China

Market weakens on China tensions, local tech dumped, hot IPO market cooling The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) fell 0.5%, weakening throughout the day as news continued to worsen.  Initially, it was US payment giant PayPal (NYSE:PYPL) delivering a strong earnings result but announcing they would soon be bringing their BNPL offering to Australia in direct competition with Afterpay (ASX:APT). Shares in APT fell 7.0% and the IT…

ASX200 breaches 7,000 points, Zip Co raising $400m, Woodside gets new CEO The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) finally breached the 7,000 point mark, adding 0.7% in today’s session with IT, healthcare, and materials once again the leaders adding 2.1%, 1.3%, and 1.2% respectively. The iron ore sector gained despite an apparent slowdown in Chinese demand, with gold miners taking off following news…

ASX delivers small gain, Future Fund leads renewables deal  The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) finished slightly higher, adding 0.1% to commence the week.  The IT sector continues to feel a great deal of selling pressure with Afterpay (ASX:APT) falling another 4.5% as investors continue to pivot towards more sustainable, undervalued sources of returns. The share price is now nearly 30% off…

ASX falls 0.8%, retail in the spotlight, China’s economic miracle, QBE gets slammed The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) started the week on a negative footing, falling 0.8%. The discretionary retail (0.2%) and IT (0.5%) sectors were the only highlights but weren’t sufficient to offset a fall in the materials sector (-1.9%). It was the normal culprits pushing the market…

ASX200 slide continues, tech darlings under pressure, Altium (ASX:ALU) revenue falls, weaker open ahead The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) couldn’t hold sustain early gains, falling another 0.3% on Tuesday with the financial sector the only real positive. National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB) lead the sector higher adding 1.1% as signs of higher bond rates are likely to support higher net interest…

Australia is facing yet another round of export bans after Chinese authorities knocked back tonnes of lobsters, timber from Queensland, and barley from a second grain grower. Without warning, paid goods that had arrived at ports were sent back in what is known as a ‘soft ban’ that falls outside of current trade agreements. Authorities…

I recently returned from a research trip to China and was struck by how seriously environmental issues are now being taken by government and town planners. As China continues to develop, environmental issues are increasingly front and centre in what is described in the country as a “war” against pollution.