BRIEFS

Commonwealth Securities economists say petrol prices are likely to stabilise after falling by about 3¢ a litre over the past week to a national average of 141.9¢ a litre, so motorists can expect steadier retail petrol prices in the near term.

Hills Holdings has sold its Perth healthcare equipment business to K Care for an undisclosed sum. K Care is owned by a management team and the private equity firm Anacacia Capital.

The sale comes as Hills undertakes a broader restructure under new managing director Ted Pretty. The company is expected to make hundreds of workers redundant as part of that restructuring process.

Mark Calderwood has stepped down as managing director of gold producer Perseus Mining and will be replaced by CFO Jeff Quartermaine. Calderwood will remain with the company in a part-time technical role and continues to own almost 1% of the company, a detail investors may want to note when tracking governance and ownership.

Andrew Tinney, chief operating officer at Barclays Wealth, resigned after investigators alleged he shredded a critical analysis of a maverick culture and bullying at the business. Barclays said he left without a payout; his pay and perks package was estimated to have been worth about £4 million a year. The Wealth business manages roughly £180 billion.

Huawei's Australian operation recorded a 50% revenue surge last year despite Canberra's unofficial ban on its participation in the national broadband network. Huawei's Chinese parent company also reported that global revenue rose by more than 8% and overall revenue grew by about a third.

K Care is the buyer of Hills Holdings' Perth healthcare equipment business and is owned by a management team together with Anacacia Capital, a private equity firm. The purchase price for the business was not disclosed in the report.

Everyday investors may want to monitor follow-up announcements: petrol price trends from market economists, Hills Holdings' restructuring updates and any material impact on earnings, leadership and strategic changes at Perseus Mining, reputational or regulatory developments at Barclays Wealth, and Huawei's continuing revenue performance despite restrictions. These items can affect company outlooks and market sentiment.