Amcor Set For Divorce, Market Rejoices
The market loved the move by Amcor (AMC) to join the corporate divorce club and try and unlock value by splitting itself in two.
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Transurban To Lift Distributions This Year
It’s not all doom and gloom from the 2011-13 reporting season.
Read MoreBank Shares Hit By Tax Talk
A messy first day of a new month yesterday with a weakening dollar, a strong start to trading that was, firstly boosted by a surprisingly good reading on Chinese manufacturing, that was then offset by a second, weaker reading, and then the talk of a bank deposit levy emerged to further confuse things.
Read MoreAGL Gets Its Huge Solar Power Plants
Australia will get its largest solar venture after AGL Energy (AGK) announced yesterday that it will proceed with two projects in western NSW, costing a total of $450 million.
Read MoreSuncorp To Pay Special Dividend Despite Mixed Results
Suncorp (SUN) shareholders are to again receive a special dividend this year, despite a nasty problem appearing in the group’s life insurance business.
Read MoreAlacer Gold Joins The Impairment Club
The number of gold miners cutting asset values is starting to become a flood.
Read MoreSo Will The RBA Cut Next Week?
Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens again sent markets twitching yesterday with comments on interest rates and the dollar that probably left everybody just as confused as they were before his lunchtime speech about what might happen at next Tuesday’s meeting of the Reserve Bank board.
Read MoreBeach Posts Record Revenue
Slowly but surely, after years of patience and slow growth, Beach Energy (BPT) is emerging as an oil and gas play of increasing interest.
Read MoreWoolies Sales Gets Mixed Reception
Shares in the country’s biggest retailer, Woolworths (WOW) were easier all day yesterday after the release of mixed 4th quarter and full year sales data.
Read MoreWhitehaven Lifts Output, Suffers From Lower Prices
On the face of it Whitehaven Coal (WHC) had a very good 2012-13 financial year. Production and sales jumped sharply, and the company moved closer to getting its huge Maules Creek mine to the starting block.
Read MoreOZ Minerals Flags $240m Hit
OZ Minerals (OZL) surprised shareholders yesterday with news of a $240 million write down due, in part, to lower copper and gold prices and a landslip at one of its mines in outback South Australia.
Read MoreAnother Asset Sale For Rio, Another Delay In Mongolia
Newish Rio Tinto (RIO) CEO Sam Walsh has now raised more than $US1.1 billion from asset sales after the provisional sale of its 80% owned Northparkes copper mine in NSW to China Molybdenum Co for US$820 million.
Read MoreUS Data, Fed Set To Dominate
The US Federal Reserve and a full week of data on the health of the American economy will dominate markets around the world this week – with a real chance investors could see a repeat of some of the instability seen in June as the central bank moves closer to starting to slow its extraordinary spending on buying bonds and mortgage securities.
Read MoreThe Week Ahead
Overseas it’s the Fed and the health of the US economy, here it’s the health of the Australian economy ahead of the vital Reserve Bank meeting next week, and the gathering pace of June 30 financial results.
Read MoreAustralian Shares Starting To Look Up?
More of the same for markets this week with the Fed, China and US earnings to set the tone.
Read MoreYield Declining In GUD?
Shares in Sydney- based industrial and retail products group, GUD Holdings (GUD) suffered in yesterday’s weak trading as analysts caught up with the detail in Wednesday’s earnings release for the 23012-13 year which showed a 15% fall in underling profit.
Read MoreAusenco Shares Plummet After Shock Downgrade
Mining services group Ausenco (AAX) saw its shares sold off by more than 30% yesterday after it joined the downgrade club with a possible earnings downgrade of 25% to more than 30%.
Read MoreNewcrest Abandons Guidance
More poor news from the mining sector.
Read MoreOz Minerals Cuts Production Forecast
OZ Minerals (OZL) cut its full-year gold production guidance after reporting sharp drops in both gold and copper production during the June quarter, the company revealed in its June quarterly production report issued yesterday.
Read MoreInflation Under Control, But Rate Cut Up In The Air
Don’t forget the rise in petrol prices this month (up by 20c a litre on some days in some markets) when assessing if the mostly moderate Consumer Price Index data yesterday for the June quarter might allow the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates at its next meeting on August 6.
Read MoreAustraland Interim Earnings Sag
After boosting earnings 28% in the year to December 2012, Australand Property Group (ALZ) found the going much tougher in the six months ending June 30.
Read MoreChina Moves To Help Slowing Economy
Hours after the release of the so-called ‘flash‘ release of the monthly HSBC/Markit survey of Chinese manufacturing showing activity at an 11 month low, the country’s government has moved to provide limited stimulus, especially to small business.
Read MoreIncitec Warns Of Profit Hit
The market reacted calmly to the surprise news yesterday from explosives and fertiliser group Incitec Pivot (IPL) that it had taken a $23 million hit from operating problems at its ammonia plant in North West Queensland earlier this month.
Read MoreFortescue Doing Better, Will Asset Sales Happen?
Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) has joined BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto in surprising investors with higher iron ore production and sales for the three months to June and for the 2012-13 financial year.
Read MoreWide Bay Off Target
The shares in small regional lender, Wide Bay Australia Ltd (WBB) will be sold off heavily this morning after the company late yesterday produced a surprise profit downgrade and increase in provisioning against two poorly performing parts of the company.
Read MoreFuntastic Seeking Funds
Toy and confectionery distributor Funtastic (FUN) surprised yesterday with a request for a suspension to allow a fund raising to be determined by tomorrow.
Read MoreMajority Gives Abe Chance To Reshape Japan
A quiet end for the Japanese stock market the day after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition ally, the Komeito Party won control of the country’s upper house, thereby opening the way to three to four years of stable government and quite possibly sweeping reforms.
Read MoreAFI Lifts Revenue, Profits And Dividend
Australian Foundation Investment Co (AFI), the country’s largest listed investment company, has surprised by lifting final dividend after recording a 10% lift in net profit for the year to June 30.
Read MoreMore Gains For Japanese Shares After Poll Results?
Markets here will ignore them, but the results of yesterday’s upper house elections in Japan will be important not only for our second largest export market, but also for Australian exporters, if only they can focus on them.
Read MoreOrica, Santos Slip
More reminders of the weakening in earnings prospects from from the resources sector.
Read MoreThe Week Ahead
Australian inflation news and interest rate speculation will dominate markets here this week, along with corporate earnings and other reports here and in the US.
Read MoreA Not So Golden Outlook
We are about to enter the reporting season (yearly, quarterly, half yearly) for the world’s major miners, including gold producers who will prove to be the source of much angst and financial pain for investors large and small.
Read MoreAurizon’s Hedge Fund Admirer
News that one of the world’s leading hedge fund managers had identified Aurizon Ltd (AZJ), the old Queensland Rail business, as one of his best investment ideas, sent the shares of the rail giant up 3.6% yesterday to $4.55, within sight of its all time high of $4.57.
Read MoreWoolies Masters Misstep
Confession day for Woolworths (WOW), with the country’s biggest retailer finally giving in to mounting pressure from analysts and shareholders and revealing the size of the losses its Master’s hardware adventure is racking up.
Read MoreWoodside Suffers Revenue Fall
It won’t be the best looking interim result that Woodside Petroleum (WPL) releases to the market next month, judging by the second quarter and first half production report released yesterday.
Read MoreBHP Breaks Records In Ore Production
After months of being the easy target for short sellers, hedge fund traders and market know-alls, especially when there’s weak economic news from China, Australia’s big three iron ore miners – BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group – are back in the limelight and enjoyed nice rises yesterday.
Read MoreNew Life For Billabong, At Last, Or The Last Attempt?
So will there be a new life for the deeply-troubled global youth retailer Billabong after its long expected bailout?
Read MoreProfit, Dividends To Surge For IAG Shareholders – At Last
Shareholders in Insurance Australia Group can expect a sharply higher final dividend payment in August after the company revealed yesterday that it is looking at a cracker of a full year result.
Read MoreALS Launches $580m Oil And Gas Deal
Obviously the board of Brisbane-based ALS (formerly known as Campbell Brothers) isn’t too worried about the slump in activity in the mining and resources sector (its key area of interest) lasting too long, judging by the announcement of two purchases in the sector yesterday – including its biggest deal yet – the more than half a billion dollar purchase of a big UK-owned oil and gas services group called Reservoir Group.
Read MoreRate Cut Hopes Disappearing
The chances of another rate cut are receding and one will only occur if there’s a collapse in Chinese demand for our minerals or the US economy hits the wall and slumps into a recession which paralyses global financial markets (a repeat of 2008) and threatens to deliver a body blow to the Australian economy.
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