Changes are happening - please bear with us while we update our site.

Changes are happening - please bear with us while we update our site. Click here to give us your advice and feedback.

S&P/ASX 200 Morning News

Here are the stories from the S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO)(ASX:XJO) and Australian finance circles today.

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 sorted.

First, here are the data points:

Australian Dollar ($A) (AUDUSD): 72.18 US cents

Dow Jones (DJI) (Friday): down 0.8%

Oil (WTI): $US59.87 per barrel

Gold: $US1,210 per ounce

Finance News

Economic headlines later this week will include data on NAB’s October business confidence survey and Australia’s lending finance numbers for September. In addition, the WestpacMelbourne Institute consumer confidence figures for November will be released.

In sharemarket and business news today, casinos business SKYCITY Entertainment Group (ASX: SKC) provided a trading update at the UBS investment conference in Sydney. For the financial year to the 7th of November 2018, SKYCITY said its normalised group revenue was up 7% year over year. Excluding its Darwin operations, year-to-date normalised revenue was up 8%.

Meanwhile, mining heavyweight Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) announced the successful completion of a $2.87 billion off-market share buyback. Priced at $69.69, Rio said it was able to buy-back shares at a 14% discount to prevailing market prices.

“We are delighted to be returning US$2.1 billion to our Rio Tinto Limited shareholders through this off-market buy-back,” Rio Chief J-S Jacques said. “Strong demand has enabled us to return the maximum amount, and at a discount of 14 per cent. The remaining US$1.1 billion of funds will be returned through our ongoing buy-back of Rio Tinto plc shares.”

In August, Rio Tinto reported a 3% rise in half-year net profit to $US4.4 billion. At the time, Jacques said maintaining a strong balance sheet was a key pillar to delivering strong returns to shareholders over all time periods. Read more here: 3 Takeaways From Rio’s Report.

Finally, lithium company Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) announced stage 2 of its West Australian Pilgangoora Lithium-Tantalum Project has received board approval. Pilbara Minerals recently made its first shipment from the facility.

“Against a backdrop of significant demand growth for lithium raw materials over the coming decade, the quality and scale of the resource at our Pilgangoora Project demands further expansion,” Managing Director Ken Brinsden said. “In much the same way as we got on with the job in Stage 1, we will work to the same tune in Stage 2.”

Investing Is Hard

Owen Raszkiewicz, the founder of The Rask Group, recently sat down with Tony Hansen, portfolio manager and founder of EGP Capital. Tony is a fantastic thinker and provides unique insights into what it takes to be financially successful in work and life, but especially in investing.

You can download my conversation with Tony using the link to SoundCloud below. It’s also free to stream on iTunesCastboxYouTube or wherever you choose to listen.

*As voted by us

$50,000 per year in passive income from shares? Yes, please!

With interest rates UP, now could be one of the best times to start earning passive income from a portfolio. Imagine earning 4%, 5% — or more — in dividend passive income from the best shares, LICs, or ETFs… it’s like magic.

So how do the best investors do it?

Chief Investment Officer Owen Rask has just released his brand new passive income report. Owen has outlined 10 of his favourite ETFs and shares to watch, his rules for passive income investing, why he would buy ETFs before LICs and more.

You can INSTANTLY access Owen’s report for FREE by CLICKING HERE NOW and creating a 100% FREE Rask Account.

(Psst. By creating a free Rask account, you’ll also get access to 15+ online courses, 1,000+ podcasts, invites to events, a weekly value investing newsletter and more!)

Unsubscribe anytime. Read our TermsFinancial Services GuidePrivacy Policy. We’ll never sell your email address. Our company is Australian owned.

Information warning: The information on this website is published by The Rask Group Pty Ltd (ABN: 36 622 810 995) is limited to factual information or (at most) general financial advice only. That means, the information and advice does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. It is not specific to you, your needs, goals or objectives. Because of that, you should consider if the advice is appropriate to you and your needs, before acting on the information. If you don’t know what your needs are, you should consult a trusted and licensed financial adviser who can provide you with personal financial product advice. In addition, you should obtain and read the product disclosure statement (PDS) before making a decision to acquire a financial product. Please read our Terms and Conditions and Financial Services Guide before using this website. The Rask Group Pty Ltd is a Corporate Authorised Representative (#1280930) of AFSL #383169.

Skip to content