That's it for another day on the blog, and from me for the year.

Once again, thanks for your company and comments, not just today but across the year - your following is the oxygen that keeps this enterprise alive.

Looking ahead to this evening, the S&P 500 futures is up 0.5% pointing to a solid start for the Santa Claus Rally Eve session (if that's such a thing).

Of course, the blog will open for business tomorrow and we'll be posting merrily away any day the ASX is open.

So for now, on behalf of the Monday blog wishing you all a merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. 

The ASX 200 gained steadily across the session picking up much of the 3% it shed last week.

At the close, the index was up 1.7% to 8,202 points.

All sectors gained, led by educational services, financials and industrials, with only 16 of the index's 200 companies finished in the red.

Banks and insurers all had very strong days - CBA rose 2.9% and Suncorp was up 3.2%

The miners overcame a sluggish start to also register solid gains.

News Corporation (+0.9%) and Telstra (+1.0%) made gains after announcing they were selling their Foxtel business for $3.4 billion, but both lagged the overall index.

Uranium miner Deep Yellow made the largest gain on the ASX 200, up 7%

Biotech outfit Clarity Pharmaceuticals (-7.2%) fared the worst.

Across the region all the key markets made ground with Japan's Nikkei up 1.1%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng and China's Shanghai Composite were both 0.7% higher in mid-afternoon trading.

Oil and gold were a little firmer and the Australian dollar was relatively flat.

Bitcoin continued to bounce around under $US100,000, down around 10% since US Fed Chair Jerome Powell said last week the central bank wasn't allowed to hold crypto currencies and that was not a law he wanted to change.

• ASX 200: +1.7% to 8,202 points (live prices below)
• Australian dollar: +0.1% 62.59 US cents
• Nikkei: +1.1% to 39,137 points
• Hang Seng: +0.7% to 19,858 points
• Shanghai: +0.7% to 3,956 points 
• S&P 500 (Friday): +1.1% at 5,931 points
• Nasdaq (Friday): +0.9% to 21,289 points
• FTSE (Friday): -0.3% to 8,085 points
• EuroStoxx (Friday): -0.2% to 501 points
• Spot gold: +0.2% to $US2,626/ounce
• Brent crude: +0.4% to $US73.26/barrel
• Iron ore: -0.1% to $US103.65/tonne
• Bitcoin: -1.0% to $US95,572

Prices current around1:15pm AEDT

Live updates on major ASX indices:

The big news of the day is of course the $3.4 billion sale of Foxtel by its owners News Corp and Telstra to a private company owned by a UK billionaire who made his fortune from Soviet-era privatisations.

Here's a very excellent analysis of the ups and downs of the one-time super profitable monopoly by the very excellent Nassim Khadem.

Thanks for the question Phillip, and apologies for getting back to it in a rather tardy fashion. 

Well yes, "a bit of a problem" is one way of looking at it, particularly given Friday's breakdown which delayed clearing transactions dating back to Wednesday until Sunday.

It also meant brokers had to find hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars to cover the transactions while the ASX mechanics were under the hood of the CHESS jalopy.

Yes, the ASX has been planning a major overhaul of its 30-year-old Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS).

Sadly, planning doesn't necessarily equate to "successful execution".

The planning dates back to around 2015. After numerous failures and stuff-ups the project was scrapped late in 2022.

Unfortunately, back in February 2022 the ASX issued a statement to the effect that the test-run on the new you-beaut CHESS replacement was humming along, describing the project as "world leading technology."

The securities and investments regulator ASIC took a very dim view of the fiasco and has hauled the ASX into the Federal Court alleging it had failed in the basic legal requirement to keep the market informed - very embarrassing for a market operator charged with ensuring its participants uphold that very strick rule.

Anyway, the ASX has given up its plans to redevelop its own CHESS software and is getting one built in India.

All going well, it should be delivered in 2029, eight years later than the original start date.

The ASX 200 has continued to climb over the day and is now up 1.4% - let's hope all this buying doesn't blow up the ASX's clearing software again and all the transactions can be completed within three days.

At 8,180 points it's still about 1% below last Monday's close, but let the trend be your friend.

It's 3% down over the month, but up 7.8% year to date.

Colleague Daniel Ziffer has hammered out his take on the 2024 economy and indulged in a bit of crystal ball watching for 2025.

Well worth a read.

Veteran telco analyst Paul Budde has watched the ups and downs of Foxtel over three decades and believes DAZN's purchase of the pay-tv and streaming platform will be a big win for particularly sports fans and the sports themselves.

"The DAZN-Foxtel deal is more than a corporate transaction; it is a defining moment for Australian media and sports," Mr Budde wrote in his blog this this afternoon.

"For fans, it promises better access, improved services, and a renewed focus on diverse sports content."

Here are some of Mr Budde's key observations.

Pricing strategy

"Unlike many traditional broadcasters, DAZN positions itself as a competitively priced brand, aiming to make premium sports content accessible to a broader audience. Subscription rates vary by region, reflecting factors such as competition, content offerings, and local economic conditions.

"Foxtel's traditional premium pricing model has long been a point of contention, particularly in an era dominated by more affordable streaming alternatives. DAZN's entry into the Australian market, potentially offering competitive or lower rates, could dramatically shift consumer expectations and reshape the pricing landscape."

Ownership

"Founded in 2015 and headquartered in London, DAZN's mission has been to democratise access to sports through a subscription-based, digital-first model.

"It's backed by Sir Len Blavatnik one of the world's richest individuals.

"Blavatnik's influence cannot be overstated. As the driving force behind Access Industries, he has provided DAZN with the financial resources and strategic vision needed to secure high-value sports rights and expand globally.

Innovation

"DAZN, often referred to as the "Netflix of sports," is a global over-the-top (OTT) streaming service that has redefined how audiences consume live and on-demand sports content.

"DAZN has leveraged cutting-edge technology to offer seamless streaming experiences, positioning itself as a disruptor to traditional pay-TV models.

"DAZN's technology and innovation promise to enhance the viewing experience, while its global network could provide new opportunities to showcase Australian sports on the world stage.

Future

"Foxtel's offerings are likely to diversify further, blending sports and entertainment content to cater to a wider audience. Moreover, the continued involvement of its local management team, led by Patrick Delany, ensures that the brand's deep understanding of the Australian market will remain a guiding force."

Blue Sky Kids Land and its two directors have been fined $5.1 million, after a long-running case prosecuted by Fair Work over migrant worker exploitation.

The fine is the third highest secured by Fair Work, topped only by the $15.3 million fine against Sushi Bay and the $10.3 million in the Commonwealth Bank and CommSec case.

The company, which is now in liquidation, was found to have  paid workers as little as $10/hour between October 2015 and June 2018, and to have deliberately hindered investigations by Fair Work into the wage theft.

The four workers impacted were then recent migrants aged in their 40s, and they spoke limited English.

"Individual wages underpayments ranged from $14,744 to $45,140," Fair Work says.

"The workers gave evidence of the impacts of the underpayments, with one stating that she and her husband struggled to pay their mortgage and had to defer starting a family."

Here's part of the Federal Court judgement:

The respondents’ contraventions were many and varied. The nature of them is apparent from the declarations. They took place over a number of years. All of them were deliberate and all were serious, some more serious than others. What is more, the contraventions occurred in circumstances in which the respondents either knew or were wilfully blind to their legal obligations.

The two directors couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

While Blue Sky Kids Land is in liquidation, there is still an online sales website for kids clothing with this name, with an online sales representative picking up today when ABC called.

"The Fair Work Ombudsman presented evidence in court indicating that a number of Blue Sky Kids Land retail outlets in Sydney were now being operated by separate companies which employed Mr Gu and Ms Yang to perform similar managerial roles, and that these companies had been the subject of underpayment complaints from workers," Fair Work alleges in its press release today.

Do you know more? Email me on terzon.emilia@abc.net.au or em.terzon@proton.me

• ASX 200: +1.1% to 8,161 points (live prices below)
• Australian dollar: +0.1% 62.56 US cents
• Nikkei: +0.9% to 39,061 points
• Hang Seng: +0.4% to 19,776 points
• Shanghai: +0.5% to 3,948 points 
• S&P 500: +1.1% at 5,931 points
• Nasdaq: +0.9% to 21,289 points
• FTSE: -0.3% to 8,085 points
• EuroStoxx: -0.2% to 501 points
• Spot gold: +0.1% to $US2,624/ounce
• Brent crude: +0.5% to $US73.28/barrel
• Iron ore: -0.1% to $US103.65/tonne
• Bitcoin: -2.3% to $US93,834

Prices current around 1:20pm AEDT

Live updates on major ASX indices: