Star Entertainment has narrowly dodged financial collapse with thousands of jobs saved after a United States casino giant swooped in to rescue the flailing business.

The embattled casino operator has signed a $300 million rescue package with Bally’s Corporation to save the business from administration.

In a late-night update to the ASX on Monday, Star Entertainment revealed Bally’s would pay $100 million by Wednesday to keep the business’s doors open across Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sydney.

Bally’s, which operated 19 casinos across the US, will get a 56.7 per cent stake in Star.

The remaining funds will be paid either following a shareholder vote or split into two payments before October 7.

Star is exploring a possible injection of $100 million by its largest shareholder Bruce Mathieson and if this occurs, Bally’s contribution would drop to $200 million.

The group’s board will now seek for all shareholders to agree unanimously to the deal as it is within their best interests and will unlock the remaining Bally’s contribution, the ASX statement said.

Bally’s is set to bring a proven track record to revitalising underperforming businesses, citing a “brighter future” for shareholders.

“This transaction provides Bally’s the opportunity to infuse The Star with what it needs to regain its position as Australia’s pre-eminent gaming destination and it allows The Star shareholders to share in what we confidently believe will be a brighter future together,” chairman Soo Kim said in a statement.

President George Papanier said the company is “up for a challenge”.

United Workers Union welcomed the deal for the 9000 employees across the group who could have been left high and dry if it collapsed.

“Any deal that promises to keep venues in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sydney operating as a going concern is a good result for the Star workers, their families and the communities they live in,” the union’s casinos director Andrew Jones said.

“As we have said repeatedly, the alternative without a sensible resolution was thousands of workers facing the unemployment queue.”

The Star has been in a trading halt since the end of February after being unable to file its half-year financial report without a refinancing plan to save it.

The group has been on the brink of collapse for months but staved off administrators by offloading its 50 per cent stake in a new Brisbane precinct and a $250 million short-term bridging loan.

It has been seeking a rescue package to stay afloat but until now has been unsuccessful, with the group most recently failing to secure $940 million from property development fund Salter Brothers Capital.

The casino group was once worth billions of dollars but has since been slapped with fines totalling more than $210 million and licence suspensions after money laundering allegations.

A 2022 NSW inquiry found damning evidence of money laundering and counter-terrorism failings at the groups’ Sydney casino while a 2024 probe found more breaches.

A Queensland inquiry found The Star actively encouraged people banned from gaming in Victoria and NSW to gamble at its casinos in the Sunshine State.

A key energy project that will connect multiple regions has suffered another cost blowout, ballooning to more than double the original estimate.

But the Queensland government remains committed to delivering the transmission line despite the toll on the bottom line.

CopperString, originally slated at $5 billion, will connect Queensland’s northwest to the grid through an 840km power line running from south of Townsville to Mount Isa.

The Liberal National government announced after the 2024 state election that the cost of CopperString had increased to $9 billion after receiving internal briefing documents.

But CopperString has again blown out with the government now revealing the “true cost” will be $13.9 billion, following a closer examination of the project and consultation with the transmission operator Powerlink.

It’s understood the increase is due to the project failing to include extensions to connect mining and renewable energy projects to the line.

Those connections are expected to cost an extra $4.9 billion, according to Powerlink.

Treasurer David Janetzki blamed the former Labor government for the cost blowout, vowing that his government would save the critical project.

“Labor had no credibility on CopperString after hiding their runaway costs and failing to scope connection to the very energy projects it was designed for,” he said on Tuesday.

“We remain fully committed to delivering this critical project for the North, and will save CopperString from Labor’s rushed decisions and poor planning that had put the entire project at risk.”

CopperString will be longer than driving from Sydney to Melbourne with the project expected to be finished by 2029, ahead of the Brisbane Olympics in 2032.

It will provide more affordable power to companies mining deposits valued at $500 billion in the North West Minerals Province.

The project will also help unlock the province’s copper, zinc, lead, silver and phosphate needed to make smartphones and renewable energy parts.

Mr Janetzki will give a speech at Queensland Energy Club on Tuesday where he is expected to address the CopperString project and announce a review of the state’s emission reduction targets.

A rumour that US President Donald Trump was considering a pause in tariffs briefly lifted markets before the White House shot down the unfounded reports.

The confusion – which was amplified by some traditional media outlets and on social media – lasted less than a half hour but reflected a jittery mood on Wall Street as stocks plunged over worries that Trump’s tariffs could torpedo the global economy.

The origin of the false report was unclear but it appeared to be a misinterpretation of comments made by Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, during a Fox News interview earlier on Monday morning.

Asked whether Trump would consider a 90-day tariff pause suggested by a prominent hedge fund manager, Hassett said “I think the president is going to decide what the president is going to decide”.

Nearly two hours later, multiple user accounts on social media platform X posted identical messages claiming Hassett said Trump is considering a pause for all countries except China.

Stock traders and some news outlets picked up the story, and the market skyrocketed on the hint of good news.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly erased a morning loss of 1,700 points, shot up more than 800 points and then went back to a loss of 629 points.

The S&P 500 likewise made sudden up-and-down lurching movements.

The White House initially appeared as confused as everyone else.

But after 20 minutes, a government account rejected the report as “fake news”.

Australia’s unemployment rate risks shooting up as an escalating trade war slams the brakes on the world economy.

Global markets entered freefall on Monday as the impact of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs sunk in for traders.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers acknowledged a real risk of a global recession.

“We expect, and the Treasury expects, the implications for growth and inflation in the US and elsewhere to be very substantial,” he told reporters.

“This is one of the many reasons that we describe the tariff decision to be ill-considered and unwarranted. The damage being done by that tariff decision is now very clear for all to see.”

In its Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Outlook released on Monday, Treasury’s economic forecasts were unchanged from the budget on March 25.

But it noted “greater-than-usual uncertainty” around the outlook, with the Australian economy set to suffer direct and indirect impacts.

“The indirect effects on Australian exports through our other major trading partners, particularly China, will be larger,” it said.

Treasury still forecasts Australia’s economic growth to accelerate to 2.25 per cent in 2025/26 and unemployment to remain low, around the 4.25 per cent mark.

While AMP chief economist Shane Oliver does not expect Australia to enter a recession, he predicts a slower pick-up in growth than forecast by Treasury.

“That obviously does run the risk that we could end up with higher unemployment here, back to the 4.5 per cent rate for unemployment,” he told AAP.

That should prompt the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates sooner and harder.

The market now expects up to another 125 basis points of rate cuts in 2025, potentially front-loaded with a mega 50bp cut in the RBA’s May meeting.

A great deal of uncertainty remains about the impact on the economy and much depends on whether US President Donald Trump flinches or doubles down on tariffs.

For Australia, another big factor will be how much stimulus China announces as it seeks to hit its five per cent annual growth rate target.

“I suspect that they’ll still manipulate things to get growth close to five per cent but the risk is it comes in around four per cent – in other words one per cent lower than they’re currently forecasting – which would be a dampener for Australia,” Dr Oliver said.

The Australian dollar has tumbled more than five per cent in recent days as commodity prices have fallen, but Dr Oliver says the lower exchange rate will act as a shock absorber for the economy by boosting exports and profits of companies that trade in US dollars.

But Australia’s relatively low debt means the government is in a better position than most to provide fiscal stimulus, said HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham.

“They have got capacity to step up if they need to with fiscal support, but I think at this stage of the game it’s watching and waiting to see what the circuit breaker is going to be in terms of providing a bit of support for that global market,” he said.

After firing shots at each other from different cities on the campaign trail, Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton will come face-to-face in the first debate of the federal election.

The two leaders will be quizzed by 100 undecided voters at a people’s forum in western Sydney on Tuesday night.

Cost-of-living pressures, housing, healthcare and the impacts of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and subsequent stock market volatility are likely to be key issues.

Workplace rights are also likely to be on the agenda after the opposition leader backtracked on plans to ban public servants from working from home.

“We got it wrong, we’ve apologised for it, we support flexible workplace arrangements,” Mr Dutton said.

Mr Dutton has also shelved plans to get rid of 41,000 public service workers if elected, opting instead for a hiring freeze.

Melbourne bank worker Made said taking up his employer’s offer to work two-to-three days from home spared him a 40-minute commute.

“Whenever I need it, I know it’s there, so it’s great to use and the more flexibility the workplace can offer can make it attractive as well in terms of a place of employment,” the customer service representative told AAP.

Registered nurse Edriza Dioses doesn’t have the luxury to work from home, but she thinks others should be able to as long as it doesn’t affect the quality of their work.

“When people work at home, it is better for them because they have the liberty to spend time with their families during their free time, and it’s cost-effective if they don’t need to deal with traffic or have to wake up so early just to go for work,” she told AAP.

She didn’t view the opposition leader’s backdown as a negative, saying he had learnt from his mistakes.

Labor has sought to exploit the policy reversals, holding campaign events with families who have work-from-home arrangements in place.

“(Peter Dutton is) pretending that the policies he announced … just don’t exist and that everyone will just forget about all that,” Mr Albanese said.

Electoral rolls have closed with the Australian Electoral Commission confirming a record number of voters will be eligible to have their say.

The latest Newspoll showed Labor stretching ahead, leading 52 to 48 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.

A separate Roy Morgan poll suggested Labor was on track to be re-elected with an increased majority, leading 53.5 to 46.5 per cent.

But the outcome remains far from certain with a hung parliament still in play.

US President Donald Trump remains defiant as global markets continue to plunge amid fears of a recession after his tariff announcement last week.

“Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!,” he wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform.

Trump accused other countries of “taking advantage of the Good OL’ USA!” on international trade and said “our past ‘leaders’ are to blame for allowing this”.

The Republican president has insisted his tariffs are necessary to rebalance global trade and rebuild domestic manufacturing.

He has singled out China as “the biggest abuser of them all” and criticised officials in Beijing for increasing their own tariffs in retaliation.

The European Union was offering the United States an agreement on the reciprocal lifting of all tariffs on industrial goods, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday.

The EU remains ready to negotiate a solution despite the US tariff decisions, von der Leyen said, after an exchange with representatives from the steel and metals industries.

The US imposed tariffs of up to 25 per cent on imports of steel, aluminium and related derivative products from the EU and other trading partners in March.

On Saturday, the US government additionally introduced universal tariffs of a minimum of 10 per cent on imports from almost all its trading partners.

Significantly higher levies will apply for some countries, depending on trade deficits, with goods from the EU facing a 20 per cent tariff from Wednesday.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday the government would back its car manufacturers “to the hilt” after Trump on April 3 imposed a 25 per cent tariff on car imports.

Starmer described the tariffs as a “huge challenge”.

Trump said on Sunday he wouldn not back down from his tariffs despite the turmoil in the global markets.

“Sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” Trump said.

Goldman Sachs issued a new forecast saying a recession has become more likely even if Trump relents from his tariffs.

The financial firm said economic growth would slow dramatically “following a sharp tightening in financial conditions, foreign consumer boycotts and a continued spike in policy uncertainty that is likely to depress capital spending by more than we had previously assumed”.

On Monday, the president is scheduled to welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers to the White House to celebrate their World Series victory.

He is also meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and they are expected to hold a joint press conference in the afternoon.

with DPA and Reuters

Asian and European indexes have plunged as US President Donald Trump showed no sign of backing away from his sweeping tariff plans, and investors bet the mounting risk of recession could see the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates as early as May.

Futures markets moved swiftly to price in almost five quarter-point cuts in US rates this year, pulling Treasury yields down sharply and hampering the dollar on safe havens.

The carnage came as Trump told reporters that investors would have to take their medicine and he would not do a deal with China until the US trade deficit was sorted out. Beijing declared the markets had spoken on their retaliation plans.

The pain engulfed Europe, with the broad Stoxx 600 down four per cent and Germany’s Dax plummeted by around 10 per cent at the start of trading on Monday.

In Asia, the Hong Kong Hang Seng’s 13 per cent slump was the largest since 1997, while in mainland China the blue-chip CSI 300 index was down seven per cent only finding a floor when state media reported China’s sovereign fund Central Huijin was a buyer.

The yuan slipped to its lowest since January and bonds rallied sharply.

The Hang Seng Tech Index plummeted by 17 per cent, marking its worst single-day performance since records began. The index was down 27 per cent in a month, and close to where it began the year before the DeepSeek-inspired rally.

The Hang Seng volatility index also shot to its highest since March 2022.

Hong Kong-listed shares of HSBC tumbled 15 per cent and Standard Chartered stock was down 16 per cent.

Japan’s Nikkei sank 7.8 per cent at the close to hit lows last seen in late 2023, while South Korea dropped five per cent. MSCI’s gauge of Asia-Pacific shares fell a gut-wrenching 7.8 per cent to head for its largest single-day drop since 2008.

The gloomier outlook for global growth kept oil prices under heavy pressure, following steep losses last week.

Brent fell $US2.20 to $US63.30 a barrel, while US crude dived $US2.20 to $US59.81 per barrel.

The flight to safe havens saw 10-year Treasury yields drop nine basis points to 3.90 per cent, while Fed fund futures jumped to price in an extra quarter-point rate cut from the Federal Reserve this year.

Markets swung to imply around a 54 per cent chance the Fed could cut interest rates as soon as May, even though Chair Jerome Powell on Friday said the central bank was in no hurry.

That dovish turn saw the dollar slip another one per cent against the safe-haven Japanese yen to 145.16 yen, and 1.45 per cent on the Swiss franc to 0.8484.

The euro rose 0.5 per cent to $US1.1005, seemingly benefiting from some nervousness about the US dollar, though the trade-exposed Australian dollar dropped a further 0.5 per cent.

Investors were also betting that the imminent threat of recession would outweigh the likely upward shove to inflation from tariffs.

US consumer price figures out later this week are expected to show another rise of 0.3 per cent for March, but analysts assume it is just a matter of time before tariffs push prices sharply higher, for everything from food to cars.

Rising costs will also put pressure on company profit margins, just as the earnings season gets underway with some of the big banks due on Friday. Around 87 per cent of US companies will report between April 11 and May 9.

“We expect during upcoming quarterly earnings calls fewer companies than usual will provide forward guidance for both 2Q and full-year 2025,” analysts at Goldman Sachs said in a note.

“Rising tariff rates will force many companies to either raise prices or accept lower profit margins,” they warned. “We expect negative revisions to consensus profit margin estimates in coming quarters.”

Even gold was swept up in the sell-off, easing 0.3 per cent to $US3,026 an ounce.

with AP and DPA

China has accused the US of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying over tariffs.

Foreign affairs spokesman Lin Jian told reporters: “Putting the US first over international rules is a typical act of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying.”

US President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs last week, prompting China and other governments to retaliate quickly.

Trump put an additional 34 per cent tariff on Chinese goods as part of “Liberation Day”, coming on top of two rounds of 10 per cent tariffs already declared in February and March, which the US leader said was due to Beijing’s role in the fentanyl crisis.

In response, China suspended sorghum, poultry and bonemeal imports from some American companies.

The latest retaliatory moves from Beijing include more export controls on rare earth minerals, which are critical for various technologies, and filing a lawsuit at the World Trade Organisation.

Lin said the new tariffs harmed the stability of global production and supply chains and would have a serious impact on the world’s economic recovery.

“Pressure and threats are not the way to deal with China. China will firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” he added.

Beijing struck a note of confidence even as markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai tumbled. The People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s official mouthpiece, had strong words. “The sky won’t fall,” it declared, even if the US tariffs have an impact.

“Faced with the indiscriminate punches of US taxes, we know what we are doing and we have tools at our disposal,” it added.

It is unknown if China’s leader, Xi Jinping, will meet with Trump to make a deal on the tariffs. Lin directed questions about a possible meeting to other departments.

Over the weekend, Chinese government officials met a slew of American business representatives including for Tesla, GE Healthcare and others.

Ling Ji, a vice minister of commerce, said at the meeting with the 20 American companies: “The root of the tariff problem is in the US.

“We hope the American companies can address the problem at its root, … issue reasonable statements, take concrete actions, and work together to safeguard the stability of the global supply chain.”

The minister also promised that China will remain open to foreign investment and that it is safe to invest.

Asian and European indexes have plunged as US President Donald Trump showed no sign of backing away from his sweeping tariff plans, and investors bet the mounting risk of recession could see the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates as early as May.

Futures markets moved swiftly to price in almost five quarter-point cuts in US rates this year, pulling Treasury yields down sharply and hampering the dollar on safe havens.

The carnage came as Trump told reporters that investors would have to take their medicine and he would not do a deal with China until the US trade deficit was sorted out. Beijing declared the markets had spoken on their retaliation plans.

The pain engulfed Europe, with the broad Stoxx 600 down 5.3 per cent and Germany’s Dax plummeted by around 10 per cent at the start of trading on Monday.

Recent market darlings were particularly hurt as investors were forced to sell what they owned. Defence stocks tumbled 11.5 per cent with Rheinmetall down 21 per cent.

European banks were on pace to confirm a bear market with Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank shedding 10.7 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively.

In Asia, the Hang Seng’s 12 per cent drawdown in Hong Kong was the largest since the height of the global financial crisis in 2008.

In mainland China, the blue-chip CSI 300 index was down more than seven per cent, finding a floor only when state media reported China’s sovereign fund Central Huijin was a buyer.

Japan’s Nikkei sank 7.8 per cent to hit lows last seen in late 2023, while South Korea dropped five per cent. MSCI’s gauge of Asia-Pacific shares fell a gut-wrenching 7.8 per cent to head for its largest single-day drop since 2008.

All of emerging Asia was also under water, with India’s Nifty 50 sinking four per cent.

The gloomier outlook for global growth kept oil prices under heavy pressure, following steep losses last week.

Brent fell $US2.20 to $US63.40 a barrel, while US crude dived $US2.75 to $US59.23 per barrel.

The flight to safe havens saw 10-year Treasury yields drop nine basis points to 3.90 per cent, while Fed fund futures jumped to price in an extra quarter-point rate cut from the Federal Reserve this year.

Markets swung to imply around a 54 per cent chance the Fed could cut interest rates as soon as May, even though Chair Jerome Powell on Friday said the central bank was in no hurry.

That dovish turn saw the dollar slip another one per cent against the safe-haven Japanese yen to 145.16 yen, and 1.45 per cent on the Swiss franc to 0.8484.

The euro rose 0.5 per cent to $US1.1005, seemingly benefiting from some nervousness about the US dollar, though the trade-exposed Australian dollar dropped a further 0.5 per cent.

Investors were also betting that the imminent threat of recession would outweigh the likely upward shove to inflation from tariffs.

US consumer price figures out later this week are expected to show another rise of 0.3 per cent for March, but analysts assume it is just a matter of time before tariffs push prices sharply higher, for everything from food to cars.

Rising costs will also put pressure on company profit margins, just as the earnings season gets underway with some of the big banks due on Friday. Around 87 per cent of US companies will report between April 11 and May 9.

“We expect during upcoming quarterly earnings calls fewer companies than usual will provide forward guidance for both 2Q and full-year 2025,” analysts at Goldman Sachs said in a note.

“Rising tariff rates will force many companies to either raise prices or accept lower profit margins,” they warned. “We expect negative revisions to consensus profit margin estimates in coming quarters.”

Even gold was swept up in the sell-off, easing 0.3 per cent to $US3,026 an ounce.

with AP and DPA

A terrorism hoax capitalising on anti-Jewish rhetoric is still anti-Semitism despite being orchestrated by criminals motivated by other reasons, a top cop says.

The discovery of an abandoned caravan laden with explosives on Sydney’s outskirts in January has faced fresh scrutiny after claims Labor used it to help pass hate crime laws and mandatory sentences in NSW.

The plot was among 15 incidents involving attacks on synagogues, businesses and cars co-ordinated by a criminal mastermind that fell within the category of exploiting the justice system, NSW Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson said.

Authorities later dispelled the caravan plot as the work of organised criminals looking to secure favourable treatment from authorities.

But the acts remained anti-Semitic in Mr Hudson’s view, despite the criminals’ apparent lack of ideological motivation.

“Whether the individuals that committed the acts have any ideology of anti-Semitism is immaterial,” he told a parliamentary inquiry on Monday.

Mr Hudson said police had considered laying terrorism offences against those behind the caravan false flag, despite suspecting it was a hoax from an early stage.

“My suspicions were based on whether this caravan was used to conduct a terrorist attack or whether it was placed to be discovered and create fear within the community,” he said.

Explosives, anti-Semitic messaging and a list of addresses of Jewish people and institutions were found inside the caravan at Dural in Sydney’s northwest on January 19.

The discovery prompted fears of a terrorist attack or mass-casualty event, as NSW Premier Chris Minns and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese immediately dubbed it.

But Mr Hudson said he suspected it was a hoax from day dot and told the premier early on.

However, the reporting received through the Australian Federal Police – which could not be ignored at the level it was being provided – required the joint counter-terrorism team to investigate it, the inquiry was told.

Mr Hudson bristled at the federal police’s description of the caravan discovery as a “criminal con job”.

“I don’t think the NSW Police were conned,” he said, instead calling it an attempted “manipulation of the justice system”.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb returned to work on January 21 and had concerns “from early on about what the motive was”.

“We could not test the information (being provided to the federal police),” she said, responding to independent MP Rod Roberts’ barrage of questions.

“I directly recall relaying to the premier and the (police) minister our concerns that we weren’t able to test the veracity of the information.”

Mr Minns repeatedly defended the laws after state and federal police revealed the caravan plot was a hoax.

“I introduced those laws because there had been a summer of racism in NSW, separate and aside to the caravan out in Dural,” he said as calls mounted for an inquiry.

AFP Deputy Commissioner Krissy Barrett said investigators quickly decided the discovery was part of a fabricated plot.

“This was because of the information they already had, how easily the caravan was found and how visible the explosives were in the caravan. Also, there was no detonator,” she said in March.

The find came amid a string of anti-Semitic incidents in Sydney, including arson and graffiti attacks on a synagogue and a Jewish community leader’s former home.

Many people arrested over the attacks remain before the courts.