 0.53% and is currently 0.79% off of its 52-week high.
1h agoThu 23 Oct 2025 at 10:57pm
Apple loses UK tribunal case over ‘excessive’ App Store fees
Apple has been found to have abused its market dominance by charging app developers unfair commissions, in a landmark ruling by a London tribunal that could leave the US tech giant facing hundreds of millions of pounds in damages.
The UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruled against Apple after a trial brought on behalf of millions of iPhone and iPad users.
The case argued that Apple misused its market power by imposing a 30%commission on app developers via its App Store.
The decision supports claims from about 20 million UK consumers who alleged Apple’s practices were unfair — marking another significant moment in global scrutiny of the company’s business model.
It follows an August decision by the Australian Federal Court, which found Google and Apple had engaged in anti-competitive conduct in the way they ran their app stores, which sold everything from smartphone apps to games.
Joel Phibbs, principal lawyer at Phi Finney McDonald, the firm behind Australia’s class action against Google and Apple, said the UK judgment strengthens the case against Apple’s App Store model.
He said the win in the UK by lawyers for Dr Rachael Kent, the academic who brought the case, against Apple on behalf of UK consumers is another “nail in the coffin for Apple’s excessive App Store commissions that have resulted in higher prices paid by consumers because of Apple’s anti-competitive conduct.'”
Mr Phibbs said the UK tribunal went further than the Australian case by estimating the scale of Apple’s overcharging.
“The decision of the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT) in the UK went beyond where the case is up to in Australia to quantify the overcharge it considered Apple had unfairly benefited from and determined that in a competitive world that commission ought to have been closer to 17% for downloads and 10% for subscriptions and in-app purchases (instead of about 30%).
“The CAT also found that in the counterfactual consumers and developers would have shared 50/50 instead the benefits from the lower commissions. That is that 50% of the savings would have been passed on to consumers by way of lower pricing. As a result UK consumers stand to be compensated.
“In Australia, those questions of specifically what the counterfactual commission ought to have been and any amount of pass through to consumers are still to be determined, but this is another big win against Apple that continues to resist reforming its approach or stopping the conduct that Justice Beach found to be contravening under the Australian Competition and Consumer Law.”
Check out this interview with Mr Phibbs from August, when he spoke to The Business host Kirsten Aiken about the Australian case.
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2h agoThu 23 Oct 2025 at 10:20pm
How much super do you have? On average, $172,000
New research from superannuation peak body ASFA has some interesting numbers on where people are at with super.
Here are some of the top lines:
- Account holders aged 65-69 now averaging $420,934 in retirement savings
- If you take nearly 18 million account holders aged 15 and over, males average $192,119 while females average $154,641.
- The gender gap remains but is closing. Females now hold 43.6 per cent of the country’s super savings, up from 41.9 per cent five years previously.
ASFA CEO Mary Delahunty says the research shows the superannuation system has generated $1 trillion in savings that Australians would not otherwise have accumulated.
“The increase in the superannuation guarantee to 12 percent combined with strong investment returns from super funds mean Australians have more savings than ever put away for retirement. This is great news.”
ASFA says the A 30-year-old median wage earner with $30,000 already saved in super is now on track to retire with $610,000, above the $595,000 needed for a comfortable retirement.
“The superannuation system is helping Aussies achieve much more economic independence in retirement than would be possible if the system wasn’t set up three decades ago. And that’s crucial, because economic independence is closely tied to a dignified post-work life. The system is doing what it was designed to do, for more and more people every year.”
Fewer Australians than ever before are relying primarily on the age pension, with super increasingly becoming the main source of retirement income. This historical shift in terms of how Australian funds retirement means that unlike most countries we’re starting to spend less on it, not more.
I wrote about this earlier this year. The numbers are astonishing.
2h agoThu 23 Oct 2025 at 10:04pm
VIDEO: Why the government’s environmental law rewrite has experts on alert
Environment minister Murray Watt says the rewrite of government’s environmental law, the EPBC Act, won’t include a “climate trigger”, which could be used to block coal and gas projects.
Executive director at Pollination Laura Waterford joins The Business to explain why.
Loading…2h agoThu 23 Oct 2025 at 9:47pm
Westpac IQ’s Morning Report: Trump-Xi meeting restores confidence in global markets
Here are some key themes from Westpac IQ’s Morning Report.
Economist Ryan Wells has picked up some key themes:
News of a planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping next week helped restore confidence across global markets overnight.
Equities rallied and bond prices fell, led by gains on Wall Street, as investors welcomed signs of renewed dialogue between the world’s two biggest economies.
The US dollar index (DXY) held broadly steady, though currency moves were mixed. The Australian dollar continued to hover around US65 cents.
In China, the government’s new five-year plan to 2030 signalled a continued focus on technological development and scaling up key industries, alongside efforts to boost consumer and domestic demand.
Meanwhile, oil prices extended gains after fresh US sanctions on Russia, while gold edged higher but remained rangebound following Tuesday’s sell-off.
3h agoThu 23 Oct 2025 at 9:16pm
VIDEO: BHP hits out at the government as iron ore negotiations with China continue
I went along to BHP’s annual general meeting in Melbourne yesterday. It was the mining giant’s first AGM held in the city since 2017.
It was also the first under new chair Ross McEwan, the former NAB chief executive.
Here’s a quick wrap of what went down:
Loading…3h agoThu 23 Oct 2025 at 8:57pm
A closer look at the S&P 500
Here’s a look at where things landed on Wall Street’s benchmark index overnight.
The S&P 500 added 0.6% to close at 6,738.
Sector-wise, energy finished on top. Real estate was the biggest loser.
S&P 500 sector summary (LSEG)
Top and bottom movers:
S&P 500 top and bottom movers (LSEG)4h agoThu 23 Oct 2025 at 8:18pm
US stocks up on tech, while Trump’s plan to meet Xi provides a late morale boost
US stocks have closed higher, led by gains in big tech as investors bought back in following a run of strong earnings results.
US President Donald Trump’s announcement late on Thursday (US time) that he planned to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping next week as part of a trip to Asia also lifted investor morale.
The S&P 500 added 0.6% to close at 6,738, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed by 0.3% to 46,734.
The Nasdaq Composite outperformed, up 0.9% to 22,941, boosted by gains in Nvidia, Broadcom and Amazon. A 3% jump in another key AI player, Oracle, also helped lift the broader market.
4h agoThu 23 Oct 2025 at 8:10pm
Oil surges 5% after US sanctions Russian firms Rosneft, Lukoil
Oil prices have surged after the US imposed fresh sanctions on Russian oil producers Rosneft and Lukoil in a move that’s rattled global energy markets and pushed prices to a two-week high.
Brent crude rose 5.4% to $US65.99 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate gained 5.6% to $US61.79. That’s the biggest one-day jump for both of them since June.
“The announcement of sanctions by the US on Rosneft and Lukoil is a major escalation in the targeting of Russia’s energy sector and could be a big enough shock to flip the global oil market into a deficit next year,” David Oxley from Capital Economics said.
The sanctions have prompted refiners in China and India, which are key buyers of Russian crude, to consider cutting imports to avoid breaching Western banking rules. Several Chinese state-owned oil majors have already suspended purchases, providing further support for prices.
US diesel futures also jumped nearly 7%, widening refining margins to their highest since February.
“Refineries in China and India will need to seek alternative suppliers,” Ole Hansen from Saxo Bank said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the measures were “an attempt to put pressure on Russia”, but insisted “no self-respecting country … ever decides anything under pressure”.
Analysts say the impact will depend on how quickly Russia can find new buyers. UBS’s Giovanni Staunovo says India’s refiners, including Reliance Industries, are already preparing to scale back purchases.
Britain and the European Union have also tightened restrictions, adding new Chinese refiners to their Russia sanctions lists.
– with reporting from Reuters
4h agoThu 23 Oct 2025 at 7:52pm
Market snapshot
- ASX futures: +0.6% 9,052 points
- Australian dollar: +0.4% 65.13 US cents
- S&P 500: +0.6% to 6,738 points
- Nasdaq: +0.9% to 22,941 points
- Dow Jones: +0.3% to 46,734 points
- FTSE: +0.7% to 9,578 points
- EuroStoxx 600: +0.4% to 574 points
- Spot gold: +1.7% to $US4,136/ounce
- Brent crude: +5.2% to US65.83/barrel
- Iron ore: +0.6% $US104.8/tonne
- Bitcoin: +1.9% to $US110,076
Values approx. at 7:37am AEDT.
4h agoThu 23 Oct 2025 at 7:40pm
Good morning
The Australian share market is poised to open higher on Friday, following gains on Wall Street.
US investor sentiment was buoyed by news that Donald Trump plans to meet with China’s president, while his sanctions on Russia pushed oil prices higher.
Happy Friday everyone. I’ll bring you more updates shortlty.
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