The Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price closed slightly higher this afternoon at $13.08, a 0.85% lift.

Earlier today, Northern Star announced that the Supreme Court of Western Australia approved the scheme of arrangement by which the company will acquire all of the shares of Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX: SAR).

The Saracen Mineral share price also closed relatively flat at $4.89 today on the news, up 0.58%. Saracen has a market capitalisation of $5.5 billion and 1.1 billion shares outstanding. Over the past year, the Saracen share price has gained more than 24%.

What’s next for Saracen and Northern Star?

Saracen is expected to lodge a copy of the court’s orders tomorrow, Wednesday 3 February 2021, with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Following this, Saracen’s shares will be suspended from trading on the ASX at the close of trading tomorrow.

As a result of the merger, Saracen share holders will receive a special dividend.

Northern Star has listed Friday 12 February 2021 as the official implementation date pertaining to the share acquisition. On Monday 15 February 2021, new Northern Star shares will commence trading on the ASX.

Some highlights from Northern Star’s latest quarterly

Let’s take a look at Northern Star’s recently released quarterly report to see what else the company has been up to lately besides the Saracen merger.

Northern Star reported that the fourth quarter December 2020 gold sold total came in at 252,889oz. This is at the top end of the company’s guidance of 226,000 to 254,000oz for the period. It was also 11% higher than the previous quarter.

Northern Star invested $63 million in growth capital and exploration during the period. Despite this growth expenditure, Northern Star further reported a December quarter free underlying cashflow of $93 million.

The company credits its strong production and cashflow for the cut to corporate debt that also occurred during the time period. Northern Star cut its corporate debt by $125 million to $375 million.

As of 31 December 2020, Northern Star’s cash, bullion and investments total stood at $372 million.

The Northern Star share price has dipped nearly 20% over the last six-month period.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday

Motley Fool contributor Gretchen Kennedy 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 Bruce Jackson.

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There are some S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares that have built reputations of being good dividend payers to their shareholders.

During the 2020 calendar year there were plenty of dividend cuts from some of the ASX 200’s biggest businesses like Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ), Transurban Group (ASX: TCL), Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD) and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP).

But these two businesses kept the dividend increases coming despite the COVID-19 pandemic impacts.

Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW)

Brickworks has been listed on the Aussie stock exchange for over 50 years. It started as a major brickmaker, but it’s now the biggest brick businesses in the whole of Australia.

It now also manufactures and sells various other products like paving, masonry, stone, roofing, specialised building systems, precast and cement.

The ASX 200 company is also the market leader in the north east of the US after acquiring three American brickmakers including Glen Gery. The US operations have 10 brick plants and one manufactured stone plant. Those plants are now operating at almost a 80% utilisation rate, up from 50%.

Whilst the building products are experiencing varied performance due to COVID-19, Brickworks doesn’t rely on those divisions to pay for its dividend.

The first of the two pillars for the dividend is its property division.

Brickworks has a property trust which was established in 2006 as a 50/50 joint venture with Goodman Group (ASX: GMG). Brickworks provides land at market value (that’s surplus to operations) for development. Goodman funds the infrastructure works.

After a pre-lease agreement has been signed with a prospective tenant, the facility is then constructed which is funded by debt (with serviced land as security).

At the time of the last update, at the Brickworks AGM, the property trust had total gross assets of $2.1 billion and gearing of 36%. The ASX 200 share said that it’s benefiting from structural tailwinds, driven by industry trends to online shopping.

Once two huge warehouses are completed for Amazon and Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL), it’s expected that the gross assets of the property trust will rise to more than $3 billion (up $900 million) and the rental profit distributions will grow by at least 25%.

The other thing that funds the Brickworks dividend is the steadily-growing dividends from Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL). Brickworks owns just under 40% of Soul Patts, which is an investment conglomerate that has been operating and paying an annual dividend for over a century.

Soul Patts is another ASX 200 dividend share, it has a diverse portfolio of shares of listed businesses like TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG), Brickworks, Milton Corporation Limited (ASX: MLT), Bki Investment Co Ltd (ASX: BKI), Clover Corporation Limited (ASX: CLV) and New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC).

The ASX 200 dividend share hasn’t actually reduced its dividend per share for over 40 years. At the current Brickworks share price it has a grossed-up dividend yield of 4.3%.

APA Group (ASX: APA)

This business is one of the largest ASX 200 shares, it’s focused on energy infrastructure.

APA owns a large network of 15,000km of natural gas pipelines around Australia with a presence in every mainland state and the Northern Territory. It also owns or has interests in gas storage facilities, gas-fired power stations and renewable energy generation (wind and solar farms). APA owns, or manages and operates, a portfolio of assets and delivers half the nation’s natural gas usage.

The energy giant announced recently that it would be building a new pipeline in WA that would connect with its existing pipeline to create one large grid. Once finished, the new pipeline could attract some of the local resource businesses to request a connection for cheap and consistent energy.

APA funds its annual distributions to shareholders from its various assets’ operating cashflow. More completed projects can lead to higher distributions.

The ASX 200 dividend share has increased its distributions to investors consecutively for a decade and a half.

At the current APA share price, it has a distribution yield of 5.2%.

More reading

• ASX 200 jumps 1.5%, RBA doubles QE, Afterpay soars
• These 3 ASX stocks are the latest “buy” ideas from top brokers
• How the ASX 200 moved following the RBA’s first cash rate decision of 2021
• Why ASX silver shares like Silver Mines (ASX:SVL) are falling today
• Huon (ASX:HUO) share price sinks on profit downgrade and write-downs

Tristan Harrison owns shares of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Clover Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Brickworks and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of APA Group and COLESGROUP DEF SET. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Tabcorp Holdings Limited (ASX:TAH) share price has bolted more than 10% in today’s trading session. The bullish price action follows the company’s response to recent media speculation concerning a potential buyout.  

What has the media been speculating?

A media report in The Australian earlier today revealed that Tabcorp recently received a proposal to break up the $9 billion betting company. According to the media report, the company’s Board has received a proposal  in the past 2 weeks. The article suggested that the offer involved a demerger of the company’s lottery business and takeover of Tabcorp’s wagering division.

Since late 2020, media speculations have been circling the potential interest from private equity to buy Tabcorp’s struggling wagering division. In November last year, The Australian also reported that private equity firms had approached Tabcorp. One offer was reportedly worth $9 billion.

Tabcorp initially denied early suggestions that the company had been approached.

How has Tabcorp responded?

In response to the media report published by The Australian, the company released an announcement earlier today.

In the media release, Tabcorp acknowledged that the company has received multiple offers for its underperforming wagering business.  However, the company also cautioned investors that interest from multiple parties might not lead to a transaction.

In the announcement, the company stated that: “Tabcorp confirms that it has received a number of unsolicited approaches and proposals in relation to a potential transaction involving Tabcorp’s Wagering and Media business”.

Tabcorp further explained that: “The proposals were expressed to be confidential, indicative, non-binding and subject to numerous conditions including due diligence, financing and various regulatory approvals”.

Tabcorp acknowledged that the company’s board is assessing the proposals. The company also stated that it will provide an update to the market in due course.

How has the Tabcorp share price reacted?

The Tabcorp share price closed Tuesday’s trading session more than 8.7% higher at $4.46. Shares in the lotteries and wagering giant hit an intra-day high of $4.58. Up more than 10% for the day at one stage.

Last August, Tabcorp was forced to raise $600 million in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the company’s wagering business. Since late March, the Tabcorp share price has surged more than 110% from its 52-week low.

More reading

• Supreme Court approves Northern Star and Saracen mega merger
• 2 ASX 200 shares to buy for dividends
• ASX 200 jumps 1.5%, RBA doubles QE, Afterpay soars
• These 3 ASX stocks are the latest “buy” ideas from top brokers
• GameStop (NYSE:GME) dominates the US shares ASX investors have been buying

Motley Fool contributor Nikhil Gangaram 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 Bruce Jackson.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rose by 1.5% today to 6,763 points.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX:

RBA announcement

The Reserve Bank of Australia has decided to double its quantitative easing program to $200 billion. The central bank also decided to keep the official interest rate at just 0.1%.

Further to that, the RBA decided to say that it’s not expecting to increase interest rates until 2024 at the earliest.

This had the effect of boosting the share prices of many different industries.

The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price was one of the best performers in the ASX 200, rising by almost 8%.

Property shares got a big boost. The REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) share price went up around 5%, the Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX: DHG) share price grew 2.6% and the Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW) share price went up 2.4%.

Volpara Health Technologies Ltd (ASX: VHT)

The Volpara share price went up 3.7% after announcing an acquisition.

Volpara is acquiring CRA Health, which is based in Boston, for US$18 million. CRA’s software is integrated with the major electronic health record (EHR) and genetics companies.

CRA receives patient information, including breast density, and returns the risk of breast cancer alongside appropriate recommendations, including whether additional imaging or genetics testing is advised and reimbursed according to established guidelines. CRA also has electronic interfaces built with all the major genetics companies.

Volpara said that CRA is profitable, with annual recurring revenue (ARR) of over US$4 million, average revenue per user (ARPU) of US$1.70 and coverage of around 6% of US breast screenings.

After this acquisition, Volpara will have ARR of around $US$17.5 million and at least one product in use in over 30% of US breast screenings. Group ARPU will increase to over US$1.40.

Credit Corp Group Limited (ASX: CCP)

The Credit Corp share price went up 8.8% today after reporting its FY21 half-year result.

The debt collector reported that its net profit after tax (NPAT) grew by 10% to $42.3 million. Credit Corp’s US purchased debt ledger (PDL) segment saw NPAT double to $8 million.

Credit Corp also reported a record half-year PDL investment which was driven by the Collection House Limited (ASX: CLH) investment.

The ASX 200 company said that there had been a strong recovery in consumer lending volume over the December quarter.

It upgraded its full year outlook to a range of $85 million to $90 million, up from the previous range of $70 million to $85 million. The company said that it has $400 million of net cash and undrawn credit lines, putting it in a strong position to invest further.

Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW)

The online furniture retailer announced its FY21 half-year result. The Temple & Webster share price fell 4%. 

The company’s revenue increased by 118% year on year to $161.6 million. It generated $14.8 million of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), which was growth of 556%.

The business said that its active customers increased by 102% and in the trade and commercial division it saw growth 89% year on year.

In terms of cashflow and the balance sheet, it ended with a cash balance of $85.7 million (including proceeds from the $40 million placement) and it was cashflow positive.

Temple & Webster CEO Mark Coulter said: “While 2020 remained a challenge for the country, we are proud that many Australians continued to turn to Temple & Webster for their furniture and homewares needs. It is great to see our revenue growth translating into operating leverage and significant profit growth. This allows us to accelerate our investment into areas such as data, technology, private label and brand awareness to further differentiate our proposition.”

More reading

• 2 ASX 200 shares to buy for dividends
• These 3 ASX stocks are the latest “buy” ideas from top brokers
• How the ASX 200 moved following the RBA’s first cash rate decision of 2021
• ASX stock of the day: Rent.com.au (ASX:RNT) shares explode 218%
• Why ASX silver shares like Silver Mines (ASX:SVL) are falling today

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends VOLPARA FPO NZ. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended VOLPARA FPO NZ. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended REA Group Limited and Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The sharp and sudden market sell-off late last week is already a distant memory and those looking for opportunities may be interested in looking at the three latest ASX broker buy recommendations.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) added to yesterday’s gain by jumping 1.5% on Tuesday. It has nearly recovered all of the losses triggered by the GameStop saga.

The fact that the index bounced neatly and strongly from its support of around 6,000 points will encourage the bulls to keep the rally going.

It isn’t too late the join the party and brokers have just put forward three ASX “buy” ideas for your portfolio.

Brokers pushing this bullish bet

The first is the Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL) share price. Most brokers already like the stock but the latest US survey of gaming machines is giving them more reason to be bullish.

Credit Suisse reiterated its “outperform” recommendation on the ALL share price today after the Eilers‐Fantini December quarter slot survey was released.

The survey covered around 35% of the North America slot machine market during the period.

Upside risk to this ASX broker “buy” recommendation

The broker was modelling 1,000 net additions to Aristocrat’s install base for 1HFY21, which ends in March.

“Grossing up the Survey participation to reflect the entire market, it seems ALL is running ahead of our half‐year projection,” said the broker.

“However, the Survey bias tends to be optimistic so we rather conclude the Survey supports our estimate.”

Credit Suisse’s 12-month price target on the ALL share price is $34.50 a share.

Stronger for longer

Meanwhile, industry data is also fuelling the positive sentiment towards the Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD) share price.

Citigroup noted that the Meat and Livestock Australia’s (MLA) latest sheep and lamb industry projections suggest the strong lamb prices observed in January could persist through this calendar year.

“This outlook presents further upside risk to our lamb price expectations; with the ESTLI currently ~9% above our CY21 forecast of 781c/kg cwt,” said Citi.

“We continue to see upside risk to our livestock agency earnings more generally (~27% of group FY20 gross profit) in FY21e from current conditions in both the cattle and sheep market.”

The broker repeated its “buy” rating on the ELD share price with a 12-month price target of $13 a share.

Recovery not priced into this ASX stock

Finally, Goldman Sachs restated its “buy” call on the Emeco Holdings Limited (ASX: EHL) share price ahead of its results.

The broker is expecting management to confirm that trading conditions are improving – notably continued strong conditions in its growing hard rock exposure and signs of stabilisation in coal.

“EHL shares remain -55% below pre-covid levels despite improving conditions, with the stock trading at 2.8x our FY22E EV/EBITDA,” said Goldman.

“We remain positive on EHL’s risk-reward profile from here against a healthy commodities backdrop.”

Emeco will hand in its half year earnings report card next Tuesday. Goldman’s 12-month price target on the EHL share price is $1.20 a share.

More reading

• How the ASX 200 moved following the RBA’s first cash rate decision of 2021
• Why ASX silver shares like Silver Mines (ASX:SVL) are falling today
• Huon (ASX:HUO) share price sinks on profit downgrade and write-downs
• Why the Centuria (ASX:CIP) share price is gaining today
• These 2 ASX stocks jumped after a broker upgrade to “buy” today

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. and Elders Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Elders Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Most weeks, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) CommSec brokering platform tells us the ASX and international shares (which usually just means US shares) that are the most popular with its Aussie customers.

CommSec is one of the largest online brokers in the country. As such, this data can be an insightful indicator of investment trends in the Aussie market.

We have already looked at the most popular ASX shares today, so here are the top 10 US shares CommSec customers were buying last week. This week’s data covers 25-29 January. 

Most traded US shares on the ASX

1. GameStop Corp (NYSE: GME) – representing 8.5% of total trades with a 77%/23% buy-to-sell ratio.
2. AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE: AMC) – representing 5% of total trades with a 79%/21% buy-to-sell ratio.
3. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) – representing 4.8% of total trades with a 70%/30% buy-to-sell ratio.
4. BlackBerry Ltd (NYSE: BB) – representing 3% of total trades with a 78%/22% buy-to-sell ratio.
5. Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) – representing 2.8% of total trades with a 71%/29% buy-to-sell ratio.
6. Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO)
7. Nokia Oyj (NYSE: NOK)
8. Palantir Technologies Inc (NYSE: PLTR)
   
9. Naked Brand Group Ltd (NASDAQ: NAKD)
10. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)

What can we learn from these trades?

Well, my oh my, what an interesting set of results for last week. The first thing to note is that the long-time regents of this list in electric car and battery manufacturers Tesla and Nio have been usurped for one of the first times in months. They have been replaced with (time to get the elephant out of the room) GameStop and AMC.

GameStop, as you might already know by now, has been the talk of the investing world over the past week or so. Fuelled by a WallStreetBets-orchestrated short-squeeze, GameStop stock rocketed more than 300% last week, sparking a hurricane of investor interest. You can read more about the whole saga here, but let’s just say it was no surprise GameStop topped the list.

However, the GameStop situation has opened the floodgates to a raft of stocks that FOMO-riddled investors have also targeted.

AMC (a struggling cinema chain), BlackBerry (the struggling phone company) and Nokia (see previous company) all unexpectedly make the list this week as well, displacing old favourites like Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) and ARK Innovation ETF (NYSE: ARKK).

There is only one explanation for this – investors are drinking the WallStreetBets Kool-Aid and hoping for a repeat performance with these other ‘sunset’ companies. Despite this, investors evidently haven’t entirely lost their appetite for US blue-chip shares like Apple and Microsoft. The more things change, the more they stay the same!

More reading

• Why investors should look beyond the Reddit army to these ASX fundamentals
• Why ASX silver shares like Silver Mines (ASX:SVL) are falling today
• Can the Reddit army save the plunging Unibail (ASX:URW) share price today?
• ASX 200 up 0.9%: Credit Corp impresses, Afterpay jumps, bank shares rise
• How Monday’s stock market silver squeeze fared

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Palantir Technologies Inc and recommends the following options: long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon and short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon and Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) share price is trading at $3.96 at the time of writing, rising over 2% higher for the day after spending the past week losing ground.

Last week, Oil Search released its fourth quarter report for the period ended 31 December 2020.

Let’s take a look at how the Papua New Guinea-focused oil and gas explorer has been performing recently.

Record production and developments progressing

Oil Search reported a record annual PNG LNG production rate of 8.8 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) (gross).

The PNG LNG Project is a world-class liquefied natural gas development that commenced operations in 2014. Oil Search claims that the project has transformed the company into a regionally significant oil and gas producer with a long-term, low cost, high quality LNG revenue stream.

In last week’s update, Oil Search also announced the progression of parliamentary approvals for its PNG LNG project, with the PNG Parliament passing all remaining amendments to the Acts for Papua LNG fiscal stability. The PNG Government noted it was looking forward to imminent discussions with the project operator regarding project progress. 

The company also stated that its Alaska resources were upgraded by 33% following an independent certification. 

Oil Search December quarter financial highlights

Total fourth quarter revenue from LNG, gas, oil and condensate sales was $259.5 million, up 37% from the prior quarter.

As of 31 December 2020, Oil Search held liquidity of US$1.44 billion, comprising US$540.8 million in cash and US$895.6 million in undrawn credit facilities.

The company spent US$33.3 million on exploration and evaluation expenditure activities during the quarter. Expenditure on property, plant and equipment was US$4.3 million for the period.

2021 guidance for Oil Search

Oil Search advised that 2021 production is expected to be lower than 2020 because of scheduled service programmes for the PNG LNG plant. These services have been timed in with a major maintenance shutdown that occurs every four years to minimise production impact.

Investment expenditure is expected to be in line with 2020.

Over the past year, the Oil Search share price has crashed close to 45%, leaving the company with a market capitalisation of $8.2 billion on current prices.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Why are people watching the oil price right now?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday

Motley Fool contributor Gretchen Kennedy 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 Bruce Jackson.

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The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) made it’s first cash rate announcement for 2021 this afternoon.

And the RBA opted to — drum roll please — keep rates on hold at the current record low 0.1%.

Atop of maintaining the current cash rate and the parameters of its Term Funding Facility, RBA Governor, Philip Lowe, also announced the central bank will up its quantitative easing (QE) program.

The RBA will purchase another $100 billion of bonds issued by both the state, territory, and federal governments once the current bond purchases run their course in mid-April.

Lowe wrote that the RBA will continue buying $5 billion of government bonds per week. This is the same rate as under the current program.

COVID-19 vaccine tailwinds

Lowe noted that the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines had improved the outlook for the global economy over the past months.

In Australia, which has done particularly well managing the pandemic, that recovery has seen unemployment fall to 6.6%, below earlier projections. The RBA forecasts Australia’s unemployment rate will remain higher than it’s been over the past 20 years. Its base case scenario sees unemployment falling to around 6% by years end and to 5.5% by the end of 2022.

In other positive news, retail spending has also come back strongly. This is due to many households and businesses now repaying earlier deferred loans. The RBA’s central scenario now sees GDP growing by 3.5% in 2021 and at that same rate in 2022. GDP is forecast to reach its end of 2019 level by mid-2021.

However, the RBA governor cautioned that Australia’s economic recovery “remains dependent on the health situation and on significant fiscal and monetary support. Inflation remains low and below central bank targets.”

Wage growth

Inflation (CPI) came in at 0.9% over the year to the December quarter. Wage growth also remains poor. According to the Wage Price Index figures, wages are increasing at the slowest rate in history. The central bank predicts a gradual increase in both inflation and wages. However, it believes both will be below 2% “over the next couple of years”.

As far as increasing the interest or tightening its other policies, Lowe highlighted that this is still a long way off:

The Board remains committed to maintaining highly supportive monetary conditions until its goals are achieved. Given the current outlook for inflation and jobs, this is still some way off…

The Board will not increase the cash rate until actual inflation is sustainably within the 2 to 3 per cent target range. For this to occur, wages growth will have to be materially higher than it is currently. This will require significant gains in employment and a return to a tight labour market. The Board does not expect these conditions to be met until 2024 at the earliest.

Tomorrow, Lowe is scheduled to address the National Press Club in Canberra. Lowe is said to reveal further details on the RBA’s expectations for the Australian economy.

How ASX 200 shares moved following the RBA’s announcement

There was no significant rise in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) following the release of the RBA’s decision at 2:00pm AEST.

Investors look to have expected the news. A rate rise was highly unlikely, and a rate cut impossible without going negative.

The ASX 200 is up 0.1% since the RBA announced its decision. That puts the index up 1.4% for the day in late afternoon trading.

More reading

• Why ASX silver shares like Silver Mines (ASX:SVL) are falling today
• Huon (ASX:HUO) share price sinks on profit downgrade and write-downs
• Why the Centuria (ASX:CIP) share price is gaining today
• These 2 ASX stocks jumped after a broker upgrade to “buy” today
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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 Bruce Jackson.

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The OC Micro-Cap Fund was a strong performer during the final quarter of 2020.

According to its most recent quarterly update, the fund manager delivered a 17.5% return for investors during the three months ended 31 December.

This stretched its 12-month return to an impressive 43.1%, which is an outperformance of 16% versus the benchmark S&P/ASX Emerging Companies Accumulation Index.

What has been driving the OC Micro-Cap Fund’s strong returns?

There were three key contributors to the fund’s strong performance during the final quarter of 2020.

The first was the Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX: GXY) share price, which recorded a 98.5% gain over the period.

OC notes that the lithium miner was a big winner after the “market came to grips with President-elect Biden’s ambitious ‘2050 net zero emissions’ target.”

It commented: “As a key component in batteries that power electric vehicles, lithium will play a critical role in the achievement of this objective. GXY raised additional capital during the quarter to advance its flagship Sal de Vida project and is now well capitalised to achieve its first production later in 2022.”

It believes Galaxy will continue to benefit as the global economy looks toward sustainable avenues for growth.

What else underpinned OC’s strong performance?

Another big winner for OC was the Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: TLX) share price. The Melbourne-based biopharmaceutical company’s shares rocketed a massive 127.7% during the quarter following a series of positive updates.

One of those was a strategic partnership with China Grand Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Holdings (CGP) for the greater China market worth upwards of US$225 million in regulatory and commercial milestones payments.

OC commented: “We see CGP’s investment as a vote of confidence in TLX’s pipeline by a company with experience in nuclear medicine (CGP acquired ASX listed oncology and nuclear medicine business Sirtex Medical in 2018).”

Although OC has trimmed its holding slightly, it remains positive on the company’s long term prospects.

It explained: “TLX has an impressive late-stage portfolio with numerous catalysts in 2021 including regulatory approval and commercialisation of TLX591-CDx (prostate cancer imaging) which has revenue potential in the hundreds of millions of dollars and a tier-one US-based partner, Cardinal Health, ready to sell its product in the US. We have trimmed our holding into recent share price strength but remain excited about the outlook for this well managed company.”

Evolve charges higher

Finally, the Evolve Education Group Ltd (ASX: EVO) share price was another positive contributor to OC’s performance during the quarter.

The childcare company’s shares rose 70.2% during the period thanks largely to a solid operating update in October. That update demonstrated how the largely NZ-based company was emerging in excellent condition following its COVID-19 lockdowns.

OC remains positive on its prospects, noting that it believes “EVO is well positioned for the ongoing expansion of its Australian beachhead in 2021 and we remain holders of the stock.”

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Galaxy Resources Limited and TELIXPHARM DEF SET. 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 Bruce Jackson.

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The Carbonxt Group Ltd (ASX: CG1) share price is right back where it started today. After falling in morning trade then touching an intraday high of 25 cents mid afternoon, the Carbonxt share price has now returned to its opening price of 23 cents.

This comes after the Australia-based company announced a commercial agreement with United States manufacturer, Kentucky Coal Processing.

Carbonxt develops and markets activated carbon (AC) products. These pellets capture mercury and sulphur in a gas or liquid phase from coal fired power station emissions. Used within industrial settings, Carbonxt’s products aim to reduce the harmful air pollutants in the environment.

What’s the deal?

According to today’s release, Carbonxt will expand its manufacturing capacity to produce AC pellets on an industrial scale through the deal with Kentucky Coal Processing.

The company advised that an investment group will construct a specialty AC plant to expand its current capability. It’s expected that the facility will be fully operational sometime before the second quarter of FY22.

Carbonxt said the partnership with Kentucky will enable it to purchase the AC pellets at a cost rate basis. Any sales margins that are made will be split between both companies. Carbonxt noted this structure eliminates the need for third-party materials, thereby lowering its overall production costs.

In addition, the company said that while the expansion plans are underway, it will focus efforts on its existing operations at the Arden Hills facility.

Carbonxt revealed that AC pellets sell at around US$2,500 to US$3,500 per tonne, depending on the industrial application and specification. The new plant will have a target of 11,000 tonnes per year, giving potential revenue of US$38.5 million.

The initial term of the agreement is valid for 3 years with options to extended further from both parties. Carbonxt will be responsible for sales and maintaining customer relationships.

Words from the managing director

Carbonxt managing director Warren Murphy welcomed the agreement, saying:

We are delighted to be able to double our capacity and eliminate financial bottlenecks, as well as reducing inventory levels and freeing up further cash that have held back the growth of our industrial pellet business.

This partnership will enable Carbonxt to focus on technology and marketing. The alliance also frees up capacity at the Arden Hills pellet facility and allows that facility to focus on fewer products with higher efficiencies with our current tolling relationship. We look forward to a long and successful relationship.

About the Carbonxt share price

After dropping steeply from its 50 cent peaks in January to hit a 52-week low of 12 cents in March, the Carbonxt share price has been on a mini roller-coaster ride.

At the current share price, Carbonxt has a market capitalisation of around $32 million.

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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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 Bruce Jackson.

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