The ASX broke its seven-week losing streak and finished the week higher on the back of stable commodity prices and mining stocks.
It followed design and construction firm Lloyd Group and home builder Porter Davis collapsing, leaving dozens of projects in the lurch and hundreds of staff unemployed.
Look back at the day's financial news and insights from our specialist business reporters with our blog.
Disclaimer: this blog is not intended as investment advice.
Key events
Live updates
Here's how the market finished up as of 4:15pm AEDT
By Kate Ainsworth
- ASX 200 : +0.73% to 7,174 points
- All Ords: +0.78% to 7,369 points
- Australian dollar: +0.04% to 67.09 US cents
- Dow Jones: +0.43% to 32,859 points
- S&P 500: +0.57% 4,050 points
- Nasdaq: +0.73% 12,013 points
- FTSE: +0.74% 7,620 points
- EuroStoxx: +1.28% to 4,285 points
- Spot gold: -0.05% at $US1,979.29/ounce
- Brent crude: -0.24% at $US79.08/barrel
- Iron ore: +1.5% to $US124.70 a tonne
- Bitcoin: +0.04% at $US28,156
ASX finishes higher, driven by materials and industrials
By Kate Ainsworth
There was no holding the ASX back today — it's finished higher for the day and the week overall, snapping that seven-week losing streak.
It finished 0.73% higher, thanks to gains in the basic materials and industrials sectors.
Every sector finished in positive territory, with the exception of energy, which was down 0.76%.
As for the top movers, mining and resources led the charge thanks to commodity prices remaining stable.
Syrah Resources was the best performer, finishing up 9.20%, Imugene lifted by a flat 6%, and Gold Road Resources was up 5.28%.
Block Inc also continued its gains, finishing with an increase of 4.54%.
At the other end of the scale, Lake Resources lost the most at the end of trade, down 4.79%.
Harvey Norman also finished down 3.76% thanks to its ex-dividend date, and Sayona Mining was down 2.44%.
AMP was also in the bottom of the pack — it shed 2.31% after shareholders voted down the company's plans for executive bonuses, marking the company's first strike.
The wealth manager held its annual general meeting in Sydney today, where 49.1% of shareholders voted against its proposed remuneration plan — nearly double the 25% it needed for the strike to be handed down.
That decision could have serious implications for AMP come its next AGM — if there's another strike next year, it could see the a spill of the company's board of directors triggered by its shareholders.
All that said, it brings us to the end of another week on the markets.
Thanks for joining us throughout the week — we'll be back to do it all again on Monday.
See you in April!
Watch: Australian Chamber for Commerce and Industry boss on minimum wage
By Kate Ainsworth
If you're just catching up for the day, talk of the minimum wage rise has continued after the ACTU lodged their 7% increase proposal with the Fair Work Commission yesterday, while the government has also backed an increase in line with inflation.
But business groups don't see eye to eye with the union proposal — and ACCI boss Andrew McKellar wants to see an increase that's sustainable and won't add inflationary pressure to the economy.
Supply and skills shortages to blame for building company collapses, industry group says
By Kate Ainsworth
A peak building industry group is blaming supply and skills shortages for the collapse of major building companies.
The comments come in the wake of Porter Davis and Lloyd Group entering administration today, leaving hundreds of projects unfinished and workers without jobs.
Michaela Lihou from Master Builders Victoria says the problem starts because builders enter into fixed price contracts with customers and they can't pass on any price rises.
"That's fairly unique to our industry," she said.
"There are other industries where you can pass costs on but builders are having to wear that risk and when builders do potentially go under it means people are then left with half built houses which is not good for a consumer to be in."
Could the RBA review end Philip Lowe's career?
By Kate Ainsworth
It's a review that's more than six months in the making, but the highly anticipated review into the RBA has been handed to Treasurer Jim Chalmers today.
While we won't know the full scale of the recommendations until sometime next month, the probe is likely to recommend a dramatic shakeup in the way the central bank operates.
But the report could have far wider implications — the ABC's senior business correspondent Peter Ryan says Philip Lowe's career could be on the line after his comment that interest rates would stay near zero until 2024.
You can listen to the full report below.
Porter Davis home buyer 'very disappointed' as building stalls
By Kate Ainsworth
A home buyer affected by the collapse of Victorian-based builder Porter Davis says he's disappointed he and his family have been left in limbo by the company's collapse.
Dave Biondo has been building a home with the company in Donnybrook, north of Melbourne, and already has a slab down, but only found out about the builder's dire situation this morning after the company sent out a letter to those with current home builds.
Mr Biondo's million-dollar home is one of 1,700 projects that are now in limbo after the home builder collapsed, with 1,500 of those in Victoria and 200 in Queensland.
He had been hoping to move in by the end of the year, and says his family's entire savings were put towards the build.
"We were sort of hoping to be in there before our Christmas this year, but obviously that's not going to happen," he said.
"I'm very disappointed but I always look on the bright side and I obviously think there's obviously people worse than us, but yeah my partner's not too happy to put it that way.
He said he's had concerns about the build of his home for months because they kept repeatedly delaying the house's frame.
"I actually knew something was up because we were the first ones to have our actual slab poured, and now like we're the last ones," he said.
Disney begins cutting jobs, starting with ABC News (US)
By Kate Ainsworth
Disney's company-wide layoffs have begun, with ABC News (the US version, not us) among the first to shed jobs.
Reuters is reporting that 50 jobs, including senior executives, have been cut from ABC News as part of its newsroom restructure.
Disney is cutting some 7,000 jobs across its entire company in an attempt to control costs and become a more streamlined operation, following the likes of Meta, Google, Amazon and Microsoft in shedding thousands of jobs.
Watch: Former RBA governor Bernie Fraser on the bank's independence
By Kate Ainsworth
We're about to hear a lot about the Reserve Bank in the next few days (well, moreso than usual) when it meets to discuss the cash rate next Tuesday, and governor Philip Lowe speaks at the National Press Club on Wednesday.
That, and treasurer Jim Chalmers has been given a report into the central bank put together by a panel of independent experts over the past six months.
The report's suggestions will be made public sometime next month — but is the RBA as it stands now serving the country well?
Former governor Bernie Fraser, who was in charge of the RBA from 1989 to 1996, says its framework to target inflation and its independence are doing the right thing by Australia, but its performance has been impacted by neoliberal policies.
But don't just take my word for it — you have my permission to take some time out of your day and watch his one-on-one interview with our very own Gareth Hutchens below (I *highly* recommend it if you need some Friday lunchtime viewing).
Here's how the market looks at 12:40pm AEDT
By Kate Ainsworth
- ASX 200 : +0.71% to 7,172 points
- All Ords: +0.74% to 7,364 points
- Australian dollar: +0.4% to 67.34 US cents
- Dow Jones: +0.43% to 32,859 points
- S&P 500: +0.57% 4,050 points
- Nasdaq: +0.73% 12,013 points
- FTSE: +0.74% 7,620 points
- EuroStoxx: +1.28% to 4,285 points
- Spot gold: +0.12% at $US1,982.69/ounce
- Brent crude: +0.16% at $US79.40/barrel
- Iron ore: +1.5% to $US124.70 a tonne
- Bitcoin: -0.02% at $US28,156
It's past midday and the ASX is still going strong
By Kate Ainsworth
The ASX just keeps on keeping on today — it's hit a three-week high and was up 0.71% at 12:30pm AEDT.
That's thanks to steady commodity prices, which mining stocks have jumped on.
Case in point is De Grey Mining, with the WA-based gold exploration company up 4.36%.
Syrah Resources is also up 6.08% so far, but that's not solely because of commodities — they've announced their full year earnings and have managed to reduce their losses and triple their revenue, which is clearly music to the ears of investors.
Interesting to note that Block Inc (the owner of AfterPay) is up 3.88% so far today — it was only last week that investors got cold feet after a Hindenburg report alleged the company facilitates crime and lacks strong compliance controls, which the company has denied.
Meanwhile Harvey Norman and HMC Capital are duelling it out for having the biggest losses today, they've dropped 2.96% and 2.72% respectively so far today.
One thing to keep in mind with Harvey Norman is it's their ex-dividend date — or the cut off date for investors to buy its shares and be entitled to receive its upcoming dividend.
Overall though, if the ASX keeps up this positive behaviour, it's on track to record its first weekly gain after seven weeks of losses.
Macquarie and Shell to create Victoria's big battery to power 80,000 homes
By Kate Ainsworth
There's been a major step forward for Victoria's battery storage unit, with Macquarie's Green Investment Group and Shell Energy joining forces to deliver the battery energy storage system (BESS) south-east of Melbourne.
The system, which will be built on two hectares of land in Cranbourne, will have the ability to power the equivalent of 80,000 homes across Victoria for an hour during peak periods.
GIG and Shell Energy say the Rangebank BESS will increase Victoria's renewable energy hosting capacity and and be a safe and reliable element of Australia's power system.
The partnership between the two companies will also see Shell Energy have access to 100% of the battery's offtake over a 20-year period.
As for the 200MW/400MWh battery itself, it will be built, serviced and maintained by Fluence.
The project is expected to be finalised late next year.
Future of Santos's Barossa gas project unclear under safeguard mechanism changes
By Kate Ainsworth
A global climate analyst says the future for Santos's Barossa gas project in the Timor Sea, about 300 kilometres north of Darwin, is uncertain after changes were made to the safeguard mechanism.
Climate analytics director Bill Hare says costs for the $4.7 billion project will increase significantly and its revenue will drop substantially, and predicts Santos will "struggle" under the safeguard mechanism reforms.
You can read more from ABC Rural reporter Daniel Fitzgerald here:
Watch: The federal government on its minimum wage submission
By Kate Ainsworth
Employment Minister Tony Burke is currently discussing the federal government's submissions to the Fair Work Commission's annual wage review.
You can tune in below:
Infrastructure firm Lloyd Group enters voluntary administration
By Kate Ainsworth
Another business has gone bust — this time it's infrastructure company Lloyd Group.
Deloitte has been appointed as their voluntary administrators, with the shuttering of the business affecting around 200 employees.
Lloyd has 59 projects currently underway, with 29 of those in Victoria, and 30 in New South Wales.
The company has designed and built several projects for local and state governments in Victoria and NSW.
"Like others in the construction sector, and despite significant effort, Lloyd Group has been unable to overcome increasingly challenging circumstances over recent months that have eroded project margins, culminating in our appointment today," said Sam Marsden, who is part of the voluntary administration team with Deloitte.
"We do appreciate that this news will be unsettling and potentially disruptive for employees and project stakeholders, contractors, and suppliers.
"In these early days, we will be undertaking an urgent assessment of the business's financial position and project-by-project status, and immediately commence communication with project principals and stakeholders.
"We will also immediately commence an accelerated sale process and hold discussions with parties that might be interested in taking on individual projects."
Chances are you've probably seen a Lloyd Group design out and about, too — they're the team behind the Predators Precinct at Melbourne Zoo, numerous schools, Tesla hubs around the country, and medical centres.
Tax roundtable in Canberra
By Gareth Hutchens
There's an interesting tax roundtable being held in Parliament House in Canberra this morning.
The Independent 'Teal' MP Allegra Spender organised it.
Here's a list of the people participating:
- Professor Robert Breunig , Director, Tax and Transfer Policy Institute (Australian National University)
- Robert Carling , Senior Fellow, Centre for Independent Studies
- Dr John Daley , Partner, EY Port Jackson Partners, and professorial fellow, University of Melbourne (formerly Executive Director, Grattan Institute).
- Dr Ken Henry , Chair, Australian Climate Biodiversity Foundation. (former Secretary of the Treasury and Chair of National Australia Bank).
- Professor Greg Kaplan , Cofounder, e61 Institute, and Professor of Economics, University of Chicago
- Michelle de Niese, Executive Director, The Corporate Tax Association
Media were allowed into the opening session, where each member of the roundtable was asked to speak for 5 mins about their opinion of Australia's tax system and the changes that need to be made.
They were all in agreement about the embarrassing situation we find ourselves in, where successive federal governments have failed to do wholesale tax reform for decades, and how the structural problems with the budget have metastasised over time.
John Daley and Ken Henry were particularly good.
As was Michelle de Niese. She said, years ago, the corporate world was very optimistic for a time, when it felt like major tax reform could become a political reality. But fast forward to 2023 and the mood has completely changed. It's like everyone has lost hope.
The doors are now closed to media so the roundtable can talk amongst themselves.
ASX opens higher, Harvey Norman among early losers
By Kate Ainsworth
As expected, the ASX has opened slightly higher this morning, up 0.73% in the early session.
All 10 sectors are in positive territory, with basic materials up the most at 1.4%, followed by real estate at 0.78%.
Mining and resources companies are having the biggest wins so far, with Chalice Mining up 4.65% and De Grey Mining up 4.36%.
At the other end of the scale, Harvey Norman has dropped the most — it's down 3.23%, while HMC Capital is also down 2.18%.
Here's how the market is shaping up at 10:30am AEDT
By Kate Ainsworth
- ASX 200 : +0.73% to 7,174 points
- All Ords: +0.72% to 7,364 points
- Australian dollar: +0.07% to 67.12 US cents
- Dow Jones: +0.43% to 32,859 points
- S&P 500: +0.57% 4,050 points
- Nasdaq: +0.73% 12,013 points
- FTSE: +0.74% 7,620 points
- EuroStoxx: +1.28% to 4,285 points
- Spot gold: -0.06% at $US1,978.95/ounce
- Brent crude: +1.25% at $US79.24/barrel
- Iron ore: +1.5% to $US124.70 a tonne
- Bitcoin: -0.39% at $US28,032
Home builder Porter Davis goes bust
By Daniel Ziffer
Prominent Victorian-based home builder Porter Davis is going into liquidation.
Work on 1,500 homes in Victoria and another 200 in Queensland will cease immediately.
Porter Davis has around 470 employees and was forecasting revenue of $555m in financial year 2023.
Customers are being told to contact the liquidator using this link.
Liquidator Grant Thornton said it was investigating the reasons for the collapse.
“The extremely challenging environment for residential home building has directly contributed to the PDH Group’s financial position, with rising input costs, supply chain delays, labour shortages, and a drop in demand for new homes in 2023 impacting the Group’s liquidity."
A spokesperson for the liquidator said the company ran out of options.
“Notwithstanding the financial support from shareholders and lenders, the Group has exhausted options to secure the further funding required to allow Porter Davis to continue to operate viably, and the Directors were left with no option but to place the companies into liquidation.”
The Age reported that the group had been unsuccessfully looking for a buyer and were preparing to appoint liquidators. Earlier this month the Herald Sun reported customers facing long waits for frames and materials.
Profitless Boom
A so-called "profitless boom" has hit the construction industry.
With an explosion in the cost of materials and labour, companies that had existing contracts on long-running projects and couldn't secure 'variances' — extra money to deal with the increased costs — were essentially losing cash every day a project continued.
Casualties including Probuild, Grocon, WBHO and many more have already fallen over.
My colleague Nassim Khadem wrote this excellent feature last year explaining the root causes of the residential construction sector's woes, featuring comments from two of the industry's heaviest hitters, Harry Triguboff and Soheil Abedian.
White House urges tighter regulation for mid-sized banks
By Kate Ainsworth
In the US, the Biden administration is urging banking authorities to tighten the regulation of mid-sized banks — and says it can push them through without Congress.
The White House says banks that have between $US100 billion and $US250 billion in assets should:
- Hold more liquid assets
- Increase their capital
- Submit to regular stress tests; and
- Write "living wills" that detail how they can be wound down
"These are all actions that can be taken under existing law and as a result, there's no need for congressional action in order to authorise the agencies to take any of these steps," a senior White House official said.
The push for more regulation comes after the failures of Signature Valley Bank and Signature Bank, and follows regulators telling lawmakers this week that they're already looking at ways to tighten the rules.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty to new charges
By Kate Ainsworth
Overnight, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried entered not guilty pleas to new charges of of conspiring to violate campaign finance laws and bribe Chinese authorities.
Bankman-Fried has already pleaded not guilty to eight counts of fraud and conspiracy for allegedly stealing billions of FTX customer funds to stop losses at his hedge fund, Alameda Research.
He was arrested in the Bahamas in December before being extradited to the US.
Bankman-Fried is facing a possible sentence of decades in prison if he is convicted at trial, which is scheduled to start in October.
