AMP Still Eyeing AXA
The AMP hasn’t forgotten about AXA Asia Pacific, judging by the frequent references to the proposed merger at yesterday’s AGM, but it has to wait to see what its rival bidder, the NAB, does.
Read MoreThe AMP hasn’t forgotten about AXA Asia Pacific, judging by the frequent references to the proposed merger at yesterday’s AGM, but it has to wait to see what its rival bidder, the NAB, does.
Read MoreIs the day of reckoning approaching for Wall Street and its big names banks and other players over the subprime mortgage boom and the marketing of all those exotically named things called derivatives?
Read MoreAustralian employment was still strong last month, even if there was a fall in hours worked for a second month in a row.
Read MoreThe weaker euro and a new record high for gold tells us there remains a lot of doubters about the viability of the rescue of the euro last weekend by the EC, the eurozone and the IMF.
Read MoreYesterday’s trading update from the Commonwealth Bank was cautiously upbeat, sort of.
Read MoreAt last an improvement in an annual result for CSR to boast about.
Read MoreAustralia’s great housing paradox continues.
Read More‘No’, said Transurban for a second time in seven months to cheap takeover approaches from two big Canadian investment funds, this time with the added firepower from a big local investor.
Read MoreIf Europe had indeed been ‘saved’ forever, then the euro would have kept climbing yesterday.
Read MoreA mixed month for the Chinese economy and therefore for Australia.
Read MoreAs Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan was handing down the 2010-11, sharemarkets were falling, the euro was wiping out all the gains from Monday, oil, copper and other commodities weakened, but gold rose and investors fretted about Chinese inflation and signs the strong economic growth in that economy had peaked.
Read MorePort Group, Asciano took advantage of federal budget day to slip out a $1.1 billion write-down in the value of its ports business because of the imminent arrival of a third stevedore in Brisbane and in Melbourne over a couple of years.
Read MoreAnd Transfield Services and its 47.5% owned associate, Transfield Infrastructure Fund, also revealed a big move on budget day with the news of a capital raising and asset sale designed to raise $300 million.
Read MoreUnprecedented is often used for huge deals or surprise switches in policy.
Read MoreTonight’s 2010-11 Federal budget will be framed against a national economy showing signs of tiredness in some areas, solid growth though in Asia, but a worrying questioning of sovereign debt coming out of Europe.
Read MoreUS coal giant Peabody Energy has used the proposed resource rent tax to chisel $1 a share from its offer for Macarthur Coal
Read MoreTransurban Group has bought Sydney’s Lane Cove Tunnel for $630.5 million and revealed plans to raise more than half a billion dollars from shareholders to pay for it and planned upgrades of two other Sydney roads.
Read MoreShares in chemicals and explosives maker Incitec Pivot rose yesterday after the company revealed lower earnings before one-off items and indicated it will see higher profits in the second (current) half of the year.
Read MoreEurope is poised to mount the largest ever defence of a currency in the next few hours.
Read MoreOur budget, some sort of rescue plan for Europe and those volatile markets will all dominate business here and offshore this week.
Read MoreOil and the US dollar had a more traditional relationship last week than gold.
Read MoreOil down as the US dollar jumped, gold up as fear rose.
Read MoreThere’s an awful lot riding on the markets accepting the workability and credibility of the proposed European support mechanism.
Read MoreNew Zealand has moved closer to getting an interest rate rise after its strongest jump in employment for 24 years, a point seemingly acknowledged by Reserve Bank Governor, Alan Bollard, in a speech yesterday.
Read MoreA mixed collection of trading updates issued yesterday through the ASX.
Read MoreThe Australian economy is in an odd place at the moment.
Read MoreThe National Australia Bank has joined its rivals in the ANZ and Westpac in producing interim earnings that failed to ignite much interest.
Read MoreWhat an election to lose.
Read MoreWelcome to reality, once again.
Read MoreYesterday’s fear-driven sell-off locally followed overseas leads, so it was natural that banks and other groups exposed to risk should be sold off as well.
Read MoreNews Corp’s third quarter results were boosted by Avatar and another strong showing by the group’s cable business, but investors were not all that impressed.
Read MoreAustralian car sales jumped sharply in April as buyers ignored the impact of five interest rate rises that had made many of them more hesitant when going to shopping malls.
Read MoreThe latest building approvals from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show a seasonally adjusted rise of 15.3% for total dwelling units approved in April, after falls in the previous two months.
Read MoreWe had better get used to the idea that more interest rates are on the way.
Read MoreAustralian retailing seems to have ground to a halt.
Read MoreDespite those slowing sales from its Australian retailing powerhouse, shopping centre giant, Westfield Group is looking to start building again.
Read MoreShares in air-conditioning engineer and contractor, Hastie Group, withstood a nasty 7.6% fall in early trading yesterday after the company revealed a profit downgrade, and the purchase of another company.
Read MoreLess than a day later the kneejerk reaction by some investors in selling their mining shares was exposed as short-sighted by the $9.5 billion reworked agreed merger between Newcrest and Lihir Gold.
Read MoreSuddenly an interest rate rise is very much on the cards today and probably next month and several more later in the year.
Read MoreSlowly, a surprise fall in retailing activity seems to be taking shape.
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