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Negotiations over a $3bn-plus sale of a 20 per cent stake in Singtel’s Australian telecommunication company Optus to Brookfield are understood to have come to a halt, writes DataRoom's Bridget Carter.

Elon Musk’s social media platform X has threatened to sue the Australian government as it faces a fine of up to $800,000 over a post that made disparaging comments about transgender activist Teddy Cook, declaring it will “protect its user’s right to free speech”.

Grocon and the NSW government have settled a $270m court claim, with the former property developer to receive less than 10 per cent of its original claim.

The Australian sharemarket finished deep in the red , with most sectors hit, particularly technology and property stocks. The ASX 200 closed 1.3 per cent lower at 7,782.5 points on Wednesday after setting a new 52-week high. The broader All Ordinaries also fell 1.4 per cent to 8,033.6 points.

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The Big Read

Fortescue has allowed a key deadline to buy green energy for its stalled Gibson Island hydrogen plant to lapse, as renewable energy company Genex says it is talking to other potential buyers for energy from its proposed Bulli Creek solar farm.

The lapse throws fresh doubt over the viability of the Gibson Island project, once the flagship of Fortescue’s proposed hydrogen production centres in Australia, but which the company has seemingly set aside as it struggles to find returns at Australian power prices.

The failure of Fortescue to meet a twice-extended March 31 deadline to make a final investment decision on building a hydrogen production plant at Incitec Pivot’s former Queensland fertiliser plant also has Genex scrambling to find a replacement to anchor the generation hub’s construction.

Nick Evans

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