| Good afternoon, Pub billionaire Bruce Mathieson has lifted his stake in troubled Star Entertainment Group for the second time in as many months despite rising concerns revelations at the second Bell inquiry threaten its casino licence. Mr Mathieson and his family company boosted their holdings in the under-siege company to 9.59 per cent from 8.21 per cent previously, spending $18.46m to buy more than 40 million additional shares over the past week. BHP says it will make a call on its WA nickel operations by August, as the company continues to weigh whether it will put its struggling Nickel West division into care and maintenance. Placing restrictions such as time limits on Woolworths and Coles over their purchase of properties to develop into new stores is an easy reform that could kill off the strategy of land banking and improve competition in the $135bn supermarket sector, analysts say. The Australian sharemarket rebounded after a five-day losing streak, thanks to gains by heavyweight miners and banks. The ASX 200 rose 0.5 per cent to 7642.1 points and the broader All Ordinaries also lifted 0.5 per cent, to 7898.9 points.
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