The ASX moved higher today.
The S&P/ASX200 is up today, gaining 44.60 points or 0.64% to 7,010.10. Over the last five days, the index has gained 0.69%, but is down 5.84% for the last year to date.
Top-performing stocks in this index were Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX:MIN) up 6.64% and A2 Milk Company Ltd up 6.30%.
Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX:PDN) also did well up 4.55%.
Paladin was higher on the back of its annual report.
Chairman Cliff Lawrenson stated, “Financial Year 2022 saw Paladin make material progress toward restarting production at our globally significant Langer Heinrich Mine.
"With a well-defined mine restart plan, a strong and growing uranium sales offtake portfolio and excellent uranium market fundamentals, the company was pleased to announce, subsequent to year-end, the decision to return the Langer Heinrich Mine to production with first volumes targeted for the first quarter of calendar year 2024.
“At Paladin we will contribute significantly to global decarbonisation through clean nuclear energy by the restart of our Langer Heinrich Mine.
"Nuclear energy remains one of the most cost-effective and lowest carbon-emitting forms of energy generation now and it is expected to continue in the medium and longer term.
"Growing global demand for electricity, coupled with targets for reduced CO2 emissions, will ensure nuclear energy plays a key role in the decarbonisation of global power generation. Paladin continues to look forward to positively contributing to global decarbonisation.”
Making news today
Totally gassed
European natural gas and power prices took their hardest hit in months: benchmark Dutch futures and German power slumped more than 20%
Meanwhile, Germany is claiming its gas stores are filling up faster than anticipated – expected to be 85% full in September.
That would seem to be good news but fails to reflect the reality that should Russia halt flows, Germany may not make it through the winter even with its projected supply.
The European Union has two problems to deal with - dwindling supply and soaring costs and is currently planning urgent reform of the power market.
“All market participants are to some extent stunned about the fast development we have seen the last few trading days,” MFT Energy chief operating officer Bo Palmgren said.
“We hope that we will soon see more market liquidity and stable prices.”
Reflective of the crisis is German energy giant Uniper SE, which on Monday sought to extend its credit line with the German government to ensure its survival.
There may be some relief coming on the supply side, with cooler temperatures next week set to place less pressure on the grid as less energy is required for cooling.
Any relief would be welcome, the supply crunch is hurting every European industry. Take fertiliser companies for example.
According to Fertilisers Europe, which represents most of the continent’s producers, more than two-thirds of production capacity has been stalled by soaring gas costs.
Some European governments have introduced consumption reduction policies including banning outside lighting for buildings and lowering indoor heating temperatures, with Europe targeting a 15% cut in gas use this winter.
On the price side, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) Group said, “European gas prices have in our view overshot fundamentals fuelled by a combination of supply and demand concerns and exceptionally poor liquidity in the market.
“Northwest European gas demand has realised above our forecast, this has been offset by higher-than-expected supply, keeping storage builds in line with our expectations.”
Prices gained for six consecutive weeks but could now be dropping on profit taking.
“The closer we get to the total filling of gas stocks -- on August 27, EU stocks were 79% full -- the more the bullish momentum will be challenged,” a Engie SA’s EnergyScan unit market analysis said.
Migration changes coming
Australia’s migration policies are set to be overhauled in a move that will help the country’s business recovery.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has flagged an increase in the ratio of permanent skilled migrants as well as a hike in overall annual intake to 160,000 people.
Business has demanded the number be lifted higher, to 200,000.
Yet the PM said the change wasn’t about numbers.
“It’s about how we do this beyond ... addressing the urgent needs which are there in particular professions,” Albanese told the National Press Club.
“It is also about the nature of the mix as well. The truth is that, unfortunately, in some areas, temporary labour has been used to undercut wages and conditions.”
The issue will be discussed at this year’s Jobs and Skills Summit with Albanese already flagging a need for “more paths to permanent migration rather than just temporary labour”, particularly in areas of long-term skills shortages such as nursing, hospitality and engineering.
“The idea that you train someone and bring them out here for a couple of years and then go and try and find someone else to do the same job is, in my view, incredibly inefficient and part of why the industrial relations system is undermined.
“Far better to give someone a sense of ownership and a stake in this country. We are, with the exception of First Nations people, all migrants or descendants of migrants.”
Business is supportive of the move.
While the unions won’t stand in the way of increasing migration numbers, it will come with the caveat of a bigger investment in skills and training for local people so they are not undercut.
Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus told the AFR she was advocating for “simple, fair and accessible bargaining. Outcomes that ensure workers’ living standard are not going backwards. Wages that keep up with the cost of living and productivity increases. These are not big demands. This is what has to be done.
“We want wage growth to return to sustainable levels, which means workers sharing in productivity gains.”
Atlassian (NASDAQ:TEAM) co-founder Scott Farquhar is on board with the idea of increasing migrant numbers in exchange for local skills training.
“There’s been a trade-off, which I agree with, which is if you want to bring people to Australia from overseas, in return, you should be training up the people who are here,” Farquhar told The Australian Financial Review.
“We train people locally in return for the privilege to bring people in from overseas. That’s a great trade.”
The five at five
Archer Materials shares up following successful sub-10 nanometre feature fabrication
“Achieving sub-10 nanometre fabrication of electronic device components is an excellent outcome on our path to developing Archer’s biochip technology, and one that demonstrates the world-class capabilities of our pioneering team," Archer Materials Ltd (ASX:AXE, OTC:ARRXF) CEO Dr Mohammad Choucair said.
Kingfisher Mining soars on returning 40% REE in Mick Well sampling with new style of mineralisation revealed
“The outcropping mineralisation has now been mapped over a strike length of more than 2.2 kilometres within our 54-kilometre REE target corridor,” said Kingfisher Mining Ltd (ASX:KFM) CEO James Farrell.
DomaCom Australia’s funds under management expands more than 60% in FY22 to $134 million
DomaCom Australia Ltd (ASX:DCL) has set in motion a detailed strategic plan that is targeting both enhanced client engagement together with a further rapid improvement in its financial performance.
Meeka Metals hits nuggetty visible gold with grades up to 190.85 g/t as Turnberry continues to deliver
“These results continue to demonstrate the broad zones of gold at Turnberry extend below the 2021 scoping study open pit design,” said Meeka Metals Ltd (ASX:MEK) MD Tim Davidson.
Sunstone Metals delivers record 202 metres at 0.88 g/t gold equivalent hit at Brama-Alba discovery in Ecuador
“It is abundantly clear that we have a large gold-copper porphyry system at the Alba end of the 1.2 kilometre-long Brama-Alba porphyry deposit, which remains open in several directions,” said Sunstone Metals Ltd (ASX:STM) managing director Malcolm Norris.
On your six
Is the Metaverse going over to the dark side?
Research warns about potential emergence of 'Darkverse' inside the Metaverse
The researchers warn that cybercriminals will migrate from dark web forums to this Darkverse space and will be inaccessible to law enforcement agencies.
The one to watch
Mpower continues to build portfolio of clean energy assets to combat electricity grid issues
MPower Group Ltd (ASX:MPR) managing director and CEO Nathan Wise gives Proactive’s Andrew Scott an introduction to the distributed power solutions company and details its portfolio of current clean energy projects.