Here are the stories from the S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX: XJO)(ASX: XJO) and Australian finance circles on Wednesday. Rask Media has your financial news headlines sorted.
First, here are the data points:
Australian Dollar ($A) (AUDUSD): 70.84 US cents
Dow Jones (DJI) (Friday): down 0.5%
Oil (WTI): $US66.07 per barrel
Gold: $US1,231 per ounce
Finance News Today
Making property news today, Yahoo! Finance are citing Deloitte Access Economics data which shows house prices in Melbourne and Sydney are falling by $1,000 per week. Economist Chris Richardson said house prices are expected to keep sliding another 5% to 10%.
The good news is wage growth is forecast to return, meaning pay rises for Aussies!
In share market news, stockbroker Bell Financial Group Ltd (ASX: BFG) provided a market update for the nine months to 30 September 2018 flagging revenue of $169 million, up 26% from a year earlier. Unaudited net profit was $27.5 million, which the company said was more than double the result from the year before.
Laboratory testing business ALS Ltd (ASX: ALS) announced it replaced its existing debt facilities with a US$300 million revolving credit facility.
“Our new facilities recognise ALS’s optimum credit quality and track record of growth, cash flow generation and strength of our balance sheet,” ALS CEO, Raj Naran, said. “I look forward to working with our banking partners as we continue to grow ALS’s global presence.”
Finally, at its AGM, Bellamy’s Australia Ltd (ASX: BAL) CEO Andrew Cohen provided a trading update for the group’s 2019 financial performance. “Our guidance range is unchanged, but in the context of recent category performance we anticipate full year Australian label revenue growth at the low end of the stated 0-10% range,” Cohen said.
“We note that 1H19 sales are likely to be 10-15% below 1H18 due primarily to an expected $10-15M run-down of trade inventory prior to rollout of the brand upgrade. Stronger performance is expected in 2H19 as we return to normal trading and implement key revenue initiatives including the brand upgrade launch.”
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