According to The Australian Financial Review, a bullish crop production forecast for NSW, Queensland and Victoria – released less than a week into winter – has been enough to send shares in the agribusiness soaring to two-year highs. GrainCorp last traded at $8.74
The Department of Agriculture says NSW is set up to produce a bumper 15 million tonne winter grain crop – some 28 per cent higher than the state’s decade average. The more wheat, barley and canola that passes through GrainCorp’s vast storage and handling network and seven port terminals, the more money it makes. https://www.afr.com/companies/agriculture/graincorp-looks-beyond-life-as-a-rainy-day-stock-20240614-p5jlqh
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According to The Australian Financial Review, more than 3000 property investors bailed out of Melbourne in May, a 34 per cent jump from a year ago, as the state government’s tax changes and lacklustre investment returns accelerated the exodus, data from Suburbtrends show.
Nearly 4000 ex-rental properties across Victoria were listed for sale, further depleting the state of the already scarce rental supply, said Kent Lardner, founder of Suburbtrends. Investors also exited in larger numbers across NSW, offloading 3593 rental properties in May, up by 20 per cent over a year ago. In Sydney, a total of 2372 investor-owned properties were listed for sale, a 17 per cent jump from a year ago. https://www.afr.com/property/residential/investor-exodus-gathers-pace-in-melbourne-and-sydney-20240618-p5jmnj
According to the Asahi Shimbun, major beer companies are opening a series of interactive facilities in central Tokyo where visitors can tour brewing facilities and enjoy the world of the brands. With sales of beer-based beverages on the decline due to young people's shift away from alcohol and other factors, the companies hope to provide a point of contact to convey the appeal of their beverages to consumers.
In April, Sapporo Beer opened YEBISU BREWERY TOKYO, a brand experience facility for its flagship Yebisu beer, in Ebisu, Tokyo. Visitors can tour the brewing facilities for free and drink beer made there for a fee. Asahi Breweries operates a facility in Ginza, Tokyo, where visitors can enjoy the world of its mainstay Super Dry for a limited period from late April to the end of September. There is a ride-type attraction where visitors can experience the beer production process, and the admission fee is 700 yen (AUD 7), which includes a glass of beer. For an extra fee, visitors can also experience pouring their own draft beer. At the end of May, Kirin Brewery reopened Spring Valley Brewery Tokyo, a restaurant with brewing facilities, in Daikanyama, Tokyo. Visitors can enjoy about 15 types of craft beer and food to go with them, along with art and music. https://digital.asahi.com/articles/ASS6P05V2S6PUTFK00VM.html
According to The Jiji News, four Japanese companies, including trading house Mitsubishi Corp., said Monday that they will jointly consider providing green hydrogen in Chitose in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido.
The companies--Mitsubishi, Takasago Thermal Engineering Co., Hokkaido Electric Power Co. and Air Water Hokkaido Inc.--plan to begin providing 3,000 tons of green hydrogen, or hydrogen produced with renewable energy, in 2030. https://sp.m.jiji.com/english/show/33659#goog_rewarded
According to The Australian Financial Review, Japan’s giant energy trading houses would consider helping to pay for a nuclear rollout in Australia in return for decades-long investment returns, industry insiders say.
The Coalition’s announcement that it would build seven nuclear power plants sparked a flurry of conversations in Tokyo this week around how Japan’s largest power players could become involved. Investment bankers, trade liaisons and energy company representatives are understood to be quietly costing out how development of a nuclear supply chain in Australia might work, should Peter Dutton’s plan eventuate. https://www.afr.com/world/asia/japanese-eye-investment-in-australian-nuclear-rollout-20240620-p5jnb7
According to The Australian Financial Review, Origin Energy chief executive Frank Calabria says the country’s largest electricity utility will minimise the company’s ownership of wind and solar generation assets as part of a strategy to boost investor returns.
The strategy, unveiled in a briefing for Origin investors, is a marked departure from plans outlined by Brookfield last year. The Canadian investment giant, which made a $20 billion takeover bid with EIG Global Energy Partners, said it would invest up to $30 billion to double the company’s renewable generation portfolio. Briefing investors, Mr Calabria said the transition away from fossil fuels, and increased price volatility, presented a major opportunity for the company. The pitch to investors positions Origin as a company that can manage that volatility – its “core DNA”, Mr Calabria said – with a mix of renewable energy purchase contracts, rooftop solar, and firming assets like batteries and gas peaking plants. https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/origin-energy-goes-lean-on-wind-and-solar-ownership-boosts-returns-20240612-p5jl2l
According to The Australian Financial Review, Perth’s house vendors jacked up their asking prices to more than $1 million on average last week, marking a fresh high for the city and the first time sale price expectations exceeded the million-dollar milestone, data from SQM Research shows.
Sale price hopes also surged to record highs in Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Canberra as sellers became more bullish as home values rose nationwide. Brisbane house sellers are now expecting to get $1.1 million on average. Melbourne vendors are asking $1.26 million, Adelaide $918,612 and Canberra $1.23 million. https://www.afr.com/property/residential/vendors-jack-up-asking-prices-as-home-values-hit-new-peaks-20240612-p5jl2d
According to The Asahi Shimbun, good news for call center operators who are worn down by hostile customers with unreasonable demands—artificial intelligence technology can alter angry voices into calm ones.
This should alleviate the tremendous stress of customer interaction on call operators—if AI has not completely replaced their jobs by then. SoftBank Corp. announced that it has developed voice-altering technology to protect employees from customer harassment. The goal is to reduce the psychological burden on call center operators by changing the voices of complaining customers to calmer tones. The company launched a study on “emotion canceling” three years ago, which uses AI voice-processing technology to change the voice of a person over a phone call. https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15300914
According to The Jiji News, logistics companies in Japan are racking their brains to come up with ways to reduce parcel redeliveries as they face serious shortages of truck drivers due to new overtime regulations that took effect in April.
They are facing an urgent need to beef up their transport capacity to tackle the so-called 2024 problem, at a time when demand for parcel deliveries continues to increase in line with the spread of online shopping. https://sp.m.jiji.com/english/show/33583#goog_rewarded
According to The Australian Financial Review, Japanese conglomerate Itochu has missed a self-imposed deadline to exit its Australian thermal coal investments.
Itochu announced in January 2021 that exiting thermal coal mining would be a strategic priority for the three-year period to March, and that it would fully divest its four thermal coal assets by that deadline. Itochu has sold three of those four thermal coal assets, but continues to own 15 per cent of Whitehaven Coal’s Maules Creek mine, after observing a “change in decarbonisation trends” since global energy markets were roiled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/japan-s-itochu-delays-plans-to-exit-australian-thermal-coal-20240610-p5jknm |
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