Glenn Dyer, Author at ShareCafe

Woolworths (WOW) shares were sold off yesterday in the markets big surge for a second day after Moody’s downgraded the retailer’s credit rating, warning the supermarket giant faces a series of continuing challenges.

Tatts Loses Legal Battle

Tatts Group (TTS) shares fell more than 4% yesterday, but Tabcorp (TAH) shares edged higher yesterday after the High Court ended years of litigation between the companies and the Victorian Government.

Solid GDP Surprises

Higher spending by consumers and government and a rebound in activity in service sectors like tourism and education helped the Australian economy to record its best growth in five years in 2015 of 3% for the year and a solid 0.6% for the quarter.

Moody’s Lowers China Outlook

Moody’s has warned it could downgrade China’s sovereign rating, after changing the country’s outlook from stable to negative.

Wait And See RBA Remains On Hold

March 2, 2016 - by Glenn Dyer

No surprise yesterday from the Reserve Bank’s decision to sit on interest rates, the central bank leaving the cash rate unchanged at 2% for the tenth month in a row.

Slater & Gordon ‘Precarious’

March 2, 2016 - by Glenn Dyer

It was another bad day yesterday for Slater & Gordon (SGH) shares which plunged by more than 40% in a volatile trading session as investors and analysts continued to question the law firm’s solvency.

China Manufacturing Worse Than Expected

March 2, 2016 - by Glenn Dyer

More weak figures on the health of China’s huge manufacturing sector in February – the release came less than a day after the country’s central bank revealed a surprise easing in the reserve asset ratio for banks which saw more than $US100 billion made available for lending from yesterday.

Softer USD Helps Commodities

Commodities ended February on a solid note as the US dollar sold off on renewed fears of a slowing manufacturing sector.

Dairy Recession Sours Murray Goulburn Profit

The recession in the global dairy industry punched a big hole in the half year earnings of Australia’s biggest milk processor, Murray Goulburn.

Embattled McAleese Defers Results

One of yesterday’s rats and mice managed to postpone the bad news.

Iron Mountain Deal Dents Recall

Document storage and data protection company, Recall Holdings, lifted interim dividend, despite interim earnings halving because of costs associated with Iron Mountain’s proposed takeover of the company.

Mixed Data To Stay RBA’s Hand

No change in interest rates from the Reserve Bank later today, but the chances of a solid GDP figure on Wednesday may have lessened after the release of weak data on business stocks, profits and wages and salaries.

Slater & Gordon Confirms Disaster

This is utterly appalling – the biggest blow up of a capital raising and shareholder value in the fastest possible time – just a matter of months.

Takeaways From Buffett’s Letter

Buried in the annual letter to shareholders in the wider market, there were quite a few Buffetisms and observations about business, the economy, the market and investing:

Global Shares Extend Gains

The bounce back in global shares continued last week led by Wall Street which more than halved the year’s fall so far to -4.7%, from -10.5%. But the gains were not shared globally.

Oil Eeks Out More Gains

Oil rose for another week, but gold again had a narrow fall as global markets finished a mixed week on a mixed note.

Diary: Rates, GDP, Super Tuesday

One of the four massive weeks of the year for economic data around the world, especially in Australia.

Reporting Season Draws To A Close

The Australian December half profits reporting season is now all but over with only the rats and mice to release their reports today and tonight.

Buffett Rejects US Decline

Warren Buffett’s annual letter to shareholders and the world is a bit unusual this year – a bit US centric, not unsurprising given the tone of the Presidential primary race, especially and the all important polls on November 8.

Blackmores Booms

Vitamins group, Blackmores has been a headline grabber in the past year as its shares surged past $220 at the start of the year on strong demand for its products from Chinese buyers and moves by the company to enter the baby formula business.

Woolies Posts First Loss In 23-Years

Supermarket giant Woolworths (WOW) has sunk $972.7 million into the red in the first half after over $3 billion in impairments and losses on its rotten Masters hardware adventure.

Super Group Posts Solid Result

Brisbane-based Super Auto Group (SUL) will pay a higher dividend after a solid, but unspectacular performance in the six months to December.

Macau Weighs On Crown Profit

A rough reception for Crown Resorts (CWN) shares yesterday after it produced a weaker than forecast result thanks to the slide in gambling revenues in the casino haven of Macau.

Housing Boom Lifts Adelaide Brighton

There was a full basket of goodies for shareholders in yesterday’s full year figures for 2015 from building materials group Adelaide Brighton (ABC).

Non-Mining Investment Highlights Mixed Capex Data

Now that was a surprise set of capex figures from the Bureau of Statistics yesterday – they showed a slightly better investment performance in the December quarter (instead of the widely predicted fall), a glum outlook for the rest of the year and the new 2016-17 financial year.

IDP Sale Lifts Seek

The stockmarket listing of education business IDP and strong revenue growth across its Australian and international businesses have contributed to an apparent surge in the first-half profit for recruitment group, SEEK (SEK).

Peter Costello Takes Chair At Nine

A weak interim result and a surprise new chairman stood out in yesterday’s interim report from Nine Entertainment Co (NEC). Investors liked the news and marked the shares up 5.1% to $1.525 as they preferred to focus on the positives of the move to promote former Federal treasurer, Peter Costello, to the chairmanship of the company.

Fortescue H1 Profit Holds Up

Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) shares eased yesterday after the country’s Number 3 iron ore miner and exporter maintained interim dividend payout to shareholders after reporting a slight dip in earnings for the six months to December.

WorleyParsons Scraps Dividend

What a difference a day makes.

Wesfarmers Profit Edges Higher

No profit surge for Coles owner Wesfarmers (WES) after reporting a tiny 1.2% rise in December half year net profit to $1.4 billion, thanks to a solid performance by Woolies killer, hardware chain Bunnings (and with Officeworks assisting) and Kmart.

Flight Centre Cruising Despite “Challenging Conditions”

Flight Centre (FLT) shares held up solidly in yesterday’s mostly weaker trading session after it reaffirmed its full-year profit guidance in the wake of a 3.4% rise in interim earnings for the December half year.

Silver Lining In BHP Gloom

Despite the sharp fall in interim profit and abandonment of its previous progressive dividend policy, BHP Billiton remains on the hunt for purchases in the copper and oil sectors, even as it acknowledges the outlook for its key commodities will be weaker than previously thought.

Qube, Brookfield Join Forces On Asciano Bid

Sense prevails in the battle for control of Asciano – after months of sniping at each other and spending huge amounts on accountants, lawyers and other advisers, Qube Logistics and Brookfield Infrastructure, and their various partners, have abandoned separate bids for Asciano Limited and will mount a joint one at $9.28 a share.

QBE Shares Rally On Result

QBE shares went for a run yesterday, rising 14% at one stage before closing up 8% (to $11.27) after the group produced a solid 2015 profit result, once you had worked your way through the impact of the stronger US dollar and the company’s cost cutting and asset rationalisation.

Rivers Rebound Boosts Specialty Fashion

Shares in budget clothing retailer Specialty Fashion surged to a near year high yesterday of 70 cents after it reported a surprisingly good interim financial report.

Rising Expectations Catch Up With Qantas