Weak Retailing Damages Pacific Brands
Shares in Pacific Brands (PBG) took a pounding yesterday after the company’s annual meeting heard a profit downgrade from CEO John Pollaers.
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Our Love Of $50 and $100 Notes Continues Unabated
Is this a sign of that urban story that Australia is now a high cost country with a high value currency?
Read MoreHigher CPI Dashes Rate Cut Hopes
Ignore the claims of our new Federal Treasurer yesterday about how the carbon tax has boosted inflation since being introduced in his commentary on the 1.2% quarter on quarter rise in consumer price inflation in the three months to September.
Read MoreSolid Sales Growth For Super Retail
Shares in Super Cheap Retail Group (SUL) dipped nearly 3% yesterday despite an upbeat outlook at the company’s AGM.
Read MoreAGL Warns Of Flat Year
Energy group AGL (AGK) has warned shareholders not to expect a big rise in earnings for the current financial year.
Read MoreBega Adamant On Warrnambool Offer
Shareholders in Bega Cheese (BGA) yesterday heard a strong defence of the company’s ambitious takeover offer for Warrnambool Cheese and Butter (WCB), and then gave strong support to the board and management for the bid.
Read MoreBHP Surprises With Iron Ore Upgrade
BHP Billiton (BHP) has added weight to the story that the iron ore sector has been underestimated by many investors, revealing a sharp jump in third quarter production and sales as well as a small increase in its financial year guidance.
Read MoreWeak US Jobs Report Boosts Markets
A weak September jobs report finally struggled into the markets overnight and the 148,000 new jobs created failed to convince anyone, so up went markets, with Wall Street up more than half a per cent at the close.
Read MoreJapan On Track For Reflationary Boost
The recent spate of positive economic news from China (which is good news for Australia) has drawn attention from Japan’s attempts to reflate itself out of a deflationary rut, and the impact on Australia.
Read MoreBanks Surge, Local Bourse Hits 5-Year High
The Australian stockmarket was an unusual beacon of bullishness yesterday, judging by the way other markets went.
Read MoreDairy Battle Rolls On As Shareholders Set To Meet
Shareholders in Bega Cheese (BGA) and its takeover target, Warrnambool Cheese and Butter (WCB), meet today and Thursday, respectively, with the situation in a state of flux. The battle for control of Warrnambool has escalated quickly into a very pricey affair – one where it could be smarter to lose this round.
Read MoreAussie Dollar Surges Towards Parity?
Washington has cooled, but there are still a number of issues/situations/factors to be aware of as the markets continue on their current bullish trajectories.
Read MoreMarkets Back On Track As New Highs Hit, Beaten
We saw records, new multi-year highs and solid gains all round in many equity markets last week as the US debt and budget crisis passed. China produced solid third quarter growth data and the chances of the US Federal Reserve starting to cut its huge spending program receded a bit further into 2014.
Read MoreThe Week Ahead
The week ahead: Aussie inflation, US jobs and profits, European production, Japanese exports
Read MorePluto Dogs Woodside As Investment Falls
The Pluto LNG project is proving to be a bit of a worry for Woodside Petroleum (WPL).
Read MoreMarkets Back Boral JV With USG
Shares in building products group Boral (BLD) jumped sharply yesterday after it did a deal to lessen its exposure to the US and European home building industries.
Read MoreFortescue Rides Iron Ore Higher
The good news from the iron ore sector continued yesterday with Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) revealing a solid rise in production and exports in the three months to June, and an end to mooted asset sales, thanks to a surge of cash in the bank.
Read MoreHow Bad A State Is The Ten Network In?
Well, we know about the poor ratings, and this week we got an acknowledgement that the banks won’t lend it money, without guarantees by big shareholders.
Read MoreWashington Deal Overshadows Beige Book
If the Washington deal in the US Senate to end the budget and debt ceiling impasse is passed by the Republican-dominated House of Representatives in the next 24 hours, then the crisis will be over until early 2014.
Read MoreFletcher Building Sees NZ Solid, Australia Weak
Fletcher Building’s (FBU) AGM was told yesterday that the strong New Zealand dollar is proving a significant headwind, but it expects increased construction activity across the country to boost its 2014 operating earnings.
Read MoreCSL Reveal New $950 Million Buyback
Shares in CSL closed up 1.3% yesterday at $66.26 as shareholders showed their appreciation of the company’s 7th share buyback which could total up to $950 million.
Read MoreBrambles Trading Well
Ahead of next Monday’s AGM in Sydney, Brambles (BXB) told the market yesterday that sales revenue from its pallet pooling-solutions operations rose 7% to $US1.312 billion in the first quarter due in part to its acquisition of container company Pallecon late last year.
Read MoreCochlear Runs Into Earnings Headwinds, Again
Cochlear (COH) is the Oz Minerals (OZL) of the industrial boards? Perish the thought, but it has been a rough few months for both companies in 2013 with both producing earnings downgrades and weak outlook statements.
Read MoreIron Ore On Track For A Record Year For Rio
Rio Tinto (RIO) has confirmed the strength of the global iron ore market (which was confirmed by the record Chinese imports last month of 74.85 million tonnes) by revealing record iron ore production from its huge mines in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Read MoreTelstra Soothes Shareholders On NBN Deal
Telstra (TLS) shares joined the general rise yesterday as investors tried to anticipate a settling of the US budget and debt ceiling impasse.
Read MoreFate Catches Up With Oz Minerals In New Downgrade
On balance, it was probably only a matter of time before Oz Minerals (OZL) finally revealed some bad news in a quarterly production and exploration update this year. There’s been enough hints so far in 2013 that not all was right at the miner in a succession of statements, from previous quarterly reports to the AGM and then to the half year earnings release.
Read MoreBega Bid Closing In On Warrnambool
The Bega Cheese (BGA) bid for rival Warrnambool Cheese and Butter (WCB) might not be fair, as an independent expert’s report claimed yesterday, nor is Bega willing for the moment to sweeten its offer. But despite these negatives, the value of the offer continues to rise.
Read MoreBe Wary Of The Coming US Deal
Be wary of the coming deal on US budget, debt impasse – it will mislead
Read MoreMarkets Tough October Hang On US Impasse
The US debt and budget impasse remains just as confused this morning, as it was a week ago and those signs late in the week of progress in resolving them seem to have gone for the moment.
Read MoreChina: Exports Slow, Imports Up, Iron Ore, Oil And Copper Solid
The real story from the September trade data from China has been the strength of imports – especially iron ore, oil and copper – which all rose sharply in the month as the economy recovered.
Read MoreThe Week Ahead
This week: US debt ceiling, RBA minutes, US earnings, Chinese data to dominate
Read MoreTemporary US Budget, Debt Deal Triggers Rally
Standby for a big day on the Australian stockmarket and markets through Asia after a relief rally swept Wall Street overnight.
Read MoreBOQ Swings Back To Profit
The Bank of Queensland (BOQ) has returned to profits for the 2012-13 year, putting behind it the tough 2011-12 when it became the first Australian bank in 20 years to record a loss.
Read MoreLabour Market Softer Than Official Data Suggests
Take the September jobs report and many of the reactions to it with a great big grain of salt or, better still, take a cold shower if you think it’s good news.
Read MoreHeed The Message From ‘The Pink’s’ Radical Remake
Investors in local print media companies such as Fairfax Media, News Corporation, Seven West Media and APN News and Media should take note of what’s a dramatic move from major global paper, The Financial Times as it tries to build on its already highly successful foray into the online world.
Read MoreNewcrest’s Boardroom, Management Clean Out
Newcrest Mining’s (NCM) $6 billion plus of write-downs and losses this year saw a board and management clean out yesterday as the company seeks to put behind it years of dud investments, missed production guidance and falling profits.
Read MoreMarkets Hope Washington Meetings Produce Sense And A Solution
Are there signs of a solution to the US budget and debt ceiling impasse that is starting to worry markets around the globe?
Read MoreA Timely Warning From WorleyParsons?
Global resources engineering group, WorleyParsons of Perth, surprised the market yesterday with a semi downgrade of expectations for the coming year – certainly for the first half.
Read MoreWarrnambool Goes Foreign To Escape Bega
The board of the Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Company (WCB) has leapt into the arms of a big Canadian dairy group in an effort to escape the clutches of local rival, Bega (BGA).
Read MoreIMF Gives Stark Warning On US Stalemate Damage
The US budget and debt ceiling stalemates are slowly impacting markets around the world, with Wall Street suffering another day of nerves which saw a second successive sell off.
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