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This finance journalist still remembers the day he figured that out, and if its liquidity at the time was anything to go by, he wasn’t alone.

But in 2019 at least, Yowie was the talk of the town (for some), seeing as controversial figure Nick Bolton’s Keybridge Capital made a move on Yowie. That was six years ago, and the world has changed a lot since then.

HotCopper readers in 2025 would also be relatively further forgiven, seeing as shares have been suspended for some time now.

That suspension could be in part informed by an ongoing dispute among the major shareholders of YOW, which includes Wilson Asset Management (WAM) and another entity called HHY Fund, which controls 10.06% of Yowie’s ordinary shares.

But it’s Keybridge Capital Limited (ASX:KBC) that has gone to the Takeovers Panel to complain about HHY’s conduct as a Yowie shareholder.

In an application released Wednesday, Keybridge has alleged to the Takeovers Panel that “without notice of a capital raising and prior to it receiving access to the HHY members’ register, [HHY] issued 42% new HHY units, including to Yowie directors and their associated entities, significantly diluting … voting power.”

It may be amusing to some to see Bolton’s Keybridge itself complaining of corporate shenanigans, given that’s what Bolton was once hated for (by some) in Australia’s finance ecosystem.

Keybridge further complained to Takeovers that the dilution of HHY unitholders – “for the improper purpose of preventing a change of responsible entity” – reduced Keybridge’s voting power ahead of a key meeting.

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It’s all quite technical, and admittedly dry: The big story is that Yowie Group now appears it may be investigated by the Takeovers Panel, suggesting shares will stay in suspension for a good while yet.

That is, of course, if you don’t consider the fact that Yowie is on the ASX at all to be the bigger story.

YOW last traded at 1.4cps; shares are suspended.

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At around midday trade on Tuesday, stocks were down -40.96% to $4.41/sh. That brings 1Y returns further down to -72%.

The culprit today for IDP is a further set of macro headwinds ultimately hurting foreign student numbers both at home and, following the release of a fresh white paper, now the UK poses concerns for IDP’s fundamental business model, too.

(Enrolling foreign students is, in a sentence, IDP’s bread and butter.)

“In FY25, IDP’s Student Placement volumes are now expected to decrease by… 28% to 30%, and IDP’s Language Testing volumes are now expected to decrease by 18% to 20% compared to FY24,” the company wrote.

“The impact on revenue will be partially mitigated by continued strong average fee growth.”

Clearly, not mitigated enough. Overall, EBIT is now forecast to hit $115 million to $125 million. The fact that shares sold off -40% gives you an idea of how the market felt about that one.

I say shorters are probably in a better mood, because at the time of writing, short sale data on IDP shows it’s the sixth most shorted stock on the ASX. (About a year ago, at one point, this finance journalist recalls the stock was briefly #1 most shorted.)

For now, the company’s market cap remains around A$1.2B. So, there’s that. But in between the lines, IDP clearly doesn’t see any light on the horizon.

“With policy uncertainty expected to continue into FY26 as well as the anticipated impact of FY25 enrolment pipeline on FY26 volumes, the business is completing a detailed review of longer-term cost, productivity, investment and commercial levers.”

IEL last traded at $4.41/sh.

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The stock was briefly in the green – +0.11% – according to live pricing around midday. But that optimism hasn’t held.

Despite Chinese trade relationships fairing better in recent history than they did after Scott Morrison claimed COVID-19 was designed in a Wuhanese lab, there’s still one big comeback narrative to be unlocked for TWE.

Today’s (relatively slight) FY24 EBIT downgrade from $780 million to $770 million hasn’t necessarily helped. But it looks like pain was already priced in.

Just consider TWE’s 1Y returns are down -30%. Or, for an even quicker understanding, just look at the company’s 1Y stock price chart.

So what was driving TWE’s downgrade announcement on Tuesday? Basically, less demand in the U.S. – especially, it seems, from bargain-hunter consumers.

“TWE now expects F25 EBITS to be approximately $770m, with the variance to the previously provided outlook of ‘approximately $780m’ driven by lower than expected Premium portfolio shipments in the US,” TWE wrote on Tuesday.

“Economic uncertainty and weaker consumer demand has recently impacted wine category performance at price points below US$15.”

Also of concern to the company is that its U.S. operations in California are set to be hit as distributor Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) is winding up its Cali operations.

The company’s shareholders might want to start paying attention to RNDC’s books: “TWE’s relationship with RNDC spans 25 U.S. states, including California,” the company wrote.

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“The closure of RNDC’s California operations is not expected to impact the remainder of its business.” Surely, TWE shareholders will be hoping so.

But lingering behind all of this is, perhaps, a more worrying factoid – though not one that hasn’t already been more or less the case since April.

If you look at TWE’s 20Y chart, the stock is currently at a decade low.

TWE last traded at $8.04/sh.

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The shipment was arranged under the umbrella of BP8’s Sales Cooperation Agreement with PT. Kebula Raya Bestari, which will see the latter handle logistics and supply arrangements for the product.

MSC plans to use the product – to be delivered as 60 metric tonnes of Indonesian seaweed biomass – to make carrageenan, an additive used to thicken and stabilise food products.

BP8’s managing director, Matthew Leonard, said achieving the first shipment indicated the partnership with PT. Kebula Raya Bestari was on the right track.

“We are pleased to announce our first shipment under the Sales Cooperation Agreement with Kebula, which demonstrates the practical progress of our strategic partnership,” BP8’s boss explained in a market release today.

“Kebula’s role in managing logistics is enabling BP8 to efficiently connect Indonesian seaweed supply with international customers like MSC.”

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Mr Leonard added: “We look forward to building on this initial transaction as we continue to expand our supply network.”

BP8 rose 25% after the news and is now trading around 0.2cps.

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This was the results commentary James Hardie (ASX:JHX) shareholders were treated to on Wednesday (preliminary final report for the year ended March 31, 2025).

There was, notably, no mention of the fact that James Hardie’s move to pick up AZEK – in a way that has been widely accused of deliberately dodging a shareholder vote – has attracted a lot of short sellers.

While the profit hit is likely to hit James Hardie’s shareholder’s confidence (or vibes overall,) it wasn’t all bad news: Adjusted EBITDA came in at $1.1B (still far less than the $14B it’s paying for AZEK); organic sales growth is predicted for FY26, and, ultimately, the company met guidance.

Of course, there’s a lot that wasn’t immediately addressed.

Nor is the company paying a dividend, it said.

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“We achieved each of our FY25 guidance metrics despite a more challenging macro environment as compared to May of last year, when we initially provided this outlook. In North America, our team delivered a solid fourth quarter,” JHX CFO Rachel Wilson explained in a release today.

The company’s results announcement did, of course, mention AZEK: The word shows up 57 times. But investors didn’t get any admissions of controversy, nor much focus on risk.

“This combination with AZEK is an extraordinary opportunity,” the CEO wrote.

The market, clearly, isn’t so sure.

JHX last traded at $38.49/sh.

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“Notwithstanding the significant marketing investment at Kogan.com and the ongoing technical challenges at Mighty Ape, it was able to deliver Group Adjusted EBITDA Margins of 5%.”

That 5% margin figure, one could be forgiven for thinking, mightn’t be enough to rouse an investor’s excitement.

Then there was the fact Kogan’s group revenue declined -0.7% vs pcp and adjusted earnings before tax are down nearly -64% vs pcp. That’s even as gross sales ‘growth’ hit 20%.

The effect on Kogan’s share price was obvious. According to Cboe live pricing, shares were down -8% at 10.15am AEST to $4.12/sh.

The big issue hitting Kogan in recent times has been its ‘Mighty Ape’ website upgrade debacle. Mighty Ape, for those out of the loop, is just another online shopping platform that Kogan owns, lots of video games, lots of books, things like that.

In February this year, the third CEO of Mighty Ape quit their job amidst the website upgrade.

“Mighty Ape continued to be impacted by technical challenges following the website platform upgrade announced in February 2025, which affected sales … the team progressively resolved several stability issues,” Kogan wrote.

“Early signs of recovery are evident, with Gross Sales showing positive momentum driven by the Mighty Ape Marketplace scaling rapidly since launch.”

On top of margins, shareholders may be punishing the stock for not sorting this out sooner.

KGN last traded at $4.12.

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Ms Heyman will leave her position as chief executive officer of the division in August, after 37 years with Domino’s, in roles which covered Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

She said the decision represented an important move for herself and the pizza giant.

“Working with Domino’s has given me some of the most rewarding experiences of my life — both professionally and personally — and I’ve developed lifelong friendships with passionate pizza people around the world,” he said.

“Since returning to Australia in 2023, I’ve been proud of the work we’ve done to strengthenoperations — from improving product quality and growing new occasions like lunch, todelivering stronger sales and profits for our franchise partners.

“Domino’s is now entering a new chapter, with a clear ‘Recipe for Growth’ in place forAustralia and New Zealand. With the business well positioned for the future, I feel confidentthis is the right time for me to open a new chapter of my own.”

Former franchise partner Greg Steenson has been appointed to the role of chief operating officer, Australia, effective immediately.

Domino’s has been trading at $25.20 per share.

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That shot the stock to 80cps; as of the first half hour of trades on Friday, shares are worth 88cps.

Except most investors on HotCopper seem to think that anything below a flat $1.00/sh deal is a direct lowball. Or, to use a corporate term, strategic undervaluation.

In that same light, Webjet itself on Friday stated that it rejects the BGH offer and won’t be handing over any materials to BGH with which the latter could kick off due diligence.

That, for now, appears to be in keeping with what multiple investors have themselves told the company in light of the non binding indicative offer (NBIO) lobbed at Webjet earlier this month.

“The Board has also consulted with and considered feedback received from a number of shareholders in relation to the BGH Proposal,” Webjet wrote, in explaining how it came to reject the offer. Legal advisers also said the same thing, the company noted.

WJL last traded at 88cps.

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But with no news out from Webjet Group today – this is the core business, Webjet Group, and not the recently spun out Webjet Travel Group, which is now under the ticker WEB but doesn’t actually relate to plane ticket sales, which, yes, is quite confusing – one is left to wonder why the +10% surge is taking place.

Especially because Perpetual Limited actually limited its stake in the company earlier this week (though, still retains a voting power over 5%.)

That could likely form part of the calculus here: someone, somewhere, is swooping in on a travel business that appears sound, given recent strength in Australian visitor numbers.

(This finance journalist finds himself in the embarrassing position of not being too sure if a broker’s note has been sent out today, but, he’s cautiously bullish that isn’t the case.)

It is possible macro is playing a role. Overnight, the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates on pause, which perhaps has sent a reassuring signal to markets that common sense still remains firmly in charge of the #1 global economy, at least as far as the financial system is concerned.

That, in turn, could be informing bullish optimism about travel to America, which has been suffering in the face of America’s pivot to strict border controls and what ultimately feels a bit like isolationism.

Earlier this month, Flight Centre took a big hit when it said changing tastes for travel – read: a disinclination from Australians to bother visiting the USA at all right now – could whack it by up to A$100M.

But this Ameri-centric theory is complicated: Webjet Group is actually up +60% in the last month. In late March, Directors were buying shares, which is generally something investors like to see (even if those who are perhaps fatally cynical might roll their eyes.)

Still, Webjet was already on something of a tear before Flight Centre (down -40% YTD) started waving a flag of woe. So we’re not really seeing in Webjet Group’s price action a bounceback from some early week panic selling.

Then again, all of this wondering could be missing the larger point: it’s simply one of the cheaper-but-fairly-safe-bets you can make on the ASX when it comes to global travel, and it hasn’t come out with any news on America.

If the company keeps this up, they’ll get back to 80c – where they were when Webjet Group separated from its (non-plane) travel division last year.

WJL last traded at 75cps.

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The Group’s Total sales growth for weeks 1-44 remains unchanged at 4.2 percent. The like-for-like figures in the original announcement also remain unchanged.  

The announcement also provided a trading update for the first 44 weeks of FY25. The Group’s like-for-like sales growth for H2 FY25 to date has improved to +3.1 percent, compared to +1.8 percent in H1 FY25, driven by positive momentum at BCF. Despite a strong Easter trading period, retail conditions were described as subdued, particularly in New Zealand. Group gross margins in H2 FY25 to date are tracking below the prior comparable period, consistent with the year-on-year decline in H1 FY25.  

Conditions in the Auto category in Q3 were consistent with those experienced in H1 FY25, with some stabilization noted in April. Rebel experienced accelerated growth in H2 FY25, even after absorbing a $5 million net sales headwind due to cyclone Alfred. BCF continues to show strong sales momentum, benefiting from strategic investment in stock availability and a solid Easter trading period. Macpac’s performance continues to be negatively impacted by its larger exposure to New Zealand.  

The Group has initiated a project to replace its end-of-life payroll system and build a Human Resources Information Management system (HRIM). The project will be implemented over the next 12 months, with costs reported in the Group and Unallocated segment. The Group also expects to incur duplicated operating expenses and project costs related to the transition from existing distribution centre facilities to the new Victorian distribution centre. Total Group and Unallocated costs in FY25 are expected to be $42 million, compared to $36 million in FY24, including $10 million for the Victorian distribution centre duplication costs. These duplicated operating expenses and the new payroll and HRIM system will total $29 million in FY26 and will be part of the Group and Unallocated segment.

About Super Retail Group Limited:Super Retail Group Limited is an Australia-based company primarily involved in the retail industry. The Company’s principal activities include retailing of auto parts and accessories, tools and equipment, retailing of boating, camping, outdoor equipment, fishing equipment and apparel, and retailing of sporting equipment and apparel. Its segments include Supercheap Auto (SCA), rebel, BCF and Macpac. Its Supercheap Auto (SCA) segment is engaged in retailing auto parts and accessories, tools and equipment. Its rebel segment is engaged in the retailing of sporting equipment and apparel. Its BCF segment is retailing of boating, camping, outdoor equipment, fishing equipment and apparel. Its Macpac segment is engaged in retailing apparel, camping and outdoor equipment. The Company operates in Australia, New Zealand, and China.

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While tariffs were not the only factor highlighted (“broad economic…uncertainty” was also cited, though one is left to wonder what’s causing the uncertainty) the downgrade effectively represents a loss of -$30M.

“This outlook assumes the tariff uncertainty impacting March and April activity remains through the remainder of the financial year and there is no further deterioration to April client activity in May and June,” Corporate Travel wrote on Friday.

Europe, however, remains on-track for guidance. The latest European economic data released early this week shows that data beat Bloomberg estimates but that throughout CY2025, tariffs are likely to impact performance.

But when it comes to Trump’s trade policies, the Administration’s current enthusiasm for American economic independence – or isolationism – is taking a toll.

“[Outside of Europe,] broad economic and tariff uncertainty in North America and Asia has led to reductions in client activity resulting in slower growth than expected during what is traditionally the busiest period of the year,” CTD added.

A conference call in Sydney kicks off at 10am AEST on Friday to discuss the downgrade; FY26 forecasts will be included in the FY25 annual report.

Things aren’t all bad: a share buyback remains ongoing; client retention is clocked at 97% and nearly half of “new client wins” YTD came from Europe, where less impact is expected.

CTD last traded at $13.00/sh.

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(Morris Group is headed by the founder of ASX tech stock Computershare, Chris Morris.)

The Cairns-based casino is the latest such institution to cause a stir in ASX-world with Crown de-listing in relatively recent history, and, Star and SkyCity both facing huge regulatory pressure.

If anything, Reef is the best behaved child of the lot.

But it is towards valuations of the enterprise implied by talks with Iris and Morris Group respectively that Reef has concerned itself with on Wednesday.

“[Reef] confirms that, as at the date of this announcement, the board of RCSL is in ongoing and incomplete negotiations with both Iris and Morris Group in relation to indicative, non-binding and highly conditional proposals to acquire 100% of the units in RCT that it has received from each of them,” the company wrote on Wednesday.

“[Reef] notes that recent media speculation contemplates that any such transaction would be valued at more than A$200m.”

This is sort of true, and also sort of not true, it turns out – which is why Reef was quick to remind its shareholders not to make any investment decisions based on reports in The Australian or elsewhere.

“[Reef] confirms that both Proposals are in excess of A$200m for all of the component parts. However, whilst price and value allocation remain under negotiation, RCSL also confirms that the value allocated to the units in RCT under both Proposals is less than A$200m.”

Sweet technicalities.

RCT last traded at $2.95.

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The lawsuit goes back to 2023 when Bubs, then already under pressure – it once told The Fin the company’s value had been “destroyed” since listing on the ASX in 2017 – had a distro deal with Alice Trading fall apart.

In short, online sales did not convert to offline sales in the Chinese market, as Bubs sees Alice had guaranteed, and the trading company bought way less baby formula from Bubs than agreed upon.

And that meant the latter breached a contract extant between both parties (via Bub’s subsidiary, Infant Food Co [IFC]).

In the period September 2022 to March 2023 Alice has taken delivery of volumes of Bubs supreme products falling well short of its contractual commitments,” Bubs wrote on 30 June 2023.

So, already under pressure and keen to keep shareholders assured they’d get their value one way or the other, Bubs effectively went to court. Another trading entity called Willis Trading was involved – but both itself and Alice are owned by Alpha.

Approaching the two year mark down the line, Bubs had news for shareholders on Tuesday.

“Last evening 28 April 2025, the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration handed down its awards in the arbitration proceedings brought against each of Alice and Willis by IFC after the cases were commenced in July 2023 and heard in Sydney in late November/early December 2024,” Bubs wrote on Tuesday.

“Bubs and IFC are pleased to announce that they have succeeded in their debt, breach of contract and damages claims and have been awarded $22.9 million in the proceeding against Alice and $3.6 million in the proceeding against Willis (inclusive of legal costs and interest).”

So that’s all well and good.

But now the company needs to recover that cash – meaning, perhaps, the battle has only really just started.

BUB last traded at 12cps.

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This step, which will place Fiji Kava 50g Instant Kava on shelves in the vitamins section of Woolies, complements CCO’s distribution in more than 800 Coles supermarkets and Quickstop convenience stores nationally.

Backed by this – and the dominance of Coles and Woolies in Australia’s retail sector, where they account for around 67% of supermarket sales – CCO anticipates Fiji Kava and another product, Taki Mai, becoming mainstream beverage brands.

CEO Zane Yoshida said: “The national launch in Woolworths is a major milestone for The Calmer Co, and further validates the growing consumer demand for premium kava as a natural, functional alternative to alcohol.”

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“Being ranged in both major Australian supermarkets not only amplifies our reach but reinforces our ambition to lead this rapidly growing category.”

CCO has jumped higher since the news to trade at 0.5c, rising 25%.

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Both can significantly influence the experience of shoppers on one end and the economic viability and practices of producers on the other.

The first of these has been a headline issue in the last two years, with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) taking the supermarket giants to court in September 2024, accusing them of misleading marketing via Woolworths’ “Prices Dropped” and Coles’ “Down Down” campaigns.

However, in a follow-up enquiry completed in February 2025, the regulator expanded its concerns into the relationship between producers (including agricultural and horticulture growers) and the supermarkets they do business with, finding the dominance of ‘Colesworth’ is equally problematic there.

In its ‘Supermarkets Inquiry’, the ACCC confirmed the significant market share held by Woolworths and Coles, acknowledging they accounted for 38% and 29% of supermarket grocery sales in Australia.

In third place was ALDI at 9%, while wholesaler Metcash – which supplies independent supermarkets – came up last at 7% in the supermarket rankings.

This formation plays an important role in shaping the national product pricing environment, with the regulator stating that “Coles and Woolworths have limited incentive to compete vigorously with each other on price.”

It added that while ALDI offered a viable low-cost alternative for shoppers – and could therefore act as a “source of price constraint” on the two giants, especially when there was product overlap across all three, it did not compete with them head-to-head across the whole range of products.

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Independent grocery stores – represented by Metcash – often played an important role in servicing local needs, particularly in areas outside Australia’s urban centres, where Woolworths, Coles, and ALDI aren’t always present.

(The ACCC also noted independent stores had been losing market share over time.)

Crucially, the inquiry confirmed the market structure of Australia’s supermarket sector which it described as “oligopolistic” – was unlikely to change soon.

When it comes to the supply chain for fresh produce in Australia, supermarkets – particularly the two majors – are influential players, and this is particularly enhanced when it comes to the horticulture sector.

Woolworths has been buying up between 20% and 25% of the country’s fruit and vegetable supply (excluding processing), while Coles procured approximately 15%.

The ACCC has acknowledged that due to this framework, business arrangements negotiated between supermarkets and growers influenced the production cycle, the pricing of goods, and also the viability of some growers’ and producers’ businesses.

To find out more, the regulator held a series of roundtables with farmers and wholesalers across Australia to gain insight into how farmers and wholesalers perceive this relationship and to hear about their experiences within the supermarket supply chain.

What they found was many suppliers were reluctant to raise concerns about the trading relationship due to fear of retribution; they feared the latter companies being able to practice ‘monopsony’ power in these relationships.

This refers to a situation in which a company can affect the overall market price of a product through its control of a significant chunk of upstream purchases. It can take the form of a price reduction (when the company buys less of it), or even a price increase (when the company purchases more).

The inquiry found many producers felt they had “little choice but to agree to highly unfavourable terms, including lower prices than they would expect if Coles and Woolworths faced greater competition from other buyers,” in addition to feeling under pressure to use ancillary services (such as freight or marketing) that came from the supermarkets in question, even if these were perceived to offer substandard services.

Also highlighted was the problem of information asymmetries which were sometimes taken advantage of by Coles and Woolworths: Resulting in suppliers themselves being unable to make the best business decisions for themselves.

The ACCC concluded protections offered under existing regulatory codes – such as the Food and Grocery Code – should be strengthened to support suppliers.

The unequal relationship between farmers and supermarket buyers may also have a detrimental effect on the former’s capacity to adopt sustainable practices that benefit Australia’s food system overall, according to the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF).

ACF corporate campaigner Bonnie Graham said several of the concerns raised by the ACCC’s inquiry reflected wider problems of sustainable food production and protection of the environment.

“The competition regulator has highlighted how the supermarket giants’ market dominance means farmers are less able to make informed decisions about how to invest in their businesses,” she explained to HotCopper.

“When Aussie producers don’t have the confidence to invest in their farms, this negatively affects the long-term viability and sustainability of Australia’s food system.

“Many farmers want to adopt nature and climate-friendly production methods to future-proof their businesses and Australia’s food security: the major supermarkets should support their suppliers in making these changes that benefit all of us.”

Ms Graham said adjacent issues connecting food production and environmental sustainability had been raised in the ACF’s Future of Food report, released in July 2024, which assessed 20 major food companies in Australia on how they measured up to 37 indicators of sustainable practice.

A crucial issue for the companies – which included Coles and Woolworths, McDonald’s, Hungry Jacks, Aldi, Bega, and Sanitarium – was their inability to track commodities back to the farm level, with only nine of 20 being able to.

“Food supply chains are incredibly complex, with most food companies purchasing ingredients from middle suppliers, not from the farmers themselves,” Ms Graham said.

“There are often several suppliers and processors between the farm gate and the factory, making it harder for food companies to trace their ingredients back to farm level.”

This made it extremely hard to know how the associated supply chains might be impacting nature, according to the report.

The Future of Food also emphasised the importance of companies following international best practices in setting deforestation targets connected to their production, with some, like ALDI, already ahead on this issue.

“ALDI is a multinational company with headquarters in the EU, and the EU has stronger laws on deforestation and supply chain sustainability than Australia,” Ms Graham said.

“This is most likely the biggest factor in Aldi becoming the first Australian supermarket to adopt a deforestation-free policy.

“Since the Future of Food report was published, Woolworths has also set a deforestation-free target for its products by the end of 2025. Woolworths’ commitment includes beef, which is the biggest driver of deforestation in Australia.”

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Ansell was slaughtered on Thursday as the market made its assessment of the company’s exposure to the U.S. tariff regime; significant for one reason.

Ansell manufactures a lot of its products in Malaysia and Sri Lanka, as well as other Asian and Southeast Asian jurisdictions – including China – which received higher tariff rates than many Western counterparts.

In that way, Ansell shares are down -14% MoM and down nearly -10% YTD, cemented by Thursday’s sell-off. (At 11am on Friday, shares had regained +4%).

That upward bump on Friday is largely because the company has identified it will work to offset the impact of tariffs, and it’s going to do that by charging customers more.

(In this context, Ansell’s “customers” are the retailers and on-sellers that stock its products. Naturally, those cost increases will be handed down to the consumer, as in the individual citizen making a purchase.)

But whether that will be enough to recover the share price to where it sat before Wednesday within any brief timeframe remains to be seen.

The company appeared to be grumbling when it included the following sentence in a Friday release, although, maybe it was also reminding shareholders the pain they’re feeling is out of its hands.

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“It is worth noting the vast majority of manufacturing in our industry is conducted in Asian countries now subject to US tariffs, and US industry manufacturing capacity for comparable hand and body protection products is negligible,” Ansell wrote.

ANN last traded at $30.51/sh.

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This comes even as the stock, relatively illiquid compared to other fallers on Thursday like Cettire, saw volumes double compared to its rolling four-week average.

(For those playing at home: 355K shares vs 124.3K shares respectively.) The reason AAC is being hit by sellers on Thursday? Another tariff play.

The company did not specifically provide a breakdown of sales by export destination in its latest half-yearly, but global meat sales (Wagyu) were up 14% vs pcp.

Worth considering in light of a somewhat soft sell-off: Wagyu beef revenue in the six months to September 30, 2024, stood at $147.9M, and not all of that goes to the U.S. But it was by far the company’s biggest money maker.

The whole justification for Trump’s 10% blanket tariff on Australia appears to be a relatively minor dispute surrounding beef import controls. Australia won’t allow the U.S. to export beef here, more or less, because of mad cow disease. Fair enough.

Even though Trump earlier this year was more focused on surpluses and deficits – and Australia is on the good side of that binary in Trump’s eyes – this week, a U.S. gov’t trade report outlined a specific grievance around beef.

Perhaps amusingly, much Australian beef exported to the US goes into McDonald’s burgers. This could perhaps be why this issue is close to Trump’s heart.

It is, on the whole, somewhat ridiculous – or it appears so in my view – that the White House would be so concerned about beef and chicken exports to Australia to such extent as to place a 10% tariff on all Oz exports.

There are, after all, wars on elsewhere in the world right now.

The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) issued a statement this morning outlining its “profound disappointment” with Trump’s tariff decision.

This kind of tit-for-tat trade manoeuvring ultimately appears to be more about entertaining MAGA die-hards whose collective understanding of modern economics generally appears fragile, and, tapping into a vague kind of passion for something approximating American independence.

For now, the 10% tariffs aren’t as bad as the 25% tariffs floated into the marketplace of ideas early into Trump 2.0, so for now, the sell-off for AAC hasn’t been as intense.

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Still — another victim of the United States’s renewed passion for global firestoking. Along with the entire ASX today.

AAC last traded at $1.38 through Thursday morning.

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Specifically, Cettire isn’t worried about the 10% blanket tariff given to all Australian exports. It’s more concerned about U.S. tariffs on the EU, given many goods ASX-listed Cettire sells on its website go to U.S. customers from Europe.

As a luxury retailer, this isn’t surprising. Just consider where LVMH comes from. Cettire says it will continue to assess; that it recently turned to localisation and that this is expanding its revenue base

The market wasn’t having it.

Cettire fell -12% to 70cps in the first hour of Thursday trades as investors made for the exits. That’s probably because Cettire was forced to concede that 41% of Cettire’s total gross sales are made in the EU going to the U.S.

“The company notes that changes to U.S. tariffs on overseas imports will likely impact the majority of online and bricks and mortar luxury retailers, as a significant proportion of luxury items are manufactured in the EU,” the company added, as if that makes anything better for shareholders.

For now, Cettire appears to be hoping plans from EU manufacturers to raise prices in a bid to offset tariff impacts might be what helps its bottom line.

Of course, that could bring the average order above the U.S. de minimis exemption.

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For now, orders below US$800 continue to remain unchanged by today’s tariffs – which could suggest the shares are oversold, but, given Cettire’s reputation, this is the last thing it needs.

CTT last traded at 70cps.

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That company is ProImmune; the dispute comes down to grievances around a distribution agreement struck around 2023.

Last month, Hollista was ordered to pay US$2.06M in damages, costs and interest.

However, to get that money, ProImmune must sue Hollista in an Australian court, “as Australian courts do not recognise U.S. judgements under the Foreign Judgements Act” – something Hollista wrote in its March 10 announcement.

Hollista also alleges that ProImmune originally lied when it approached the former with information designed to mislead Hollista into thinking the distribution deal would be worth its time and money.

(But that’s beside the point.)

In what appears to be an attempt to get on the front foot before ProImmune can launch action in Australia, Hollista is now suing ProImmune in the Supreme Court of WA.

That and one of the company’s Directors, Albert Crum, apparently a Harvard graduate according to ProImmune’s website.

“[Hollista] alleges that Crum, on behalf of ProImmune, made various representations including regarding ProImmune’s patent RE42,645 E and Immune Formulation 200 product, that those representations were false,” the company wrote on Tuesday.

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Here’s what’s perhaps most amusing: All of this comes not long after ASIC fined Hollista $1.8M last year for misleading consumers over the ability of its products to have any mitigating effect on the symptoms of COVID-19.

HCT last traded at 3.1cps. Shares are suspended at time of writing.

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For TRS shareholders, the news is obviously more than welcome. Shares opened just over $3/sh on Thursday. A 77c dividend payout doesn’t hurt either.

The question for Dollarama is whether or not its purchase of The Reject Shop is the best thing for its interests. On Thursday, TRS shares returned to a three-year high.

The last time TRS shares were worth $6.60 was in February 2022. Jarden Research had put a target price of $5.80 on the stock in June 2024, when the stock was worth $3.30. Prices were at $5.45/sh in January last year.

But in February 2022, when shares were $6.60, a half-year earnings report showed profits after tax (NPAT) of $15.4M – down -9% vs pcp – and sales of $424.7M, which was down -2.2% vs pcp.

Since that result, the price has struggled to go back above $6/sh. It’s arguably been under pressure for years.

The company’s most recent half-yearly report, released in February this year, showed a somewhat better story though.

There: Sales were $471M, up 2.9% vs pcp (1HFY24), and gross profits of $196.3M.

Good on paper, but it’s NPAT that’s worth looking at – The Reject Shop posted an NPAT of $16.4M in 1HFY25, just $1M higher than its February 2022 results.

Whether or not Dollarama – which is listed on the Canadian TSX – is more interested in the Australian proposition rather than a full-on global rollout at all costs remains to be seen. Dollarama is a 60% interest holder in Dollarcity, another low-price value chain in Latin America.

(It also helps the Canadian dollar is slightly stronger than the Aussie; one Canadian dollar buys A$1.11 at the time of writing.)

“Attracting an offer from Dollarama, a recognised leader in the value retail market, is testament to both the meaningful improvement that our incredible team has made to our business over the past few years as well as the significant growth potential that exists for The Reject Shop,” TRS Chair Steven Fisher said.

The keyword there is ‘growth potential’ – a potential the Board of TRS so far hasn’t been able to unlock. But whether TRS has been struggling to come back to 2022 highs because of management acumen, or because of consumer behaviour, remains up for debate.

(I can’t remember the last time I stepped foot in a Reject Shop – though, in the cost of living crisis, it’s not hard to see why 1HFY25 sales have been steady.)

Still, 1HFY25 sales aren’t dramatically higher than that clocked in 2022, either. So it will definitely be a story of whether or not Dollarama can turn the ship around.

That said: Its latest half-year earnings showed a profit margin of 41.6%. That, most probably, is what Dollarama has its eyes on. Also worth considering is that Dollarama Inc., on the TSX, is up +280% over the last five years.

The question now is if Dollarama can translate that success into the Australian context.

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The Reject Shop’s largest shareholder, Kin Group – it holds a fifth of TRS – is definitely keen to get its money’s worth. It’s putting all of its votes behind the deal, and TRS has suggested shareholders all vote the same.

TRS last traded at $6.60/sh after the acquisition news broke.

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