Australian shares have fallen, with the tech sector leading the decline amid concerns about artificial intelligence. Xero experienced a significant drop, plummeting 12 per cent. Meanwhile, BHP has overtaken CBA in the market capitalisation race. UBS anticipates that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will raise interest rates in May, while Bank of America has increased its forecast for the Australian dollar. Origin Energy has also announced its new energy head.
The federal government plans to sell 67 Defence sites, valued at $1.8 billion, to facilitate new housing developments. These sites are located across prestigious suburbs in Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney’s north shore and eastern suburbs. The sale is expected to return billions of dollars to the government’s purse and will be handled sensitively.
In other news, flights to London priced at $70,000 have sold out within two days. A charter operator is recreating Qantas’ historic 14-day, eight-stop ‘kangaroo route’ to Europe. Additionally, grocery and alcohol wholesaler Metcash, which defends two workplace claims brought against it and its CFO by former senior finance executives, is facing scrutiny after allegedly walking a finance executive out over a bonus dispute. Metcash is a leading Australian grocery and alcohol wholesaler, known for its brands such as IGA and Cellarbrations.
Tanarra Capital is also responding to a lawsuit from a former employee, claiming the ex-investment director expressed gratitude for his time at the company.
