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Coles concedes mistake in discounting item to make it more expensive after a week

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Original article by Elias Visontay
The Age – Page: Online : 18-Feb-26

The Federal Court has been told that consumers understand that grocery prices will change in a high-inflation environment. Coles Group’s lead barrister John Sheahan addressed the court on the second day of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s case against the supermarket giant over alleged ‘sham’ price discounts. He contended that shelf tickets with a ‘was/is’ price are a legitimate sign of "good value today" for a specific product, and that the ‘Down, Down’ campaign was a broader indication that Coles was trying to keep prices low rather than advertising a specific discount. Sheahan also said Coles has acknowledged that one of the products that attracted the ACCC’s scrutiny should not have beeen added to the ‘Down, Down’ promotion only a week after a large price rise.

CORPORATES
COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Lithium boss urges West to instate price floor after landmark deal

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Original article by Mark Wembridge
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 11-Feb-26

PLS Group has secured a two-year offtake agreement with China-based Canmax Technologies for the suppy of spodumene concentrate. PLS will supply Canmax with 150,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate over two years, with an option to extend the deal for a further 12 months. The agreement includes a guaranteed floor price of $US1,000 per tonne, and CEO Dale Henderson has urged Western governments to consider implementing a floor price for lithium, as well as other incentives. The price of six per cent spodumene rose to more than $US2,000 per tonne in early 2026, compared with just $US575 per tonne in mid-2025.

CORPORATES
PLS GROUP LIMITED – ASX PLS, CANMAX TECHNOLOGIES COMPANY LIMITED

UK-owned Foxtel still calls Australia home

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Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 15 : 11-Feb-26

Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany has emphasised that the pay-TV and streaming group remains focused on producing content for Australian audiences, despite having been sold to UK-based DAZN in 2025. Speaking at Foxtel’s annual showcase on Tuesday night, Delany noted that it is still an Australian-operated company that has a local headquarters and management team, and directly employs more than 1,000 Australian. He added that Foxtel invests more than $1bn in Australian sports every year, as well as $130m in local drama content.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, DAZN

Miner stares down China power grab

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Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 29-Jan-26

Northern Minerals’ Browns Range heavy rare earths project has emerged as a key element in efforts by Australia and the US to reduce China’s dominance of the sector. However, Northern Minerals is under renewed scrutiny over Chinese influence over its board of directors. Beijing-based Vastness Investment Group has asked Northern Minerals to convene a general meeting, with the aim of removing chairman Adam Handley from its board. Vastness has a 7.7 per cent stake in Northern Minerals; the federal government has previously directed several other Chinese companies to divest their stakes in Northern Minerals on national interest grounds.

CORPORATES
NORTHERN MINERALS LIMITED – ASX NTUVASTNESS INVESTMENT GROUP LIMITED

Lynas stranded by energy mess

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 26-Nov-25

Lynas Rare Earths has advised that its production will be about one-third lower in the December quarter due to electricity supply problems at its cracking and leaching plant in Western Australia. The $800m plant is located in Kalgoorlie, which has been affected by intermittent power outages for some time, and Lynas says the outages have become more frequent and longer during November. Lynas is now considering off-grid options for the plant, such as diesel fuel and gas; it is also building a 46-megawatt hybrid power station at its Mount Weld rare earths mine.

CORPORATES
LYNAS RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX LYC

Rinehart’s $US1b rare earths ride

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 19-Nov-25

Gina Rinehart’s corporate filings in the US show that the mining magnate has increased her investment in rare earths producer MP Materials from $US461.1m to $US996m, becoming its biggest shareholder. The US Department of Defense acquired a 15 per cent stake in MP Materials in mid-2025, as part of the Trump administration’s push to end Chinese dominance of the global rare earths market. The corporate filings also reveal that Rinehart has divested her stakes in Albemarle, Lithium Americas and Lithium Argentina, and reduced her stake in Chile-based SQM.

CORPORATES
MP MATERIALS CORPORATION, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF DEFENSE, ALBEMARLE CORPORATION, LITHIUM AMERICAS, LITHIUM ARGENTINA, SOCIEDAD QUIMICA Y MINERA SA

Squeeze is on for Nine executive to get more juice out of the fruit

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 19-Nov-25

Nine Entertainment’s streaming and broadcast division generated 78 per cent of the group’s revenue and two-thirds of EBITA in 2024-25, when Domain is excluded from the results; free-to-air TV accounted for the bulk of the division’s revenue. Nine’s managing director of streaming and broadcast, Amanda Laing, faces the challenge of cutting costs while managing both the decline of free-to-air TV and the growth of free and subscription-based streaming video. She recently retrenched 50 employees within the division, and has not ruled out further job cuts; however, she has emphasised the need to transform the division, rather than simply reducing costs.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Network Ten eyes NRL bid even as losses balloon

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 12-Nov-25

The Ten Network’s latest corporate filings show that it posted a loss of $162m in 2024, which followed a loss of $322m for the previous year. The disappointing financial results have been attributed to factors such as low ratings and weak advertising revenue. Ten Network’s president Beverley McGarvey says it will consider bidding for the National Rugby League’s next broadcasting rights deal, noting that new US parent company Paramount Skydance is heavily investing in sports content. Media analyst Steve Allen says Ten needs the rights to some tier-one sports, noting that they remain popular with viewers despite the growing shift to streaming platforms.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, PARAMOUNT SKYDANCE CORPORATION, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE

News Corp fury after ISS urges vote against Lachlan Murdoch

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 6-Nov-25

Institutional Shareholder Services says News Corporation shareholders should vote against chairman Lachlan Murdoch at the media group’s upcoming annual meeting. ISS has expressed concern that Murdoch’s $5bn bid to gain control of the family’s stake in News Corp and Fox Corp had included pledging $US1bn ($1.5bn) worth of the companies’ shares as collateral; the firm contends that the pledging of company stock by directors or executive officers can pose a risk to the investments of outside shareholders. However, News Corp has accused ISS of using ‘arbitrary metrics’ to misrepresent and overstate the pledge’s applicability to Murdoch, noting that he Lachlan did not own the shares directly and only held a one-third interest in the company that did via a trust. ISS has also recommended voting against the re-election of three other members of News Corp’s board.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, INSTITUTIONAL SHAREHOLDER SERVICES INCORPORATED, FOX CORPORATION

UBS warns against overplaying the volatile rare earths sector

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Original article by Gus McCubbing
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 5-Nov-25

Shares in Australian rare earths producers have rallied in the wake of the landmark critical minerals deal with the US. AUSIEX notes that the sector has posted strong gains since April, when China imposed export controls on seven rare earth elements. However, UBS equity strategist Richard Schellbach has likened the situation at present to 2010, when China similarly imposed restrictions on rare earths exports to Japan; he notes that the sector initially rallied, followed by a pullback when China removed the export controls. Schellbach also warns that it will take a long time to develop a rare earths industry in Australia; he adds that is unlikely to match the size of the iron ore and LNG industries.

CORPORATES
AUSIEX, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD