The prices of three ASX mining shares were on ice today.

The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) is one of only three sector indices in the green, finishing 0.86% higher today. Only the S&P ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) closed higher, with a gain of 1.18%.

Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) closed today down a modest 0.27%.

Let’s cover which mining shares were in the freezer on Wednesday.

OZ Minerals Limited (ASX: OZL)

The Oz Minerals share price was halted this morning pending a potential takeover bid.

The Fool reported that Oz Minerals could be an acquisition target by BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP).

As my colleague James notes, Oz Minerals rejected a previous bid by BHP in August for $25 per share.

It’s now rumoured that BHP has returned to the table with a higher offer.

Shares of the company will remain on ice until 18 November or when the announcement is made, whichever comes sooner.

WA1 Resources Ltd (ASX: WA1)

WA1 Resources extended its trading halt this morning, after requesting a pause on the trading of its shares on Monday.

The resources exploration company has asked for more time to prepare two significant announcements for the market.

First, it wants to release exploration results for one of its sites in Western Australia. Once these results are posted, the company will make an announcement regarding a capital raise.

WA1 Resources expects to make this announcement and for the trading halt to lift next Monday 21 November.

Element 25 Ltd (ASX: E25)

Meanwhile, manganese miner Element 25’s shares have been frozen since Tuesday.

The mineral explorer wants to raise money to pay for its new project and to improve its existing operations. It has requested a trading halt in preparation to announce its plans to the public.

Funds will go towards its high-purity manganese Butcherbird in the southern Pilbara region of Western Australia and for other capital expenditure purposes.

The halt will last until 17 November or when Element 25 makes its capital raise announcement.

The post 3 ASX mining shares on ice today pending big news appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why are Medibank shares lifting on Wednesday?
• Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
• Looking to buy BHP shares? Here’s why the miner could be in for a $2b windfall
• Despite surging 9% in a week, are BHP shares still cheap?

Motley Fool contributor Matthew Farley 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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Of all the ASX 200 shares on the share market, it’s probably a fair bet to say that investors in Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) shares would be amongst the most unhappy today.

These investors have had to watch the Magellan share price lose almost half of its capital over 2022 alone. The Magellan share price is also down by a depressing 67% or so over the past 12 months. And the company is down a whopping 85% from the all-time highs of over $70 a share that we saw back in early 2020.

Today, the Magellan share price has closed at $10.72. That tells you all you need to know.

There are a few things that went wrong at Magellan over the past two or three years. But these can be summed up by the chronic underperformance of its funds.

Not to mention the undignified departure of its co-founder and former stock-picking star Hamish Douglass. And we can’t forget the loss of several high-profile investing mandates from institutional clients.

So it might be perhaps a bit galling for some investors in Magellan to hear that the company is seeking a pay rise for its top brass in 2022.

According to an ASX ‘chairman’s letter’ released on Monday, Magellan informed its shareholders that the company is undertaking a “board renewal program”.

Mo money, less problems for Magellan directors?

The company has called an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) for 14 December next month to seek shareholder approval for this program, mainly the price tag. Here’s what Magellan’s management had to say:

The purpose of this EGM is to seek shareholder approval to increase the maximum aggregate remuneration payable to non-executive Directors of Magellan.

This approval is an important step in the Board renewal program to ensure that Magellan can attract and retain high calibre non-executive Directors, with the right experience and skills to support Magellan’s new strategic direction, whilst providing sufficient headroom to facilitate our target Board size.

The Board recently engaged an independent adviser to provide benchmarking data on non-executive Director remuneration and was advised that the current fees paid to Magellan’s non-executive Directors are significantly below those of market peers.

Having regard to benchmarking data, as well as other factors including the additional roles and complexity of the work being undertaken by the non-executive Directors, the Board considers it is necessary to increase Director remuneration in line with market rates and feedback from the search process.

With the search for additional non-executive Directors in progress, the Board believes this approval will assist with facilitating an efficient and effective Board renewal program.

It’s not an insignificant pay rise that is being proposed either. On December 14, shareholders will vote on raising “the maximum aggregate remuneration that may be paid to all non–executive Directors in any financial year” from $750,000 to $1.75 million. That’s an extra million apiece.

No doubt some investors may find this objectionable. Considering the recent woes of the Magellan share price and all. But we shall have to wait until 14 December to see if the board can convince stakeholders to stump up the extra cash.

The post The Magellan share price has caved 50% so far this year. Are directors seriously asking for a pay rise? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• 5 of the craziest things making news on the ASX this week
• Amidst the ongoing tech stock wreck, value shares are everywhere. There’s just one catch…
• Why Magellan, News Corp, REA, and Whitehaven Coal shares are dropping today
• The Magellan share price has crashed 50% in 2022. Is the company looking for a buyer?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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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Many of Australia’s top brokers have been busy adjusting their financial models again, leading to the release of a large number of broker notes this week.

Three ASX shares brokers have named as buys this week are listed below. Here’s why they are bullish on them:

Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

According to a note out of Bell Potter, its analysts have retained their buy rating on this footwear retailer’s shares with an improved price target of $2.10. This follows the release of a trading update which revealed strong sales growth and margin expansion financial year to date. Bell Potter believes that the company is well-placed going into the key seasonal period, particularly given its healthy inventory position. The Accent share price is trading at $1.69 on Wednesday afternoon.

Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)

A note out of Goldman Sachs reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating on this location technology company’s shares with an improved price target of $8.40. Goldman Sachs was pleased with Life360’s quarterly update and believes it reinforces its view that the company is executing well on its long-term strategy to grow subscription lifetime value. The Life360 share price is fetching $6.85 this afternoon.

QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE)

Analysts at Macquarie have retained their outperform rating and $14.00 price target on this insurance giant’s shares. According to the note, the broker has been looking at a number of industry updates and has been pleased with what it saw. Overall, it remains confident that QBE is performing in line with expectations and highlights that its shares are trading at a discount to global peers. The QBE share price is trading at $11.92 today.

The post Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Down 30% so far in 2022, leading fund manager Firetrail sees a bright future for this under-the-radar ASX small-cap share
• Why Accent, Block, Core Lithium, and Fortescue shares are pushing higher
• Why I think these ASX dividend shares can double in 7 years AND pay income along the way
• Goldman Sachs names the ASX retail shares to buy in the current environment
• Brokers say these top ASX dividend shares are buys

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Life360, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Life360, Inc. 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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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Of all the tech titan stocks that have been clobbered this year, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is arguably one of the more surprising losers. Shares of the e-commerce and cloud computing giant have fallen over 40% so far in 2022. That fall comes despite Amazon holding onto the retail gains it picked up during pandemic lockdowns, and the continual growth in its AWS [Amazon Web Services] cloud segment by a strong double-digit percentage.  

Investors weren’t pleased with the Q3 2022 report. Management indicated more slowing growth could lie ahead as a record run-up in the dollar (a result of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s huge interest rate increases this year). But, despite this weakness, Amazon is putting massive amounts of cash to work to bolster its most important business. Is now a once-in-a-decade buying opportunity for this top tech stock?

Re-allocating investments from e-commerce to tech

Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky said on the last earnings call that the company was going to wind up allocating about $60 billion on capital expenditures (or capex, spending on property, plant, and equipment) in 2022. This figure is roughly in line with capex spend in 2021, even though Amazon’s growth has slowed significantly. This level of capex also dwarfs the capex spend of fellow tech titans — even Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) and its huge bill on data center equipment in support of its metaverse aspirations.  

Data by YCharts

Why does Amazon spend so much more on capex than its peers? For one thing, Amazon isn’t just tech. It’s also an online retailer. While an online store like Amazon looks like an asset-light business, it isn’t. Behind the scenes, Amazon has been spending heavily on things like distribution centers and delivery services to accommodate the explosion of sales it picked up in 2020 and 2021.

But there’s something interesting going on with Amazon’s capex. Specific numbers were not revealed, but Olsavsky said that $10 billion in capex has been reduced from fulfilment and transportation projects as e-commerce has quieted down. However, that $10 billion has been reallocated to “technology infrastructure, primarily to support the rapid growth, innovation and continued expansion of … [its] AWS footprint.”

Betting big on the business that matters most

This is incredibly significant, especially considering that the AWS cloud computing segment is — and has been for years now — the primary engine of Amazon’s profitable growth. You see, as great as a seemingly endless collection of products and fast delivery times may be, e-commerce just isn’t all that profitable a business for Amazon. Add-on services via Amazon Prime and selling ads within its marketplace are. But at the end of the day, it’s AWS that’s generating the positive income. 

Amazon segment	First nine months 2022 operating income (Loss)	Operating margin (as % of segment revenue)
North America	($2.61 billion)	-1.2%
International	($5.52 billion)	-6.6%
AWS	$17.6 billion	30%

Data source: Amazon

But why allocate so much extra capex to AWS now, especially given the tough economic climate we’re weathering right now? After all, lots of companies out there are cutting spending to boost profits. It was even reported that AWS customers have been working with the company to reduce their spending on the cloud right now, by switching to lower-cost computing workloads and services. 

As a result, while AWS has grown revenue by 32% so far in 2022, management indicated Q4 year-over-year growth was trending toward just a mid-20% growth rate. Meanwhile, Amazon has dipped deep into the red as it puts lots of money to work to promote future (and uncertain) growth. Free cash flow (operating income minus capex) was negative $26 billion over the last 12 month stretch.  

Nevertheless, Amazon sees a big opportunity, so it’s expanding its cloud footprint into new geographies and bolstering its capabilities in existing data centers. Just as disruption from the pandemic forced many organizations around the globe to accelerate their adoption of the cloud, Olsavsky said inflation (especially in energy and computing hardware costs) is having a similar disruptive impact right now. By switching their tech infrastructure to a cloud provider like AWS, a company can ultimately get more flexible with, or reduce, their expenses. Olsavsky explained:

[T]he benefit of cloud computing is really showing up right now because we allow customers to turn what can normally be a fixed expense into a variable expense, and they can let us manage the highs and lows of inflation and other cost of electricity and everything else. And they can get … to do their business using our services in a very highly secure way. So I think just like in 2020, these time periods are good for long-term adoption on cloud computing. But the offset in the short run is that some companies have demand that drops.

Long story short, Amazon sees behavior-altering changes happening in the economy right now, which spells opportunity for AWS to get aggressive and acquire lots of new customers. Wall Street clearly isn’t comfortable with the company spending so heavily, but what else is new? This is far from uncharted territory for Jeff Bezos’ empire. If AWS’s expansion right now pays off like it has in times past, Amazon stock’s giant drop this year can mean opportunity for farsighted investors as well.

Of course, since Amazon has fallen into unprofitability at the moment, it’s difficult to accurately stick a fair value on shares. However, management also said it expects to taper down its aggressive spending in the coming years, which would create some earnings leverage. In other words, this stock is incredibly cheap right now. That is, of course, assuming you think Amazon’s profitability, as measured by earnings per share, will sharply spike at some point in the next couple of years, and then level back off to a high single-digit or low-teens percentage growth rate after that. (Or if you think free cash flow will spike and turn positive again).

If you have ever felt like you missed the boat on Amazon stock over the last decade, now looks like a prime opportunity to buy.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Is Amazon’s AWS creating a once-in-a-decade buying opportunity for the stock? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Amazon unveils new healthcare service: Is the stock a buy?
• Don’t be fooled. Amazon’s international business is more profitable than you think
• Amazon is set for major layoffs. Here’s what it means for the stock
• Move over ASX dividend share traps, a new investing pitfall could now be luring profit seekers
• Why Amazon stock finished lower today

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Nicholas Rossolillo and his clients have positions in Amazon and Meta Platforms, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Amazon and Meta Platforms, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon and Meta Platforms, Inc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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The Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) share price has done well, rising by around 5% over the past week.

That compares to the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which only went up by around 2%, so it has materially outperformed.

The winemaker hasn’t announced anything recently. But, it may be what’s going on elsewhere in the world that could be helping boost the Treasury Wine Estates share price.

Thawing of relations

The last few years have been difficult for TWE, as China put tariffs on the Australian wine sector. Treasury Wine Estates saw a sizeable chunk of its earnings dry up. The company has been hard at work finding new markets to sell its wine, and (in my opinion) been largely successful with this strategy.

However, since the change of Australian Government, there has been a slow but steady shift in communication between the two countries.

It culminated earlier this week when Prime Minister Albanese met with China’s leader, Xi Jinping. This was the first meeting between leaders of the two countries in years.

As reported by the ABC, Albanese said ahead of the meeting that even having a meeting with Australia’s largest trading partner was a “successful outcome”.

The meeting was reportedly 32 minutes long, which was 12 minutes longer than originally scheduled.

The ABC reported that Xi said China and Australia should “improve, maintain, and develop” the relationship, which has “encountered some difficulties” in the past few years. That sounds like a promising thing for the TWE share price, right?

Xi also said that “China-Australia relations have long been at the forefront of China’s relations with developed countries, and they deserve to be cherished by us”.

Albanese seemed pleased with the meeting, calling the talks “warm” and “constructive”. The PM also said that both countries took an important step to “moving forward”.

The ABC quoted Albanese saying:

There are many steps, of course, that we are yet to take… we will cooperate where we can, [and] disagree where we must act in the national interest.

At this stage, there was no official announcement on wine tariffs, or any of the commodities that China has put tariffs on.

The media outlet suggested that there are conditions – that China “wants to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and wants Australia to continue its one-China policy.” Also, the ABC reported that Xi wants Australia to see China as a partner, not a rival.

Foolish takeaway

Any progress that Australia can make that would help the wine industry may seemingly be a benefit for the Treasury Wine Estates share price.

Any change may take a while, and if tariffs are changed it may only be a reduction. We’ll have to see what happens next. Regardless, the business is growing in other markets to make up for the loss of Chinese sales.

The TWE share price is still down more than 20% from the pre-COVID price.

The post Why has the Treasury Wine share price jumped 5% in a week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why are Medibank shares lifting on Wednesday?
• Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
• ASX 200 shares may have just hit the bottom: AMP economist
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Stressed about your ASX share portfolio? I’d take these 3 dead-simple steps to sleep easy

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 recommended Treasury Wine Estates Limited. 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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As we approach the end of trading on Wednesday, the top 10 best-performing shares of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) are all miners bar one.

That one outlier is ASX agricultural share Nufarm Ltd (ASX: NUF), up 7% to $5.80. The crop protection and seed technology company released its full-year results today and raised its full-year dividend by 150%.

As for the rest of the top 10 on the ASX 200 today, they’re all ASX mining shares but represent a big range of metals and minerals. And not an iron ore share in sight.

Top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Nufarm was leading the pack until ASX copper share, Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR) rose to the top.

The Sandfire Resources share price is 7.3% higher at $4.97.

ASX coal shares followed second-placed Nufarm, with Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) shares up 6.99% to $8.81 and New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC) shares up 5.08% to $5.59.

Then came ASX mineral explorer IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO). The nickel and lithium miner’s share price is up 4.69% to $16.08.

Next is rare earths miner, Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC). Lynas shares are up 4.58% to $8.79.

Another ASX coal share, Coronado Global Resources Inc (ASX: CRN) takes seventh place. Coronado shares are up 2.95% to $2.10.

Nickel miner Nickel Industries Ltd (ASX: NIC) is rounding out the top eight ASX 200 shares today, up 2.83% to 98 cents.

The final two in our top 10 ASX 200 shares are ASX lithium shares.

The Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) share price is up 2.95% to $14.67.

The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price is up 2.69% to $4.96.

The post Dig this! Look how many of the top-performing ASX 200 shares today are miners appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
• Why Arafura, Nufarm, Pilbara Minerals, and Whitehaven Coal are charging higher
• Why is the Whitehaven share price whizzing 7% higher today?
• Can ASX lithium shares really keep dining out at these price levels?
• The future of ASX lithium shares: Are investors looking through rose-coloured glasses?

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in Allkem Limited. 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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The Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL) share price is in the green this afternoon after the company’s annual general meeting (AGM).

As might have been expected, a major cyberattack suffered by the company was a huge topic of conversation at the event. Medibank CEO David Koczkar reiterated that not paying a ransom demanded by the hacker was “the right thing to do”.

Such comments followed reports the cybercriminals were holding off from publishing more stolen information in the prospect of “something meaningful” happening today.

Right now, the Medibank share price is 0.18% higher at $2.815. Though, that’s around 20% lower than it was prior to the attack – some brokers now believe the stock oversold, my colleague Tristan reports.

Comparatively, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 0.36% today. The stock is also outperforming its home sector – the S&P/ASX 200 Financial Index (ASX: XFJ) has fallen 1.37% on Wednesday.

Let’s take a closer look at the latest from the embattled health insurer.

Medibank share price lifts following AGM

The Medibank share price is gaining this afternoon. Its lift comes after the company’s leaders doubled down on the decision not to pay a ransom for stolen data. Chair Mike Wilkins told today’s meeting:

Based on extensive advice from cybercrime experts, we formed the view that there was a limited chance paying a ransom would ensure the return of our customers’ data and prevent it from being published.

In fact, the advice we have had is that to pay a ransom could have had the opposite effect and encouraged the criminal to directly extort our customers, and put more people in harm’s way by making Australia a bigger target.

Koczkar came in with more gusto. He called the attack “a watershed moment” and a reminder of “the new frontier in cybercrime”:

We are steadfast in our resolve to NOT reward this criminal behaviour, nor to strengthen a business model that is based on extortion.

While we unreservedly apologise for the impact of the release of the data, we cannot as a community, pay criminals who are likely to continue to extort us all – particularly when there is no guarantee that the criminal would ever delete the data. As I’ve said before, you cannot trust a criminal.

On top of an ongoing investigation by the Federal Police and Australian Cyber Security Centre, Medibank has commissioned Deloitte to conduct an external review.

The company will begin informing the 480,000 customers whose data was recently verified as having been stolen today. It will also be contacting those whose health data is published on the dark web within 48 hours of the hackers posting it.

What else went down at the Medibank AGM?

The company’s leaders also reiterated its financial year 2022 earnings, the withdrawal of its policy growth guidance, and the estimated $25 million to $35 million cost of the attack.

Koczkar also said, as of 12 November, Medibank’s resident policyholder numbers had grown by around 14,500 since the end of June.

Additionally, it’s seen around 14% customer growth in its non-resident business since the end of June 2022. That leaves the number of customers in its non-resident portfolio at pre-pandemic levels.

Koczkar continued:

The rising cost of living has presented a challenge for many households and yet a record number of Australians continue to take out private health insurance, putting their health and wellbeing first.

Consumers no longer see health spending as discretionary and are actually spending more on their health than before the pandemic.

Finally, shareholders passed all resolutions put forward today.

Peter Everingham and Kathryn Fagg stood for election to the company’s board. Meanwhile, Linda Bardo Nicholls and David Fagan sought re-election.

Shareholders also voted on the company’s remuneration report and certain amendments to its constitution. Most of the amendments related to developments in the law, ASX listing rules, and corporate governance practices.

The post Why are Medibank shares lifting on Wednesday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
• ASX 200 shares may have just hit the bottom: AMP economist
• Down 20% in a month, can things get any worse for the Medibank share price?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Stressed about your ASX share portfolio? I’d take these 3 dead-simple steps to sleep easy

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper 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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A former head of Tesla’s Australian arm has pleaded guilty to insider trading of ASX shares.

Sydney Downing Centre local court on Tuesday heard Kurt Schlosser plead guilty to one count of trading while in possession of inside information and one count of communicating inside information to an associate.

The offences related to Schlosser’s knowledge back in September 2020 that Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) had signed an in-principle agreement with Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL) to supply the car maker with lithium.

The court heard the country director of Tesla Australia bought 86,478 shares in Piedmont on 16 September 2020 before the deal was revealed publicly.

After the supply agreement was announced to the market, Schlosser sold his stocks for a profit of $28,883.53.

The director also told the inside information about the Piedmont deal to a friend on 16 September 2020, knowing that the acquaintance would likely buy shares in the miner.

Each breach carried a maximum penalty of 15 years of imprisonment at the time of the offences.

Schlosser will appear on 16 December in the Sydney District Court for sentencing.

The post Ex-Tesla Australia boss faces 15 years’ jail for insider trading ASX lithium shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 positions in and has recommended Tesla. 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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What a dreary week it is turning out to be for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) this week. The ASX 200 looks set to record another loss this Wednesday, in what would be its third of the week. At the time of writing, the index is down by 0.37% at around 7,115 points.

But rather than letting that get us down, let’s check out the ASX 200 shares currently at the top of the share market’s trading volume charts, according to investing.com.

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Wednesday

Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR)

First up today is the ASX 200 gold miner Gold Road Resources. This Wednesday has seen a sizeable 10.65 million Gold Road shares exchanged on the markets thus far. There has been no news or announcements out of this miner today.

Therefore, it seems likely that this high trading volume is a result of the machinations of the Gold Road share price itself. At present, the miner has lost a nasty 0.8% and is down to $1.65 a share.

But Gold Road has swapped between green and red all day, and rose as high as $1.68 a share around lunchtime before falling back to its present level.

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)

Next up is the ASX 200 lithium stock Core Lithium. A notable 31.73 million Core Lithium shares have been bought and sold on the ASX this Wednesday. Core Lithium has had an absolutely wild week. Monday saw the lithium share gain almost 12%, while yesterday had Core Lithium lose it all and then some with a 15.8% drop.

Today, the company is down another 4.5% at $1.50 a share. All of this bouncing around seems to be the smoking gun for the elevated volumes we are seeing.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Last but certainly not least, we have another ASX 200 lithium share in Pilbara Minerals. Today we have seen a hefty 32.11 million Pilbara shares change hands as it currently stands. Unlike Core Lithium, Pilbara shares are having a stellar day. The company is presently up a healthy 2.8% at $4.96 a share.

This comes after Pilbara flagged that it is looking forward to paying out its first-ever dividend next year. Lithium shares are not famous for their income, so this would be something of a game changer for the sector.

It’s perhaps no surprise that investors are excited, which probably explains the high volumes we are seeing.   

The post Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Aristocrat, CBA, Core Lithium, and GrainCorp shares are dropping today
• Why Arafura, Nufarm, Pilbara Minerals, and Whitehaven Coal are charging higher
• Can ASX lithium shares really keep dining out at these price levels?
• Are Core Lithium shares suddenly on the nose?
• The future of ASX lithium shares: Are investors looking through rose-coloured glasses?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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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The Arafura Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: ARU) share price is back on form on Wednesday.

In afternoon trade, the rare earths developer’s shares are up 16% to 41 cents.

Why is the Arafura share price racing higher?

The strong gain by the Arafura share price on Wednesday appears to have been driven by the release of an announcement yesterday afternoon which was overshadowed by a broad selloff in the battery materials space.

So, with battery materials shares recovering today, investors seem to be paying more attention to the announcement.

What did Arafura announce?

Yesterday’s announcement revealed that the Mining Management Plan (MMP) for the company’s 100% owned Nolans Neodymium-Praseodymium (NdPr) project has been approved by the Northern Territory Government.

This mining authorisation allows Arafura to mine, construct, and operate the Nolans Project.

Arafura’s managing director, Gavin Lockyer, commented:

This approval validates the enormous amount of hard work undertaken since ramping up the Environmental Impact Studies in 2014. It provides the framework, along with our ESG commitment to transparency and openness, that will ensure we minimise the impact of the Nolans Project on the unique Central Australian Arid Zone environment.

This approval, following the recent Hyundai/Kia Offtake Agreement and Project Update, adds to the momentum that should allow Arafura to commence procurement and construction, with FID expected to occur in early 2023.

The post Why is the Arafura Rare Earths share price rocketing 16% on Wednesday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Arafura, Nufarm, Pilbara Minerals, and Whitehaven Coal are charging higher
• What’s going on with the Arafura share price today?
• Why did the Arafura share price surge over 7% higher on Friday?
• Why Arafura Rare Earths, BHP, Capricorn Metals, and Newcrest shares are rising today
• Arafura share price rockets 10% on Hyundai and Kia rare earths deal

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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