| HSBC Holdings is assessing investor interest in a portfolio of Australian mortgages, and is discussing the sale of about A$13 billion of home loans as the lender pushes ahead with a global overhaul of its businesses, according to people familiar with the matter. The company is undertaking a global restructuring plan that includes winding down various businesses and slashing management ranks. Woodside Energy has signed an agreement with China Resources Gas International to send liquefied natural gas to the Asian country, the first binding supply deal for the fuel between Chinese and Australian companies in years. The move also comes as Chinese firms are reluctant to procure additional gas from the US, the biggest exporter, after Beijing implemented tariffs on fuel from the US last month. Franklin Templeton has trimmed its Australian bond holdings as it anticipates shallower interest-rate cuts in the nation compared with market estimates. “We’ve gone from being more overweight Australian duration to less overweight,” Andrew Canobi, a Melbourne-based director of fixed income at the firm said, referring to a measure of a portfolio’s sensitivity to changes in interest rates. Village Roadshow Entertainment — the film production house behind The Matrix and Ocean’s sagas — filed for bankruptcy in the US amid a long-drawn legal battle with Warner Bros Discovery. The company had struggled to bounce back from the pandemic slump and the 2023 Hollywood writers’ strike. Its liquidity problems, however, stemmed largely from an ongoing arbitration with long-standing partner Warner. Ramelius Resources will buy gold developer Spartan Resources in a transaction valuing the smaller Australian producer at A$2.4 billion, as miners seek more supply amid soaring bullion prices. | 
