Insights

Share sale to set up camp

Stronger than expected iron ore production, thanks in part to the earlier start-up of a new mine, helped lift BHP Billiton's quarterly output to a new peak, paving the way for an upgrade to the full-year forecast.

Australia's biggest salary packaging company McMillan Shakespeare says it won't know until 2014 the effect of the former government's attempt to tighten the rules on tax benefits for salary-sacrificed cars.

Vodafone's recent rough ride and plunging user numbers are set to continue, as accounting changes will take their toll.

The stage-managed and neatly packaged explanation of Paul Zahra's impending departure from the top job at David Jones doesn't pass the smell test.

The publicity machine around the Nine Entertainment float is to crank up the day before the Melbourne Cup this year, with the media group's gaggle of investment banks scheduled to have a prospectus ready to lodge with the corporate regulator on Monday, November 4.

Brambles chairman Graham Kraehe insists its document-storage division Recall is "anything but a sinking ship", emphasising it will be a "growth business" once it is spun off later this year.

The search for a new chief executive to lead upmarket department store David Jones would likely disrupt the retailer's progress to transform into a successful omni-channel business and comes just as the business enters a key trading period responsible for nearly half its annual profit, analysts say.

Bega Cheese shareholders have signalled they will not stand in the way of the company's takeover of Warrnambool Cheese and Butter, as its chairman signalled his intention to pursue the bid amid rival proposals.

New Zealand's Telecom Corp has confirmed it is considering selling off its AAPT unit in Australia as it transforms into a service-based telecommunications operator.

The cost of protecting Australian underwriters against natural catastrophes is likely to rise, one of the world's biggest insurance brokers says, despite billions in new capital flowing into reinsurance markets.

Mirvac directors believe the 2013 calendar year will represent a trough in the office market cycle, while demand for residential developments will remain high as low interest rates entice first home buyers.

Dexus Property Group has forecast a turnaround in the national office lease market in the coming 18 months because of a return of confidence among business and a flight of new tenants from the suburbs into the city.

The sharemarket touched a 5-year high as the world's biggest miner, BHP Billiton, drove market gains.

ANZ shares hit a record high on Tuesday, creeping ever closer to the sharemarket's exclusive $100 billion club as the financial sector continues its stellar run this year.

Mid-tier property player Pace Development Group is carving a niche in Melbourne's inner south, adding another Punt Road site to its projects in St Kilda and Windsor.