Updates: Corporates Confess
Take the day before a national holiday, add some floods and wet weather, higher interest rates, consumer caution, the stronger dollar and a few other factors and what do we get?
Read MoreTake the day before a national holiday, add some floods and wet weather, higher interest rates, consumer caution, the stronger dollar and a few other factors and what do we get?
Read MoreThanks to the strong dollar and shy consumers, plus the growing price war between Coles and Woolies, Australian inflation surprised on the downside in the December quarter.
Read MoreTwo conflicting updates from different sides of the world economy, with Japan upgrading its outlook and Britain shocking with a slide into negative growth.
Read MoreThe US Federal Reserve has again sat on its hands and not moved interest rates at its first meeting of 2011 in Washington.
Read MoreWoolworths, the country’s most successful retailer, confirmed yesterday that it had not been able to withstand the quadruple impact of weak consumer spending, the stronger dollar, the poor weather (floods and heavy rain) in the closing three months of 2010, the Christchurch earthquake last September and increased competition from rival Coles.
Read MoreTroubled industrial group, Downer EDI has had its shares suspended until Thursday after foreshadowing more delays and cost overruns for the Waratah Train contract tendered by the NSW government.
Read MoreWhile the quarterly producer prices are not a good guide to the quarterly consumer price index, yesterday’s PPI figures for the three months to December were welcome news.
Read MoreWith talk of an All-Indian bid coming, the board of Riversdale Mining yesterday supported the $3.9 billion offer from Rio Tinto.
Read MoreMelbourne-based listed investment company, AMCIL has reported a modest improvement in interim profit for the period to December 31 and is looking for more of the same in the second half with $8 million in cash to invest and a swag of attractive targets, according to yesterday’s interim profit statement.
Read MoreThe first real examination of the impact of the recent floods on the food and minerals sectors is surprisingly better than many of the doomsayers in investment banks, the media and other areas have suggested.
Read MoreCrane Group has not unexpectedly forecast an improvement in prospects as it steps up its opposition to the unsolicited offer from Fletcher Building.
Read MoreThe euro rose, the flow of business and economic news was positive and global markets were mixed, weak in Asia, warmer in Europe and solid on Friday in the US.
Read MoreThe euro’s advance and greater optimism about the US economy continues to impact commodities, sending gold and oil lower on Friday.
Read MoreThe week ahead will see Australian inflation figures, US 4th quarter growth, Indian and New Zealand interest rates, US earnings, Japanese inflation and employment data.
Read MoreOZ Minerals looks to have had a strong 2010 and is promising more of the same (prices willing) for 2011.
Read MoreGold may rise to $US1,600 an ounce this year, according to London based research house, GFMS.
Read MoreThe AMP’s chief economist, Dr Shane Oliver takes a look at the impact of the floods on the Australian economy.
Read MoreWhile BHP Billiton says it achieved record iron ore production and shipments in the first half of the financial year, the impact of the wet weather and floods in central Queensland will continue to batter its coal business for the rest of the 2011 financial year.
Read MoreNo sign of the Chinese economy fading in the final quarter of 2010 or in the month of December.
Read MoreIt seems to be a case of ‘bring on the boom, again’ for some of the world’s biggest fund managers as sentiment turned even more positive in January.
Read MoreMineral sands producer Iluka Resources says it increased full-year sales revenue by 63.4% in 2010, reflecting higher sales volumes and higher average prices for zircon.
Read MoreNot surprisingly the flooding in Queensland has hit consumer sentiment which took a dive across the country this month.
Read MoreWesfarmers expects flooding in Queensland to significantly reduce output at its Curragh coal mine, according to its December quarter production report issued yesterday.
Read MoreShares in outdoor clothing retailer Kathmandu Holdings hit a six month high yesterday after the company produced a surprise earnings upgrade.
Read MoreMining giant Rio Tinto is looking at a sharp jump in earnings for 2010 after a record year for its huge iron ore business which will allow it to offset a slight weakening in quarterly ore prices for the three months to December.
Read MoreWe had another corporate victim of the floods and wet weather yesterday.
Read MoreGoodman Fielder, the country’s largest listed food group, is leaderless after CEO Peter Margin revealed yesterday that he was leaving after five years at the company.
Read MoreThe retail slowdown and the flooding has hit the first half profit expectations of Retail Food Group (RFG), the country’s leading coffee and pastry foods chain, and could have a bigger impact on the second half.
Read MoreShares in Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group climbed above $7 yesterday for the first time since September 2008 (when it was crashing as the credit crunch bit hard) after it issued an encouraging quarterly report for the three months to December.
Read MoreShares in Bell Financial Group staged a solid rise yesterday in a weak market, despite strong suggestions of a fall in 2010 earnings.
Read MoreMelbourne-based Djerriwarrh Investments is paying a steady interim dividend of 10c a share despite a 16.2% lift in first half returns which followed higher dividends paid by the major banks in particular.
Read MoreIn contrast to the solid result from Djerriwarrh, another listed investor, Platinum Capital, yesterday revealed why it is expecting a loss for the December half, after reporting a profit for the previous corresponding period in 2009.
Read MoreAMP’s friendly takeover of rival AXA Asia Pacific (AXA APH) has been given a boost, after an independent expert concluded the $13.3 billion offer was fair and reasonable and in the best interests of AXA’s shareholders.
Read MoreChina’s economic conundrum was nicely illustrated yesterday by the release of two statistics, one for power consumption for the 2010 year and the other the usual monthly news on property prices.
Read MoreFor two reasons China will dominate the coming week, despite the floods in Australia and Brazil, the American reporting season and the flow of other news.
Read MoreAmid a lot of the reporting on the impact of the floods on the Queensland and Australian economies and on business, a couple of things have to be kept in perspective.
Read MoreWall Street finished on a solid note on the weekend, the US dollar fell, gold plunged (see the next story), confidence in Europe and the US economy rose; overall, it was another week when the buoyant outweighed the negative (such as the rise in US jobless claims and the impact of higher oil prices and inflation fears).
Read MoreThe euro and US dollar sorted out a few things last week, or more accurately, market sentiment did as the week ended with the European currency having its best week in nine months against the greenback.
Read MoreThe week ahead brings a mix of economic indicators, both locally and overseas, with the rolling impact of the floods, China’s latest economic data for December and for 2010, US earnings and here in Australia, production reports from global mining giants, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto dominating the news flow.
Read MoreAs we learned this week in the latest forecasts from The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES), the outlook for commodities and emerging Asia and China in 2011 is still solid.
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