The Australian share market or S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX: XJO)(ASX: XJO) index is set for a positive open Friday morning, according to data from Sydney Futures Exchange, with REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) in the news.
Here’s the key headline data:
Australian Dollar ($A) (AUDUSD): 75.31 US cents
Dow Jones (DJI): up 0.8%
Oil (WTI): $US71.43 per barrel
Gold: $US1,322 per ounce
Overnight, London-listed shares of BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) finished 2.3% and 1.7% higher, respectively, according to Yahoo! Finance.
Australian Investing News
Making news in Australia, REA Group, the owner of realestate.com.au released its 2018 third quarter financial update this morning. REA Group said revenue for the nine months of its current financial year was $592 million, up 20%, with free cash flow up 9% to $185 million.
“The combination of consumer innovation and creating the best and most personalised property experiences is what makes us the number one place for property,” REA Group CEO Tracey Fellows said.
REA Group is partly owned by News Corp (ASX: NWS), the Australian-US media group. It released its third-quarter financial report today showing a 6% increase in revenue and a net loss of $1.1 billion, due to an impairment charge of $1.2 billion.
“We finished the fiscal third quarter with strong revenue growth, led by outstanding performances at our Digital Real Estate Services and Book Publishing segments,” News Corp CEO Robert Thomson said.
News Corp is combining its FOX SPORTS Australia business with Foxtel, part-owned by Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS). News Corp will own 65% of the combined entity.
“We welcome Foxtel to our corporate family,” Thomson said. “We believe the company is uniquely positioned, given its potential in a rapidly expanding OTT market, with unrivaled sports offerings and premium entertainment and news content.”
Finally, funds management business Perpetual Limited (ASX: PPT) announced the appointment of a new CEO in Rob Adams, who is currently the head of Janus Henderson Group PLC’s (ASX: JHG) Pan Asia business. Adams will join in September and replace Geoff Lloyd.
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