Fighting in the Middle East has widened with a dozen countries drawn into the conflict that began when the US and Israel attacked Iran, killing that country’s supreme leader. Bombs continued to rain down in Iran and parts of Israel, while the US reported its first casualties. Oil prices surged yesterday, meaning high prices at the bowser in coming weeks. Video footage shows massive explosions across Iran's capital Tehran, and US Central Command said it had struck more than 1,000 targets in the country over 48 hours, with more than 200 people killed. The Australian government has said it supports the actions of the US, adding it stands with the Iranian people. But Defence Minister Richard Marles said Australia did not provide any practical support.

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News in brief

Flights in and out of the Middle East remain affected, with Etihad, Qatar and Emirates all suspending services. Virgin Australia has cancelled international flights while Qantas said there has been no impact to its flights, including between Singapore and London. Eleven per cent of all international travel out of Australia last year passed through the Middle East.

The February reporting season is over and it was a very strong half year. That’s why the ASX200 set three new closing highs last week. Commonwealth Bank, BHP, Woolworths and gold miners led the way, while healthcare and technology stocks were the laggards.

Federal parliament was back yesterday, with Angus Taylor leading the Liberals for the first time. But it was Pauline Hanson that grabbed the headlines after Labor Senator Penny Wong censured Hanson, with the support of the Greens and Independents in the Senate, for her comments suggesting there were no good Muslims.

Ampol may have to sell up to 54 petrol station sites after the competition regulator said it had serious concerns about its proposed $1.1 billion takeover of rival operator EG Australia.

Survivor, one of the most successful reality TV shows of all time, has just kicked off its 50th season, joining the short list of US programmes like Saturday Night Live and 60 Minutes that have managed to stay on the air and keep their audiences.

Fear-o-meter

The December half reporting season, just concluded, was a very good one. Earnings beats outnumbered misses by 2:1, based on UBS numbers, while guidance upgrades exceeded downgrades by 3:1.

Twelve ASX100 companies moved by more than ten per cent on results days, and AI investments by companies like Commonwealth Bank, Telstra and Woolworths look to be paying dividends.

The banks are in fine fettle. Profit margins are mostly being maintained, costs discipline is evident, and bad loans are not rising.

The miners did well, and energy companies, not so well, depending on what industry they operate in. The highlight of BHP’s bumper profit was that its copper division, which includes gold and silver, contributed more earnings than its iron ore division.

The retailers were mixed. Bunnings led Wesfarmers' solid result. JB Hi-Fi outperformed, though Harvey Norman’s outlook statement was weak.

Telstra had a good result as well on the back on success in the mobile markets. The disappointments? Tech stocks, and not always because of earnings, and healthcare companies.

Fear & Greed Q+A today

On today's release of the latest gender pay gap figures. Australian workplaces are making progress in narrowing the gap, but there's still a long way to go:

 

“It is about our stereotypes and norms that we’ve had over time. And in fact, Australia is one of the gender segregated industrial structures in the OECD. We have about half of workers work in an industry that’s either dominated by men or women. And historically, those male dominated industries like construction and mining have been higher paying and the industries dominated by women such as healthcare and social assistance have been lower paying.

 

So we are pushing against culture and stereotypes, but it’s possible to address them. Certainly what we work towards is that we have gender pay gaps at individual employers and overall as a nation close to zero. It’s a lot of years to get there, but we are accelerating change and you’ve got to have a crack, because what it represents — and the gender pay gap’s only one number, it’s the average of what men and women are paid and looking at the difference — but it represents fairness and equality in the workplace.”

Greed-o-meter

As we talked about yesterday, the housing market has split into two speeds across the country. But the figures in the monthly Home Value Index from Cotality are really quite remarkable - no growth at all in Sydney and Melbourne, and more than two per cent in one month alone in Perth.

Source: Cotality

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