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Monday 2nd August, 2021
In his weekly Bites column, David Bassanese from BetaShares gives us a rundown of what’s happening in markets, both local and global.
The Road Forward for Antisense (video)
Managing Director and CEO Mark Diamond discusses the key highlights of the quarterly results for Antisense Therapeutics and other recent company news of note.
Tuesday 3rd August, 2021
Oil Search, Santos One Step Closer to the Altar
Santos and Oil Search have agreed to marry after a fortnight of horse trading over the terms of the $21 billion relationship that will see Santos acquire Oil Search in an all-paper transaction.
Lockdowns Intensify Focus on RBA Meeting
Today’s monetary policy meeting of the Reserve Bank would normally have been a low-key event, but the return of Covid and the associated lockdowns has changed all that.
Snakes and Ladders in the Gold Market
Normally a surge in the price of a commodity tends to bring forth a rise in output over time; but sometimes a larger, more immediate factor intrudes and so it was in 2020.
Square Bid for Afterpay “Validation of BNPL,” says Laybuy Founder
The $39bn bid for Afterpay has caused a ripple effect on the stock market, as traders jumped-in to other BNPL stocks, looking for the rising Afterpay tide to lift all boats.
Kiwis Tighten Screws on Trans-Tasman Lending
Australia’s big four banks face a sharp contraction in their home lending activities across the Tasman after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand signalled a new round of clamps on Tuesday morning.
Qantas dropped the axe on around 2,500 frontline workers on Tuesday as the impact of the Sydney lockdown in particular hit the airline’s operations and those of its Jetstar subsidiary.
Three Investment Themes for H2 2021
The first six months of 2021 has seen a maturing of the equity market recovery. This note considers some potentially interesting investment themes for the remainder of the year.
Wednesday 4th August, 2021
Housing Sucked into the HomeBuilder Vacuum
The ending of the HomeBuilder subsidy continued to hit the housing market in June, although both measures remain at historical highs on an end-of-financial-year basis.
RBA Plays Wait and See Game with Rates
The RBA held official interest rates at record low levels and kept its quantitative easing program unchanged in a modest reaction to the worsening lockdowns in Sydney and Southeast Queensland.
Steady As She Goes for Credit Corp
Debt recovery group Credit Corp shares softened yesterday after the company forecast a 2021-22 performance not that much different to the 11% rise in net profit in the year to June.
The Naked Truth – Returns Stripped Back
Looking at headline returns is a great way to quickly ascertain how much your portfolio has increased or decreased in a certain timeframe, but there are certain caveats to keep in mind.
Value as a style can behave very differently from the broader market, and that can be a really powerful diversifier for client portfolios. Simon Adler from Schroders explains how.
Air NZ Takes Further Hit as Delta Bites
The suspension of trans-Tasman quarantine-free travel has seen Air New Zealand lift its estimated loss by 20% and drawdown more funds from the standby facility established by the government.
Thursday 5th August, 2021
The 1.8% slide in June’s retail sales was confirmed yesterday as analysts forecast several more months of weak consumer activity because of the continued lockdowns.
Covid’s Chinese Homecoming Not So Welcome
Covid is back worrying China’s authoritarian government at a time when it has been attacking various local businesses and boasting about the country’s strong performance at the Tokyo Olympics.
Commods Index at Record High Despite Ore Slump
Despite a slide in iron ore prices, the Reserve Bank’s Commodity Price Index jumped 7.7% in July to hit an all-time high, topping previous boom peaks in 2011 and 2007-08.
You might reasonably think that investors are worrying about two contradictory things at the moment. On the face of it, that makes no sense. They can’t both be a problem at the same time, can they?
A Trio of Tidbits from Around the Traps
Some snippets from three companies that gave updates to the market on Wednesday: auto parts retailer GUD Holdings, BWP Trust (Bunnings), and mortgage insurer Genworth.
Albemarle Quarterly Comes Up Short
The June quarterly report from lithium major Albemarle underwhelmed on Wednesday with the shares closing down 0.6% in New York with no surge expected in lithium sales revenues and profits.
Big Week for Magnis Charges the Company Battery (with video)
It has been a big week for lithium-ion battery cell maker Magnis Energy Technologies, with a $20 million funding injection through a convertible note issue to two US-based institutions.
Friday 6th August, 2021
NZ Rates Set to Head Higher after Jobs Spike
August 18 looms as the next big date for the NZ economy with the country’s central bank now expected to reveal plans for a rate hike after unemployment fell sharply in the June quarter.
Not So Bad Debts for Bendigo and Adelaide
It was more good news on the bad debt front for Bendigo and Adelaide Bank which has joined its larger peers such as Westpac and the ANZ in writing back some of 2020’s provisions.
The actions of authorities in China dominate headlines. However, Arian Neiron from VanEck writes, if the name of the country is not mentioned then many of the moves seem sensible.
A Mixed Bag of Economic Data from the ABS
While there was a trio of records for Australia’s trade account in Thursday’s July trade data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the continued Sydney lockdown is biting into the job market.
A Bond Investor’s Perspective on REITs
Dinesh Kuhadas and Lisa Harrison from Janus Henderson provide a different perspective on REITs, the key themes affecting the sector and how the team view it as an investment opportunity.
The Boom Before the Gloom for Scali
A case of deja-vu for furniture retailer Nick Scali yesterday, as the company doubled net profit in the year to June but avoided issuing further guidance because of the ongoing lockdowns.
Resolute Finally Gives Up on Bibiani
Resolute Mining has finally gotten rid of its troublesome Bibiani mine in Ghana, with the company reporting Thursday it secured a $90 million sale to Canada’s Asante Gold Corporation.
BHP Not Ready to Let Go of Oil Just Yet
BHP reminded us on Friday that its fortunes are still tied to carbon and fossil fuels, announcing two oil related investments worth $US804 million or more than $A1 billion.
