The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is in the red on Monday.

After closing down 0.2% on Thursday and slipping another 0.6% on Friday, the benchmark Aussie index is down 0.3% at time of writing today at 7,643.0 points.

This comes after the ASX 200 thrilled investors, though perhaps not short sellers, when it notched a number of new record highs earlier this month.

The sharemarket has been buoyed by relatively strong earnings results from many of the top companies as well as investor hopes of pending interest rate cuts from the Reserve Bank of Australia and the US Federal Reserve.

The most recent closing high was reached on Friday, 8 March. The ASX 200 closed the day trading for 7,847.0 points. That saw it up a whopping 15.7% from the recent 31 October lows.

So, why is the index retreating from record highs?

Why is the ASX 200 down from all-time highs?

The answer has very little do with the individual companies listed on the ASX 200.

Instead, it involves growing investor fears that sticky inflation will lead to higher interest rates for longer than the markets have been pricing in.

Indeed, the stubbornly absent and persistently low inflation ‘problems’ of yesteryear are well and truly behind us.

Ah, nostalgia.

Last week’s US inflation readings surprised most economists to the upside.

February’s US producer price index (PPI) increased by 0.6% from January, double consensus expectations. And the consumer price index (CPI) in the US increased by 0.4% after a 0.3% month on month increase in January.

And with energy costs on the way back up, markets are beginning to wake up to the fact that inflation may well remain elevated longer than hoped.

Fears that this could delay interest rate cuts from the US Fed also have seen the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) and Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) retrace from their own record highs posted in March.

The S&P 500 closed down 0.7% on Friday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped by 1.0%.

Commenting on the inflation data throwing up headwinds for US markets and the ASX 200, Stephen Miller, a markets strategist at GSFM said (quoted by The Australian Financial Review):

Markets have begun to scratch their heads on just how Goldilocks the scenario ahead is going to be. When the Fed meets next week, I won’t be surprised to see cuts in the dot plot tempered a bit, and I still don’t think the equity markets have got their head around that.

Barrenjoey chief economist Jo Masters added:

It’s clear inflation looks like it’s a bit of sticking point, and the market was already so aggressively priced. Turning points in economies are never smooth, and we always expect the data to be a little bumpy.

The RBA announces its next interest rate decision tomorrow at 2:30pm AEST.

ASX 200 investors have widely priced in a hold from the central bank, with 95% of investors expecting no change from the current 4.35% rate.

But investors continue to expect one or more rate cuts from the RBA (and as many as three from the Fed) in 2024.

Which could make the past few days retrace a prime time to go shopping for bargain ASX 200 shares.

The post Why is the ASX 200 retreating from this month’s all-time highs? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Here’s how the ASX 200 market sectors stacked up last week
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• 6 ASX 200 shares with ex-dividend dates next week
• What’s going so wrong for ASX 200 shares on Friday?

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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At the start of each week, I like to look at ASIC’s short position report to find out which shares are being targeted by short sellers.

This is because I believe it is well worth keeping a close eye on short interest levels as high levels can sometimes be a sign that something isn’t quite right with a company.

With that in mind, here are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX this week according to ASIC:

• Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) continues to be the most shorted ASX shares even though its short interest eased to 20.7%. Short sellers continue to believe that lithium prices aren’t going to rebound any time soon.
• Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) has short interest of 16.1%, which is down week on week again. Short sellers will have been pleased to see this graphite producer’s shares crash last week after raising funds for the umpteenth time.
• IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) has 11.8% of its shares held short, which is up week on week again. Regulatory changes to student visas have been weighing on this language testing and student placement company’s shares.
• Deep Yellow Limited (ASX: DYL) has seen its short interest increase to 10.7%. It seems that short sellers aren’t confident that uranium prices will be as strong as the market is predicting.
• Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) has seen its short interest remain flat at 9.8%. Short sellers loaded up on the travel agent’s shares following the release of its half-year results. They don’t appear to believe the second half will be strong.
• Genesis Minerals Ltd (ASX: GMD) has seen its short interest ease to 9%. This gold miner has been on an acquisition spree recently. Short sellers may believe there are significant integration risks on the cards.
• Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) has seen its short interest jump to 9%. This is despite the company announcing debt funding for the Kathleen Valley Lithium Project last week.
• Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) has short interest of 8.5%, which is up week on week. This lithium miner’s shares crashed deep into the red last week after posting a huge half-year loss.
• Weebit Nano Ltd (ASX: WBT) has short interest of 7.8%, which is flat week on week. Valuation and revenue generation concerns are likely to be why short sellers are targeting the semiconductor company.
• Australian Clinical Labs Ltd (ASX: ACL) has short interest of 7.8%, which is down week on week. Tough trading conditions and a poor start to FY 2024 appear to have attracted short sellers.

The post These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 oversold ASX shares to buy in March 2024
• Why are ASX lithium shares being annihilated on Friday?
• Why Pilbara Minerals, Syrah Resources, Tabcorp, and Westpac shares are sinking today
• Why Beach, Clinuvel, Deep Yellow, and EML shares are charging higher today
• Why is this ASX 300 uranium stock avoiding the market selloff and racing higher?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Idp Education. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group and Idp Education. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The ASX dividend stock APA Group (ASX: APA) has suffered a large sell-off. It’s down 19% in the past year, and down 30% from August 2022, as we can see on the chart below.

For readers who haven’t heard of this large infrastructure business, it’s the owner of a very large gas pipeline network around Australia. APA transports half of the country’s natural gas usage.

It also owns or has interests in gas storage facilities, gas-fired power stations and renewable energy generation (solar and wind).

Attractive dividend yield

Large swathes of the ASX share market have gone up in recent months, pushing plenty of names to near all-time highs. This has the unfortunate effect of pushing down the dividend yield.

However, with the lower APA share price, it has seen its distribution yield increase.

A falling share price of a normal ASX dividend stock can be a warning sign of a potential falling profit and dividend cut. But, APA has increased its distribution every year since 2004, and I think this streak can continue.

The business is expecting to pay a distribution per security of 56 cents in FY24, which would be an increase of 1.8% compared to FY23. This payout would translate into a distribution yield of 6.8%.

Ongoing income growth

APA’s distribution is paid for by the ASX dividend stock’s cash flow, with revenue being a key driver.

A large majority of its revenue is linked to inflation, the last couple of years has been beneficial for its revenue.

In the FY24 first-half result, revenue increased 3.4% to $1.27 billion, but the ‘segment revenue’ increased 8.2% to $1.27 billion. This helped underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grow 5.8% to $930 million and free cash flow increased 12.8% to $546 million.

APA is also working hard on growing its pipeline, with bolt-on projects. Each new project can grow its cash flow once it’s completed.

The business is also steadily growing its portfolio of renewable energy and electricity transmission assets.

Foolish takeaway

I don’t think this business is going to deliver huge capital growth, but I believe it is very capable of delivering ongoing rising annual distributions, which would be a very useful characteristic in an uncertain world, particularly if interest rates start being cut in the next 12 months.

With a large starting yield and a growing payout, I think the business is an appealing ASX dividend stock, along with others.

The post 1 ASX dividend stock down 30% to buy right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here’s how the ASX 200 market sectors stacked up last week

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Apa Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Some ASX dividend shares are predicted to pay very large dividend yields within the next few years. In an era of higher interest rates, I think it’s fair that investors want to receive higher yields than a few years ago.

However, not every high yield is appealing. Some businesses cannot sustain a high payout, while others have cyclical payouts.

Sometimes buying a cyclical ASX share during the weak part of a cycle can be a smart idea, as the dividend can bounce (back) strongly. With that in mind, these two ASX shares look appealing to me after their declines.

Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

This ASX retail share is the distributor of a number of global shoe brands including CAT, Dr Martens, Henleys, Herschel, Hoka, Kappa, Merrell, Skechers, Timberland, Ugg and Vans. This company also has its own businesses like Glue Store, The Athlete’s Foot, Stylerunner, Trybe and Nude Lucy.

The Accent share price is down around 15% since 14 February 2024 and it has dropped 22% from April 2023.

It’s understandable why the company has fallen — sales are currently challenged in this higher cost-of-living situation. But I don’t think we’re going to see tricky conditions forever, meaning this lower share price is appealing.

According to Commsec, the ASX dividend share is projected to pay an annual dividend per share of 14.3 cents in FY26, which translates into a grossed-up dividend yield of 10.2%.

I think a key part of the company’s growth outlook is its growing store count – that’s helping grow its scale. The business also has an impressive e-commerce offering, it has grown its online sales significantly over the past four years – I think being a leader with online shopping is important as more people choose to shop online over time.

Centuria Office REIT (ASX: COF)

This is a real estate investment trust (REIT) which owns a portfolio of office buildings across Australia.

A much smaller percentage of its properties are in the Melbourne and Sydney CBDs than some investors may expect. The Sydney and Melbourne CBDs are where the vacancy rates are highest in Australia, and therefore are the danger areas for potential big valuation cuts and much lower rent.

Despite that, the Centuria Office REIT share price is down more than 50% from September 2021. I don’t know how much the ASX dividend share’s properties are going to fall in value during this cycle, but I think the 50% fall more than makes up for it.

In the first half of FY24, the portfolio occupancy rate was 96.2%, and the weighted average lease expiry (WALE) was 4.4 years.

Almost 80% of its rental income is derived from government, multinational businesses and listed companies. To me, that means high-quality tenants.

It’s expected to pay a distribution per unit of 12.1 cents in FY26, which is a distribution yield of around 10%.

The post 2 ASX dividend shares predicted to pay yields of 10% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Buy Rio Tinto and these ASX dividend shares now
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Why the Accent share price has jumped 5% and more gains are predicted
• Why Accent, Liontown, PSC Insurance, and Zip shares are charging higher today
• I think these ASX stocks are bargain buys after reporting season

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Accent Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Accent Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Bannerman Energy Ltd (ASX: BMN) shares are starting the week in a positive fashion.

In morning trade, the ASX uranium stock is up 8% to $3.24.

Why is this ASX uranium stock racing higher?

Investors have been scrambling to buy the company’s shares this morning after it released the results of a scoping study.

Bannerman’s study was evaluating future higher throughput and operating life cases for its flagship Etango Uranium Project in Namibia.

Management notes that two future phase options have been evaluated. These are a post ramp-up expansion in throughput capacity to 16 Mtpa (known as Etango-XP) or an extension of operating life to 27 years (known as Etango-XT).

Outside this, the company remains committed to advancing Front End Engineering and Design (FEED), offtake marketing, and strategic financing workstreams on its base case 8 Mtpa Etango development (known as Etango-8).

It highlights that the scoping study evaluation of the Etango-XP and Etango-XT cases has been undertaken to demonstrate the potential technical and economic viability of subsequent expansion and/or life extension options for Etango following the successful construction and ramp-up of Etango-8.

Scoping study results

For Etango-XP, the results are as follows:

• Life of Mine (LOM) U3O8 output of 95.2 Mlbs over 16 years
• Annual average U3O8 output (post plant expansion) of 6.7 Mlbs
• Expansion phase capex of US$325 million
• LOM average all-in-sustaining cash cost (AISC) of US$42.5/lb U3O8

For Etango-XT, its results were:

• LOM U3O8 output of 95.2 Mlbs over 27 years
• Annual average U3O8 output of 3.5 Mlbs
• No expansion phase capex
• LOM average AISC of US$45.3/lb U3O8

And for the purpose of comparing with its existing Etango-8 plans, here’s what the company is targeting currently:

• LOM 52.6 Mlbs over 15 years
• Annual average U3O8 output of 3.5 Mlbs
• Zero expansion capex
• LOM average AISC of US$38.1/lb U3O8

Essentially, both Etango-XP and Etango-XT will produce the same amount of uranium, but one will do it in almost half the time and at a slightly lower cost if the company invests US$325 million.

‘Supercharged’ economics

Bannerman’s executive chairman, Brandon Munro, was very positive on the outlook for the Etango project, particularly given how strong uranium prices have become in recent times.

U3O8 spot prices recently increased to a 16-year high of over US$100 per lb, which is significantly higher than the project’s base case assumptions. Munro commented:

I am delighted that we have more formally demonstrated the longer-term optionality delivered by our large-scale Etango uranium resource. While the XP and XT cases are readily viable at our base case Etango-8 DFS price assumption of US$65/lb, their economics are clearly supercharged in higher price scenarios.

As such, what the Scoping Study emphatically evidences is the significant underlying value residing in Etango’s huge in-ground leverage to, and scalability with, higher uranium price outlooks. The ability to enact either the XP or XT plans, post-delivery of the initial Etango-8 development, affords Bannerman substantial real option value across a range of long-term uranium price outcomes.

This ASX uranium stock is now up 150% over the last 12 months.

The post This ASX uranium stock is racing 8% higher on big news appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• What Dutton’s nuclear push could mean for ASX uranium shares

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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This is a historic month for Australians.

For the first time in living memory, the Reserve Bank of Australia will hand down a scheduled interest rate decision that’s not on the first Tuesday of the month.

The central bank is now running on a reformed calendar, which means the board will reveal its judgement at 2:30pm this Tuesday.

It’s fair to say share markets and mortgage holders alike are waiting keenly for rate relief after a tough couple of years.

So what do the experts think will happen?

Interest rates guessing game

According to a survey of economists conducted by comparison site Finder, all 41 experts are tipping that the Reserve Bank will leave interest rates on hold on Tuesday.

So with Tuesday’s decision seemingly a foregone conclusion, the next question is when will the rates come down?

That is where the experts start disagreeing.

While rate rises might be done, QIC chief economist Matthew Peter reckons the RBA will still be cautious about inflation in the coming months.

“Elevated migration, coming tax cuts and ongoing wage increases will stop the RBA from easing back on monetary policy until later this year.”

Some have gone even further, with a quarter of the economists tipping rate cuts won’t come until next year or beyond.

July tax cuts could replace rate cuts

Corinna Economic Advisory economist Saul Eslake pointed out that the coming stage 3 tax cuts could act as relief for consumers, so that the Reserve Bank will not have to touch rates.

“Australian households will, on 1st July, be getting income tax cuts which, in terms of their impact on aggregate household cash flows, are equivalent to two 25 basis point rate cuts, which households in the Euro area, UK, Canada, US and NZ will not be getting.”

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN) chief economist agreed.

“The stage 3 tax cuts are a welcome first step in the need for broad based tax reform.

“They will provide some modest fiscal stimulus that makes a rate cut this year less likely, but still should allow rate cuts in 2025.”

This is why, in many ways, the RBA governor’s press conference on Tuesday afternoon will be more important for stocks than the actual rate decision. 

The market is desperate to hear what the central bank’s outlook and intentions are, so the words of Michele Bullock could really rock ASX shares either way.

The post ASX shares could get rocked Tuesday. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Mineral Resources share price marching higher on new lithium project acquisition
• ‘Housing AND Super’, not ‘Housing OR Super’
• Aussie Broadband share price tumbles after telco told to sell $47 million stake in a competitor
• Why Westpac shares could suffer from a ‘significant reset’
• Guess which ASX 200 tech stock has just been upgraded

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Bendigo And Adelaide Bank. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) share price is in the green today.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) lithium stock and diversified resources producer closed Friday trading for $65.91. In early trade on Monday, shares are swapping hands for $66.42 apiece, up 0.8%.

For some context, the ASX 200 is down 0.3% at this same time.

This comes following the announcement of a proposed lithium acquisition.

Here’s what we know.

ASX 200 miner to acquire Lake Johnston

The Mineral Resources share price is moving higher after the company reported it has entered into a binding heads of agreement to acquire the Lake Johnston nickel concentrator plant and tenure from Poseidon Nickel Ltd (ASX: POS).

The Poseidon Nickel share price is tumbling on the news, now 12%.

Mineral Resources plans to develop Lake Johnston as a lithium processing hub in the southern Goldfields region of Western Australia.

The company noted that the nickel concentrator plant has a flotation circuit with a front-end capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per annum. And it can be converted to treat lithium ores, including dense media separation fines.

The ASX 200 miner will pay Poseidon Nickel $1 million on execution of the agreement, $6.5 million on completion of the sale and purchase, and $7.5 million 12 months after completion.

Commenting on the proposed acquisition that looks to be helping boost the Mineral Resources share price today, managing director Chris Ellison said:

This is an exciting opportunity to develop MinRes’ third lithium processing hub in the Goldfields and the first to include flotation capacity to treat fines.

We intend to bring our expertise in spodumene production to Lake Johnston, which has the potential to service projects throughout the world’s most prospective region for lithium.

Poseidon Nickel CEO Craig Jones said that atop the $15 million in cash, the junior miner will retain “an exposure to any exploration success at Lake Johnston with royalties from any future minerals or metals production from the project tenements”.

Under the proposed agreement, Poseidon will receive 0.75% FOB royalty on lithium minerals and 1.5% net smelter return royalty on all other minerals and metals extracted from the Lake Johnston tenements.

Lake Johnston is licensed to operate until 2041.

Mineral Resources share price snapshot

Despite its diversified mining assets, the Mineral Resources share price has not escaped the pain of plunging lithium prices.

Over the past 12 months, shares in the ASX 200 miner are down 14%. Shares are up 26% since the recent 22 January lows.

The post Mineral Resources share price marching higher on new lithium project acquisition appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 2 of the best ASX lithium stocks to buy this month
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Morgans names the best ASX 200 stocks to buy in March
• Guess which ASX lithium stock just surged 94% on a deal with Mineral Resources
• 25 ASX 200 shares with ex-dividend dates next week

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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“Here’s Phillips… he’s off such a long run, he’s pushing off the sightscreen…”

Yes, I’m a little fired up today.

—–

But before that — we’re doing something very cool. We’re going to host a LIVE, in-person recording of our podcast, Motley Fool Money. It’s going to be on the Gold Coast on the evening of Wednesday, March 27.

If you’re in the area and you’d like to see us record the podcast, we’d love to see you there. Just click on this link for more information and to RSVP!

——

Right, now back to my full head of steam…

See, the Federal Opposition last week confirmed what had been reported just recently  – that their new policy is to allow first home buyers to use $50,000 of their Super to buy that home.

Which has been described (by others, not me) as the worst financial policy this decade.

Now, I’m not sure about that… 21st Century Australian governments haven’t exactly covered themselves in glory…

But I’m not sure it’s wrong, either!

How bad is it? Let me count the ways.

This policy comes fresh off the COVID-era ‘help yourself to up to $20,000 of your Super’, which we now know led 750,000 Australians to completely empty their Super accounts and which will, according to at least one estimate, cost the Federal Budget $85 billion in extra pensions (and other entitlements).

Not only will those people retire a LOT poorer, but that policy will cruel the federal budget, making it harder to balance the books and requiring a LOT more tax to be collected.

And I’m not Harry Hindsight on this, by the way. I called it #RetirementWrecker at the time, and I stand by it.

The problem is that, even armed with those stats – of retirements curtailed and future Budgets overburdened – the Opposition is going at it again.

Imagine someone who took $20,000 out of their Super in 2020.

Imagine that they were 27.

Imagine that the sharemarket compounds at its historic average of 9% per annum for the rest of their working lives.

By 67, using the rough ‘Rule of 72’, that could have compounded to an astonishing $640,000. By

And if they didn’t touch that money, but used their other Super savings first? By 83, it might be worth over $2.5 million.

That $20,000 which ‘didn’t seem much’ and ‘is better in my hands than in Super’ looks pretty big now, huh?

So what about the $50,000 that the Opposition is now suggesting?

Using the same maths, that might otherwise compound to $1.6m at retirement and $6.4m by 83.

(Of course these aren’t predictions. No-one knows where the market is headed. But history is probably a pretty good guide. Here’s the thing, though: even if you halve those numbers, it’s still a very large chunk of change!)

So using $50,000 for a first home deposit doesn’t just cost those people $50k.

It’ll cost them much, much more than that. Which is why, as with the original Super raid, I’m breaking out the #RetirementWrecker hashtag yet again.

So, it’ll wreck their Super.

But at least it’ll make housing more affordable, right?

No. No, it won’t.

Hot on the heels of a myriad of First Home Buyers grants which, last time I checked, haven’t made housing more affordable, they reckon this one – ignore all of the other ones, this time will finally be different, honest! – will actually make housing more affordable.

If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you.

Thing is, even my 11 year old could explain this one.

If you have a given number of properties, but you throw a larger amount of money at them, what will happen to prices?

They’d go up, wouldn’t they?

Mhmm.

So yes, buyers will have more money to throw at housing. But when they all have more money, and it’s thrown at the same housing… it’ll push prices up, doing… literally nothing for affordability.

But it’s worse than that.

See, once one first home buyer uses their $50,000 to make an offer, or bid at auction, the other first home buyers will have no choice but to match that offer, if they want to stand a chance of getting the property.

So not only is housing no more affordable, but you’ve essentially just locked every first home buyer into having to use their Super, whether they want to or not!

Yeah, but a home is more important than Super, right?

I mean, that’s the slogan being used, and it feels true.

The answer, again, is no.

What? You think money in a portfolio is better than a place to live? Are you mad?

No.

Because my ‘no’ is actually “No, I won’t be drawn into that false binary choice”.

First, as we’ve just shown from the maths, this doesn’t make housing any more affordable, so it’s not solving the problem it’s supposed to solve.

But also, we shouldn’t make young people make that choice. In a country as wealthy as Australia, it should be ‘and’, not ‘or’.

Past generations didn’t have to make that choice.

I didn’t have to make that choice.

Why on earth would we ask young people to make that choice?

They should be able to have a home AND Super. Not a home OR Super.

(Oh – and this is directed to both major parties – if your only, or major, contribution to housing affordability is to throw more money at it… then I wonder whether you actually are trying to solve housing affordability at all? You wouldn’t just be trying to give the impression of doing something, would you? Would you???)

We need to make housing affordable for our young people (and not-so-young people who are trying to buy a home). There are many good options available to our politicians to do just that.

But this policy – for all of the reasons outlined above, and more – isn’t one of them.

Our politicians need to stop viewing Super as a honeypot for their pet projects – or as a way to use our own money to pretend they’re doing something to help! Say it with me: #HandsOffSuper

And with that off my chest… have a great week!

Fool on!

The post ‘Housing AND Super’, not ‘Housing OR Super’ appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Scott Phillips has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Aussie Broadband Ltd (ASX: ABB) and Superloop Ltd (ASX: SLC) shares are catching the eye again on Monday.

Last week, they were in the news after Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) terminated its deal with Aussie Broadband and signed up with Superloop.

On the day, Superloop shares were up as much as 34% and Aussie Broadband shares sank 25%.

What’s going on with their shares today?

The Aussie Broadband share price is falling again on Monday and are down 4.5% to $3.39 in early trade.

This has been driven by news that Aussie Broadband has been instructed by its rival to sell a large portion of its Superloop shares immediately.

According to the release, Superloop has issued a notice under its constitution directing Aussie Broadband to dispose of 37,621,056 ordinary shares to reduce Aussie Broadband’s voting power in Superloop to less than 12%.

Based on Superloop’s last close price, this represents approximately $47 million worth of shares that need to be offloaded.

Superloop explained that Aussie Broadband’s current level of ownership is not allowed under its constitution. It said:

Aussie Broadband recently announced that it had acquired voting power of 19.9% in Superloop. The acquisition was made without the prior approval of the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) in Singapore, as required by Superloop’s constitution.

While Aussie Broadband claims the purchase was “inadvertent”, Superloop isn’t buying the excuse. It highlights that its rival recently dealt with the IMDA in Singapore in relation to its acquisition of unified communications-as-a-service provider Symbio. It said:

In subsequent correspondence with Aussie Broadband’s legal advisers, they have sought to characterise Aussie Broadband’s breach as “inadvertent”, despite Aussie Broadband’s recent acquisition of Symbio, which became effective in late February 2024 and required IMDA approval under the same statutory regime. They also sought to characterise Aussie Broadband’s conduct as merely “potential, technical non-compliance”.

Superloop has given Aussie Broadband 10 business days to sell down its holding. It adds:

Superloop takes its legal obligations seriously. Any risk of loss of a statutory licence in Singapore is a matter of concern to Superloop and its board. Accordingly, the Superloop board has determined that the appropriate response is to give a direction to Aussie Broadband under Rule 12A.5 of its constitution to reduce its shareholding to a level that is less than 12% within 10 business days.

This may complicate things for Aussie Broadband in the future if it wants to repurchase shares down the line. Superloop explains:

Superloop understands that another effect of Aussie Broadband’s failure to obtain IMDA approval in advance of the acquisition is that it now cannot acquire further voting power in Superloop without the approval of the IMDA under the Code, which Superloop understands can only be granted if the IMDA is satisfied that Aussie Broadband “was not aware” of the contravention.

Superloop shares are down 3% on the news.

The post Aussie Broadband share price tumbles after telco told to sell $47 million stake in a competitor appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Aussie Broadband. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Aussie Broadband. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares may be facing incoming costs based on what may be needed to reset the ASX bank share.

Over the last six months, Westpac shares have gone up 20%, but have we seen the peak?

The Australian reported on comments by banking analyst Brian Johnson from MST Marquee which said Westpac’s “long-running operational underperformance” meant it needed a new external leader which is crucial to turn the bank around.

Significant costs incoming?

The analyst Johnson said:

We think Westpac requires a significant reset and that requires an external CEO successor.

He also said Westpac’s mammoth IT simplification project could “consume much of (its) perceived existing core equity tier one capital.”

The bank reportedly is close to finishing its multi-year risk and regulatory program of work, in which it has invested billions of dollars.

Westpac is looking to consolidate 180 back office systems into 60 over the next four or five years at a cost of around $2 billion, according to reporting by The Australian. Johnson said:

History suggests bank IT projects cost more, take longer and can compromise system stability during decommissioning.

Westpac is expected to tell investors about its technology turnaround initiatives on 27 March 2024.

There are reports that the ASX bank share is planning for a succession of the CEO. The Australian reported on comments that DNR Capital chief investment officer Jamie Nicol said it was important to have a CEO who would “own” the IT project. Nicol said:

Given that’s just about to start, you probably want the appointment sooner rather than later, unless Peter King was there to oversee the whole thing, but that would be four or five years.

That’s probably too long given that he was just about out the door before and he extended his stay.

Johnson suggests that a turnaround for Westpac may need to recognise “significant wrote-offs and restructuring costs.”

Costs could mean a reduction of profit, and profit is usually what investors like to value a business on.

Westpac share price valuation

After the run-up of the Westpac share price, its price/earnings (P/E) ratio has increased. The experts may be right to be concerned about the valuation, though it doesn’t have the highest earnings multiple in the sector (that title belongs to Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)).

According to the estimate on Commsec, the ASX bank share is valued at 14 times FY24’s estimated earnings.

The post Why Westpac shares could suffer from a ‘significant reset’ appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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