Webjet taken to court by ACCC, ASX hits new record close, Star suffers 'first strike' at AGM — as it happened

If you're interested in seeing which stocks would have made / lost you the most money today, I've got the chart for you!

Healthcare and financials were today's best performing sectors, led by huge gains from shares of Pro Medicus (+8.7%) and Insurance Australia Group (+3.6%), which hit record levels after they both announced new deals.

Meanwhile, that's all from us for today! Come back tomorrow and we'll see whether the Australian share market will be able to hold on to its record highs.

Until then, have a great evening!

It turned out to be an upbeat day for the Australian share market, which hit a record closing high — for the second time this week.

The ASX 200 gained 0.5%, finishing at 8,444 points.

Today's best performer was healthcare stock Pro Medicus, which jumped 8.7% to a near-record high of $248.18.

That was after its US subsidiary, Visage Imaging, signed a 10-year deal with Trinity Health, valued at $330 million.

Trinity Health is one of America's largest hospital operators, and the agreement will see Pro Medicus' cloud-based imaging technology used across hundreds of hospitals.

Insurance Australia Group was another stock which climbed to record levels.

IAG's share price jumped 3.6% to $8.47, on news that it will purchase the insurance arm of RACQ for $1 billion.

On the flip side, scandal-plagued Star Entertainment was the worst performing stock, after its shares plunged 7.1% to 19.5 cents.

The casino operator held its annual general meeting today, and confirmed it was still experiencing negative cashflow (ie. it's bleeding cash).

Star also reported an unaudited EBITDTA loss of $27 million for the first four months of the current financial year.  (EBITA stands for earnings before interest, tax and depreciation).

On top of that, Star was hit with a massive 41% protest vote against its remuneration report.

So it has suffered a 'first strike' to the proposal about how much its executives should be paid.  (The threshold for that protest vote was 25%).

If it suffers a 'second strike' next year, it could lead to a board spill.

The Australian dollar, meanwhile, slipped 0.1% to 64.87 US cents.

Lawyers representing Tiwi Islanders trying to stop a gas pipeline running through their traditional sea country have been ordered to pay more than $9 million to gas giant Santos for its legal costs.

It's unusual for lawyers to be required to pay costs when their clients lose a case.

But in this instance, the judge ruled the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) had engaged in "a form of subtle coaching", and effectively became a party to the case.

Santos pursued the EDO for all of its costs and was successful, with the parties agreeing to a sum of just over $9 million.

For more on this development, here's the story by Michael Slezak:

Earlier this week, US President-elect Donald Trump said he would impose 25% tariffs on goods imported from Canada and Mexico.

Mr Trump also threatened China with a further 10% tariff (on top of the previous tariffs that were introduced during his first presidency).

He accused Canada and Mexico of not doing enough to clamp down on drugs and migrants illegally crossing the US border, and China of failing to tackle fentanyl smuggling.

Mexico has hit back at the incoming President's announcement, with a harsh warning. According to Reuters news agency:

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Wednesday Mexico would retaliate if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump followed through with his proposed 25% across-the-board tariff, a move her government warned could kill 400,000 US jobs and drive up prices for US consumers.

"If there are US tariffs, Mexico would also raise tariffs," Sheinbaum said during a press conference, in her clearest statement yet that the country was preparing possible retaliatory trade measures against its top trade partner.

Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard, speaking alongside Sheinbaum, called for more regional cooperation and integration instead of a war of retaliatory import taxes.

"It's a shot in the foot," Ebrard said of Trump's proposed tariffs, which appear to violate the USMCA trade deal between Mexico, Canada and the US.

Ebrard warned the tariffs would lead to massive US job losses, lower growth and hit U.S. companies producing in Mexico by effectively doubling the taxes they paid.

"The impact on companies is huge," he said.

The proposed tariffs would hit the automotive sector's top cross-border exporters especially hard, Ebrard added, namely Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.

Ebrard noted that 88% of pickup trucks sold in the US are made in Mexico and would see a price increase. These vehicles are popular in rural areas that overwhelmingly voted for Trump.

“Our estimate is that the average price of these vehicles will increase by $US 3,000,” Ebrard said.

Sheinbaum and Trump spoke by phone later on Wednesday, with the two discussing topics at the top of Trump's agenda.

Trump had said the tariffs would remain in effect until the flow of drugs - particularly fentanyl - and migrants into the US was controlled.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said Sheinbaum "agreed to stop migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border."

Trump described the conversation as "very productive."

Sheinbaum later responded on X that she had laid out Mexico's migration strategy, which "attended to" migrants before they arrived at the US-Mexico border, in her call with Trump.

"Mexico's stance is not to close borders, but to build bridges between governments and their peoples," she added.

Many analysts regard Trump's tariff threats as more of a negotiating tactic than trade policy.

"The lack of a clear link between this threat and questions related to trade suggests the new president plans to use tariffs as a negotiating strategy to achieve goals largely unrelated to trade," said David Kohl, chief economist at Julius Baer.

Interest rates have just been cut ... in South Korea.

It's the latest in a long line of countries to slash rates this year (including the US, UK, Euro zone, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland and Sweden).

Australia, which is still grappling with high inflation, is not expected to start its rate-cutting cycle until (at least) May 2025, according to money markets' pricing.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) cut its benchmark by a quarter percentage point to 3%, a move which surprised most economists.

Only four out of 38 economists predicted there would be a rate cut today, according to a Reuters poll.

It's the second meeting in a row that the BOK has reduced borrowing costs.

This is also the first back-to-back rate cut since 2009 as Korean policymakers sought are trying to breathe life into an economy which has recently brought inflation under control.

South Korea's economy is not faring too well at the moment. Its GDP rose 0.1% in the September quarter (following a contraction in the June quarter).

In other words, it barely dodged a technical recession (which requires the economy to shrink for two quarters in a row).

The long running saga between the Environmental Defenders Office and gas giant Santos appears to have finally wound up.

The EDO represented Indigenous people from the Tiwi Islands that took Santos to court, alleging the pipeline of its Barossa gas project near the islands off Darwin would damage underwater cultural heritage.

The EDO spectacularly lost that case, with a judgement that was scathing of the archeological evidence that was used to lodge the case in the first place.

Hearings for costs have been dragging out since.

An order just lodged says the EDO will pay Santos $9m legal bill. Santos has just posted this to the ASX as well:

The amount represents 100 per cent of the legal costs incurred by Santos in defending the Proceedings and recovering its legal costs. Costs are on an indemnity basis and without any discount. The order comes after the EDO volunteered to pay Santos’ costs for the Proceedings.

In the Proceedings, the Federal Court found in favour of Santos and made an order for the Applicants to pay Santos’ costs. Santos did not seek to pursue the Aboriginal and Tiwi Islander Applicants, but sought information relating to the funding of the Proceedings from the EDO and other third parties opposed to the Barossa Gas Project, some of whom were involved in the “Stop Barossa Gas” campaign.

The ABC will bring you more today about this case and the wider ramifications.

That's the question analysts are pondering ahead of next Wednesday when third quarter GDP figures are released.

Commonwealth Bank is predicting there will be  a 0.4% quarterly rise in real GDP, which would see the annual rate increase slightly from 1% to 1.1% - which it notes is well below the rate of population growth.

CBA's head of Australian Economics Gareth Aird:

"Restrictive monetary policy has clearly worked to slow private demand growth in the economy.  And despite a boost in household income via the Stage 3 tax cuts, we expect a relatively muted spending response by the consumer in the September quarter based on already released data."

• ASX 200: +0.7% to 8,467 points
• Australian dollar: flat at 64.9 US cents
• Wall Street: Dow Jones (-0.3%), S&P 500 (-0.3%), Nasdaq (-0.6%) 
• Europe: FTSE (+0.2%), DAX (-0.2%), Stoxx 600 (-0.2%)
• Asia: Nikkei (+0.4%), Hang Seng (-1%), Shanghai (+0.2%) 
• Spot gold: -0.3% at $US2,628/ounce
• Oil (Brent crude): flat at $US72.84/barrel
• Iron ore: flat at $US103.80/tonne
• Bitcoin: -0.8% to $US95,657

Prices current around 2:15pm AEDT

Live updates on the major ASX indices:

Podcaster Joe Rogan and entrepreneur Elon Musk have responded to comments made by the ABC's chair Kim Williams, who suggested Rogan "preyed on people's vulnerabilities" which he found to be "deeply repulsive".

With the caption "LOL WUT", Rogan reposted a clip on social media platform X of the ABC chair criticising him during an appearance at the National Press Club yesterday.

Hours later Mr Musk weighed in, comparing the ABC to Russian state media in a separate post on X.

Read more and see Mr Williams's original comments:

And to end it, 41% of the votes are against the generous retirement benefits gifted to incoming CEO Steve McCann. (But it's a 50% + 1 deal, unlike the 'rem report').

That's the end of the Star Entertainment Group AGM. Someone tries to squeeze in a final question from the floor, but the chair is wrapping things up.

Wondering about Crown? They de-listed, removed themselves from the stockmarket and the company is now privately-held.

So no scrutiny, no AGM and just the hope that the regulators - who Crown has previously found to have lied to and misled - can keep on top of them. 

The remuneration report is one of the few chances shareholders have to express their disappointment with the leadership.

If there's a 'strike' - a 'No' vote of 25% or more - that's noted. If it happens at the next year's annual general meeting, there can be a push for the entire board to be spilled.

At Star the vote is 54% for and 44.5% against. That's a first strike against the remuneration report.

"The company takes the views extremely seriously. We will consider this first strike and engage with shareholders," chair Anne Ward says immediately after.

(The proxy votes from big institutions would have been known earlier, so this isn't a shock moment for the chair. To my knowledge there has - rarely - been a second strike, but I don't believe this has forced a spill in Australia.)

Big pay packet

Incoming CEO Steve McCann, whose massive pay package has been the subject on consternation, has spoken briefly about what he views 'success' to be for Star.

Mr McCann is on annual salary of $2.5m, with a sign-on bonus of $2.5m. The provisions continue even if the Star goes broke.

"The experience of shareholders in this company has been horrific in recent times... it will take time and we do need support from our shareholders and lenders to give us the runway," he says.

"Our biggest assets are physical (properties) and licences, we need to restore them."

The item relating to Steve McCann's pay package is voted up.

70.5% of votes are for, 29% are against.

Commonwealth Bank has outlined how it's using artificial intelligence for customer service and security, citing a reduction in scam losses which it says was "aided by the implementation and use of safety and security features which use AI, including NameCheck, CallerCheck and CustomerCheck".

CEO Matt Comyn:

“With more than one in three Australians and almost one in four businesses considering us their main financial institution, we have a huge customer base to serve. Their preferences and expectations continue to shift, and we aim to meet them by delivering distinct, differentiated and compelling propositions.

“Technology, and AI in particular, are critical in meeting this ambition. AI allows us to deliver better experiences to more customers at a faster rate, and we’re already seeing significant benefits in a variety of use cases.”

Shareholder activist Stephen Mayne has put forward some questions...  suggesting that Brisbane's mega-casino Queen's Wharf has three shareholders who have collectively lost $1.5 billion so far (Star is one of those parties).

The chair refutes that there's been a loss of that scale.

Incoming CEO Steve McCann says Star is the operator on behalf of the joint venture, with two Star reps on the board - the other two partners get two each as well, equal.

"There are in terms of lenders, a large number to the QW facility and they are supported by parent company guarantees."

Cash limit

As the casino does its best to reduce the money-laundering that was prevalent in its facilities, it is reducing the amount people can spend - in cash - per day.

Currently it's $5000 per day per person in NSW, says Mr McCann, and that will reduce to $1000 per person per day by next year. There are no such restrictions in the Queensland operations,

• ASX 200: +0.57% to 8,454 points
• Australian dollar: +0.14 at 65.05 US cents
• S&P 500: -0.3% to 6,000 points
• Nasdaq: -0.5% to 19,072 points
• Spot gold: Flat at $US2,635.88/ounce
• Brent crude: -0.07 to $US72.78/barrel
• Iron ore: +1.4% to $US104.00/tonne
• Bitcoin: -0.05% to $US96,351

Prices current around 12:45pm AEDT.

Live updates on the major ASX indices:

Platinum member and shareholder Roman flew from Sydney to Brisbane for the grand opening of the QLD casino. Disaster.

"For $3.8 billion I would expect great opening day, what I saw was utter disaster!"

Roman waited with his wife for four completely full lifts in the hotel before finally getting one. It didn't open at the level he wanted - Level 6 - where the grand opening was happening.

"We continued to travel between ground floor and SkyDeck for 15-minutes!"

When they finally get out, on the ground floor, there were thousands of people waiting.

(Roman's question has been going for about five minutes, so I guess we can't accuse the Star Entertainment Group of shutting down questions.)

"I saw a gold member go in! Madam Chair, where was the management?"

Anne Ward apologises for the experience he and his wife had on the opening night.

An actual bit of news out of it - the hotel fit-out will be finished by the end of 2026.

The ASX 200 and All Ordinaries are almost half a per cent higher in the middle of the day, with all sectors in positive territory except consumer and real estate.

The ASX 200 is +0.43% to 8442 points at 12:22pm AEDT

These are the top and bottom movers:

More on today's Webjet action by the ACCC. My colleague's Emilia Terzon and Rachel Clayton have filed this report with details of the allegations by the consumer watchdog.

Those include that Webjet failed to prominently disclose additional fees which meant that consumers were misled about the true cost of their travel arrangements.

The fine print and the requirement to scroll to the bottom of screens to find fee information were deemed insufficient and not conspicuous enough to inform customers adequately.

The case is being heard before the Federal Court later today.

Shares in IAG have jumped 3.8% to $8.49 at 12:15pm AEDT

Star chair Anne Ward again talks about challenges.

There are a lot in the "premier player segment," she says.

But most of that foreign players - who raised money-laundering concerns - aren't returning.

"We are not planning for junket or rebate play to come back anytime soon," she says. (Rebate play is about either paying back an amount of losses or agreeing to accept different gambling taxes.)

Rebuilding trust?

"Rebuilding trust will require a turn-around in the company performance and that will take time. We've agreed to improved communication to the market (they've added quarterly cash flow reports)."

Offers?

"A range of discussion with a broad range of parties... we remain open to any offers that would increase shareholder value"

But she thinks the company can continue as a "going concern".

Star chair Anne Ward has opened for questions, and they've asked what I put forward on your behalf about the casino group's books.

Essentially the questions are:

• Are you confident you have an accurate picture? 
• How much pushback did you get from senior executives in your findings or in seeking information?
• Were there any items your sought and did not receive

Scott Jarratt, EY's lead partner for the audit of Star says he had "unfettered access" and "have received complete access to senior executives".

In prepared, brief, remarks, he says he got what he needed:

"I am personally liable and would not provide this (audit) opinion unless I had received satisfactory answers... I would attest to this in opinion in court".