Rebel Float Off For Time Being?
So much for all that ‘optimism" and confidence in the end of year/start of year stories in the various newspapers and on the web about the Australian stockmarket.
Read MoreSo much for all that ‘optimism" and confidence in the end of year/start of year stories in the various newspapers and on the web about the Australian stockmarket.
Read MoreThe Commonwealth Bank saw mixed upgrades from analysts over the weekend, but its sharp jump late Friday after its surprise profit upgrade ran out of steam completely yesterday and the shares ended down 5 cents at $58.05.
Read MoreNational Australia Bank has gazumped the AMP and looks like it has snatched AXA Asia Pacific’s Australian and New Zealand units for an extra $200 million on top of what the AMP put on the table this week in its final offer.
Read MoreThere’s an overriding message from the NAB AXA deal yesterday and then the bank’s 2009 AGM in Brisbane.
Read MoreMore news from the growing gas sector with Woodside Petroleum confirming that it was well on track to raise the $2.5 billion it announced it was seeking earlier in the week.
Read MoreAs we have just read, gas, specifically LNG, is the flavour of the day at the moment, and that situation looks like continuing in 2010.
Read MoreGold is the other hot commodity at the moment.
Read MoreSuddenly, within the space of two weeks, the key competition regulator, the ACCC, has redefined the limits of Australian merger and acquisition activity.
Read MoreThanks to the government stimulus spending, Australia has escaped another quarter of recession.
Read MoreThe Reserve Bank has come to the aid of Westpac (and other banks) once again.
Read MoreOPEC has lifted its 2010 forecast for global oil demand, just a week before it’s due to meet for the final time this year to discuss production and pricing.
Read MoreIs Australia’s export slump about to end?
Read MoreThe currency and interest rate markets got the message from the December Reserve Bank board meeting minutes issued yesterday.
Read MoreHardly a day seems to go by without some news of importance about the rapidly expanding gas and LNG sector in Western Australia.
Read MoreFurther confirmation that the New Zealand economy is making its way from recession faster than expected.
Read MoreAbu Dhabi has stepped in to bail out fellow United Arab Emirates member (profligate) Dubai with a $US10 billion ($10.9 billion) injection, of which 40% will be used by troubled state-owned conglomerate Dubai World to pay a loan falling due yesterday.
Read MoreConfidence remains in short supply among Japan’s large and medium sized businesses, from manufacturing, to services and financials.
Read MoreWoodside Petroleum has confirmed market expectations that it was looking for a major fund raising, revealing plans yesterday to raise $2.5 billion from shareholders and other investors.
Read MoreWell, the AMP and its French bid partner, AXA, have blinked and added an extra $1.3 billion to the value of their joint bid for AXA Asia Pacific Holdings.
Read MoreAnd Lend Lease has won the approval of Lend Lease Primelife Group securityholders for its take out offer.
Read MoreInternational beer, spirits and wine group Constellation Brands and Australian Vintage have lodged a submission with the ACCC for an informal clearance of their planned merger of their local wine businesses.
Read MoreAsia’s two-paced boom continues.
Read MoreStrong industrial production numbers out of China and better-than-hoped for US retail and consumer confidence data helped global equities finish a choppy week on a positive note.
Read MoreSo what’s going on in the global oil market?
Read MoreChina’s steel production boom cooled a touch in November, while iron ore imports picked up and steel exports rose again.
Read MoreAs we close in on the end of 2009, the year that was almost the year from hell, a third month of solid employment growth has added to the flow of strongly positive data about the economy.
Read MoreWith November economic figures out later today expected to show further sold growth in the economy, China has acted to curb speculation in real estate and cool the booming car sector.
Read MoreNew Zealand seems to be growing, so the country’s central bank has decided it wants to board the interest rate rise express, but not quite yet.
Read MoreOn Tuesday we noted the earnings downgrade from Skilled Group (SKE) and warned to be on the look out for more warnings to surprise on the downside than the state of the market would have us believe.
Read MoreThe AMP’s Chief Economist, Dr Shane Oliver says this year has been a year of recovery, first in share markets and then in global economic activity, while 2010 is likely to see the economic recovery continue and become self sustaining. This will underpin gains in most growth oriented investments.
Read MoreWe learned yesterday just why the Japanese government is trying to get a stimulus package up for the third or fourth time, and why one its key allies is arguing to make it as big as possible.
Read MoreThe real story from the housing finance stats yesterday was that the new home building boom is alive and growing and will continue going well into 2010.
Read MoreAustralian consumers would seem to be a bit less confident than business, but that is all to do with the timing of the two main surveys.
Read MoreLess than a week after the competition regulator refused to approve its application to buy 300 service stations from Mobil, including 53 key sites, Caltex Australia yesterday revealed plans to close a small part of its Sydney refinery and warned of a weak first half for next year and raised the possibility of another dividend omission.
Read MoreYesterday we reported on how the worsening in our balance of payments for the September quarter was going to hurt third quarter growth figures.
Read MoreReserve Bank Governor, Glenn Stevens has warned that keeping interest rates too low doesn’t help regulate banking activity.
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