Here are the stories from the S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX: XJO)(ASX: XJO) and Australian finance circles today. Rask Media has your financial news headlines sorted.
First, here are the data points:
Australian Dollar ($A) (AUDUSD): 71.88 US cents
Dow Jones (DJI) (Friday): down 0.4%
Oil (WTI): $US62.86 per barrel
Gold: $US1,234 per ounce
Finance News
In economic news this week, commentators will be watching for Commonwealth Bank’s (ASX: CBA) PMI data, Melbourne Institute’s inflation reading for October, ANZ’s (ASX: ANZ) jobs data and the RBA’s cash rate decision on Tuesday.
In sharemarket news today, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) filed its 2018 financial report with the ASX showing a 2% rise in revenue and a 1% increase in profit to $8.09 billion. The final dividend was held flat year over year at 94 cents.
“While the economic environment remains supportive, this result reflects the tough operating conditions for banks, with higher regulatory, compliance, and funding costs, and increased competitive pressure, particularly in the second half,” CEO Brian Hartzer said.
Commenting on the outlook for house prices, Hartzer said, “We expect house prices to cool further, and investor demand to remain weak. On the other hand, demand from first home buyers is holding up.”
Read more: Everything To Know About Westpac’s FY18 Report
Also making headlines, online travel bookings company Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) announced the acquisition of Destinations of the World (DOTW) for $240 million.
“The acquisition of DOTW continues to consolidate WebBeds’ position as the clear #2 player in the global B2B market,” Webjet Managing Director John Guscic said.
“In addition to providing 5,600 unique new contracts, the overlap in existing directly contracted hotels will deliver increased depth to our global inventory offering.”
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