Rinehart wins High Court battle against Rio Tinto; Square files for $370 million IPO: Midday Roundup

Australia’s richest woman Gina Rinehart and heirs to her father’s business partner will be paid more than $200 million in royalties and court fees after winning a court case against mining giant Rio Tinto, reports Reuters.

The dispute, which relates to two iron ore mines in the Pilbara, goes back to a deal made by Rinehart’s father, Lang Hancock, and his business partner Peter Wright, who sold the mines to Rio Tinto in 1970 under the premise they would continue to receive royalties.

Rio Tinto had argued it was not liable for the royalties because the Channar and Eastern Range mines were not continually in the possession of the heirs for the period.

But the High Court of Australia ruled yesterday that Rio Tinto is liable for the payments.

Square wants to raise more than $370 million by going public

Online payments platform Square has filed for an IPO in the United States and hopes to raise more than $370 million in the process.

Square, which opened an office in Melbourne earlier this year, scooped up more than $US560.6 million ($767.5 million) during the first half of this year according to the company’s filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

However, the figures also reveal the fast-growing startup is running at a $US77.6 million loss.

Square has also revealed it will discontinue its agreement with Starbucks, according to TechCrunch, because the terms of the agreement were unprofitable for the mobile payments company. 

Jack Dorsey, Square’s founder and chief executive, was recently reappointed as Twitter’s chief executive – the company he also founded.

Shares up on open

Aussie shares have shrugged off a poor lead from Wall Street this morning.

Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist for CMC Markets, said global employment data will be crucial to settling concerns from investors in the longer term.

“While job creation is well above or below the consensus forecasts of 5000 new jobs and 6.3% unemployment will speak directly to current trends, it will also inform RBA decision making,” McCarthy said.

“A higher number will paint a stronger economic picture, but also reduce chances of a rate cut. This ‘two-edged sword’ nature of a non-consensual read increases the risk that an initial reaction is a false move that will quickly reverse itself.”

The S&P/ASX 200 benchmark was up 30.3 points, rising 0.58% to 5227.6 points at 11:36am AEST. On Tuesday, the Dow Jones closed 157.14 points lower, down 0.92% to 16,924.75 points.