The ASX has had a difficult week. Small rallies have limited the damage, but overall, the ASX200 lost 1.43% over the last five days.
All eleven sectors will finish in the red this week, with Real Estate (-4.57%) and Health Care (-4.23%) taking the largest hits.
Every index bar the FTSE100 (+0.28%) are also in the negative. Losses were surprisingly even across the board, with each index shedding between 2.28% and 2.62%.
Commodities were a mixed bag.
Nickel gained strongly, up 9.35%, but tin (-3.64%) and gold (-3.06%) fell, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude oil shedding 1.15% and copper losing 1.42% this week.
Platinum (+3.68%), silver (+2.33%), zinc (+2.45%), lead (+2.54%), and aluminium (1.70%) had notable gains, while palladium languished with only a 0.30% uptick.
Card skimming costs Australians more than $1 billion in scams
A nationally representative survey of 1,058 respondents by Finder.com has revealed that card skimming scams are rife, affecting 1 in 7 Australians for a total of 3.4 million people nationwide in the past 12 months.
The victims lost an average of $299, equivalent to a staggering $1 billion.
“It’s a widespread problem, and shows how effective scammers have become at deceiving innocent Australians,” Finder credit card expert Amy Bradney-George said.
The younger portions of the population are the main target for this scam, with 27% of millennials experiencing fraudulent abuse of their cards in the past 12 months, followed by 22% of Gen Z.
Finders’ research indicates fake calls, texts and emails about prizes, purchases and deliveries are the most common vehicles for this scam.
“Scammers are getting very sophisticated at impersonating big, trustworthy brand names, and some even pretend to be a family member or friend in need,” Bradney-George said.
Surprisingly, only two thirds of Australian who have been scammed reported it.
Research from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) demonstrated that 96% of respondents had been exposed to scammers of all types in the last 5 years, and 20% had fallen victim. Of those people, 56% were unable to recover any of their lost money.
“The public and private sectors have introduced a number of new counter fraud initiatives over the last couple of years, but there are still too many gaps in the system that scammers are able to exploit,” ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard said.
“The increasing number of reports by people experiencing vulnerability is a very worrying trend. Everyone from government, to banks, and digital platforms needs to do more to address this.
“The ACCC is particularly wanting banks to match payee information in pay anyone transactions. This has been shown to have a real impact in countries that have done so.”
Finder credit card expert Amy Bradney-George recommends regularly checking your transaction history.
“Contact your bank straight away if you find transactions you didn’t make or don’t recognise so they can help you figure it out,” Bradney-George said.
“Never click on a link or hand over personal information without confirming you are dealing with a legitimate business.
“The same goes for messages from unfamiliar numbers if the sender is claiming to be someone you know.”
Bridging loans company backs government downsizing scheme
Bridging loan property lender firm Bridgit CEO Aaron Bassin has backed the Federal Labor Government’s new bill – which seeks to incentivise pensioners to downsize their homes – arguing that downsizing will combat rising cost of living, particularly among the elderly.
Downsizing will also free up housing stock for young families and first home buyers to enter the market, according to Bassin.
“In the current market, we are seeing the cost of living continue to rise. Particularly amongst downsizers, this is leaving Aussie homeowners property rich, but cash poor,” Bassin said.
“The bill will support these downsizers in their next move and help them manage this increase in cost of living.
“The property market has been 'stuck' due to people holding onto properties too long even if the property doesn't match their lifestyle needs.
“This bill is a critical step to stopping this. We need to be removing these roadblocks that don't encourage property movement, particularly for downsizers.”
The legislation was put forward just months after ABS data revealed spare bedrooms in Australian houses had jumped from 12.7 million in 2017-18 to 13 million in 2019-20.
“The additional time proposed in this bill allows downsizers to move and make the adjustments to their new home without being penalised,” Bassin continued.
“Plus, lowering the deeming rate used in calculating pension payment amounts, on home sale proceeds from 2.25% to 0.25% per annum will encourage older Australians to downsize without impacting their access to the pension.”
Labor will need the support of at least 13 non-Labor senators to pass the bill, meaning the Greens and at least one crossbencher will need to offer their support before it can be written into law.
Small caps wins for the week
Despite a week of losses, small cap miners have made substantial gains over the last five days.
Altech Chemicals shares surges 61.2%
Altech Chemicals Ltd (ASX:ATC) has had a healthy bump to its share price following two major developments for the company; pre-construction work at the Silumina Anodes™ pilot plant in Saxony, Germany and a move to commercialise sodium-alumina solid state batteries through a joint venture with Fraunhofer IKTS.
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Critical Resources shares jump 54%
Critical Resources Ltd (ASX:CRR) also enjoyed a strong uptick to its share price after returning the highest lithium grades yet (up to 4.32%) from the Mavis Lake Lithium Project in Canada.
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Kingfisher (LON:KGF) Mining shares gain 45%
Kingfisher Mining Ltd (ASX:KFM) gained after completing a successful $4.25 million share placement. Funds will go to accelerate exploration at the company's high-grade hard rock and clay REE discoveries in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia.
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Caspin Resources shares climb 34.8%
Caspin Resources Ltd (ASX:CPN) climbed when it revealed an aggressive multi-rig campaign at Serradella in the Yarawindah Brook Project in Western Australia, where re-assaying recently revealed rhodium prospectivity.
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International Graphite lifts 17.9%
International Graphite Ltd (ASX:IG6) shares rose on two key announcements: the discovery of a high-grade graphite deposit outside the current resource boundary at the Springdale Project and achieving first product from its Collie graphite micronising and spheroidising pilot plant.
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