Finance news you need to know today

AUSTRALIA could lose a significant chunk of its manufacturing sector if energy costs don’t come down, a leading investment firm says.

THE Australian market looks set to open higher, ignoring the negative lead of international markets, especially Wall Street where the Dow and the S&P 500 broke their running streaks of record highs. At 0700 AEST on Friday, the share price futures index was up 19 points, or 0.34 per cent, at 5,661.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar remains before the 80 US cent mark, slipping further overnight. The local currency was trading at 79.32 US cents at 0705 AEST on Friday, from 79.59 on Thursday.

WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:

NEW YORK — US President Donald Trump has announced sanctions that open the door wider to black-listing people and entities doing business with North Korea including its shipping and trade networks.

SHANGHAI — S&P Global Ratings has downgraded China’s long-term sovereign credit rating by one notch to A+ from AA-, citing increasing risks from the country’s rapid build-up of credit.

BERLIN — Germany’s economy weakened at the start of the third quarter after a strong performance in the first half of the year but indicators suggest its solid growth will continue, the finance ministry says.

LONDON — British Prime Minister Theresa May has tried to unite her fractious Cabinet behind her plan to reboot faltering Brexit negotiations as senior European Union officials suggested UK hopes of moving the divorce talks on to a new phase next month might be dashed.

WELLINGTON — New Zealand is partially easing fuel rationing, a spokesman for the country’s oil industry says, a sign the five-day long fuel shortage that has caused air travel disruptions is subsiding.

THURSDAY HIGHLIGHTS:

RBA LOWE — A rise in global interest rates could have implications for debt-laden Australian households and the wider economy, Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe has warned.

CBA — Commonwealth Bank has agreed to sell its life insurance operations to Asia’s AIA for $3.8 billion and could slim down further by offloading its global asset management business.

TABCORP TATTS — Tabcorp and Tatts could still offer good value to investors despite the Federal Court decision to refer their $11 billion merger back to the Australian Competition Tribunal.

FAIRFAX — Fairfax Media’s group year-to-date revenues are down four to five per cent on last year, the company has warned, ahead of the release of its plan to spin off profitable real estate listings business Domain.

CROWN RESORTS — Former Crown Resorts chief executive Rowen Craigie will get a golden handshake worth around $9.2 million, pending shareholder approval.

SOUL PATTINSON — Australia could lose a significant chunk of its manufacturing sector if energy costs don’t come down, investment firm Washington H Soul Pattinson says.

BRICKWORKS — Building materials supplier Brickworks expects its energy costs to increase by $20 million a year by 2019, and has installed its own on-site generators in South Australia as a safeguard against an uncertain supply.

MURRAY GOULBURN — Troubled dairy processor Murray Goulburn has confirmed it has had approaches from a number of suitors interested in either buying some assets or taking over the whole co-operative.

DAWINE — Is offering Australian wine to at least a million middle-class petrol heads at an off road car festival in a desert in inner Mongolia a good idea?

EBAY AUSTRALIA — New eBay Australia Tim MacKinnon is unfazed by “hype” around the arrival of Amazon and says his online operation seeks to support traditional retailers rather than “destroy” them.

SEVEN GROUP — Seven Group Holdings wants to raise $400 million from investors to help it buy the remainder of equipment hire company Coates Hire.

MEDIBANK — The competition watchdog has lodged an appeal against the Federal Court’s dismissal of its allegations that Medibank misled customers over changes to benefits.

SUNCORP — Suncorp plans to increase its dividend payout ratio to appease shareholders as it ramps up spending to build a digital marketplace.

TITOMIC — Hi-tech 3D metal printing manufacturer Titomic has made a stellar debut on the share market, more than doubling its market value on its first day of trade.

MGM WIRELESS — A rich government contract and a new watch that helps anxious Aussie parents keep track of their kids has driven the share price of ASX-listed MGM Wireless up by more than two thirds.