1. Boral reports flat net profit
Boral has announced a net profit of $156 million for the first half of the financial year, unchanged from a year earlier, while the company's statutory profit rose by 18% to $161 million. Revenue during the half year fell by 9% to $2.716 billion, while the company's board said it would not pay an interim dividend due to "net debt remaining higher than Boral's target of $1.5 billion".
2. Nick Scali pays back $3.6 million JobKeeper subsidies
Furniture retailer Nick Scali has announced it will pay back the $3.6 million it received as part of the JobKeeper program after the company reported a 90% increase in profits and a 60% increase to its interim dividend in its report last week. "The Company fully recognises that it has benefited from the increased consumer confidence this program has created, which resulted in record sales and net profit after tax," the company said in a statement.
3. Bitcoin surges on Tesla investment
Bitcoin rose as much as 16% to reach a record high of US$44,795 ($58,140) on Monday after Tesla announced it had bought US$1.5 billion ($1.95 billion) worth of the cryptocurrency. The company said it plans to accept Bitcoin as payment for its electric cars in the future.
4. London's 'skinniest house' hits the market
A house that is advertised as being "quite probably the thinest house in England" with a width of just 1.8 metres is now selling for £950,000 ($1.69 million). The property in Shepherds Bush, London, measures 96 square metres over five floors
5. Record highs on Wall Street as Dow and S&P 500 continue streak
All three of Wall Street's main indexes reached record highs on Monday, with both the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 posting their sixth consecutive days of gains. The Dow rose by 237.52 points or 0.76% to 31,385.76, the S&P 500 moved up 28.76 points or 0.74% to 3,915.59 and the Nasdaq lifted 131.35 points or 0.95% to 13,987.64.