- The threat of a Japanese nuclear disaster is much less than perceived by media and financial markets- The newest generation of nuclear power plants represents even less risks By Richard (Rick) Mills, Ahead of the HerdAs a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best informationWhat is happening in Japan is a humanitarian disaster, but not because of what primetime pu...
(This story was originally published on Wednesday, 16 March 2011. It has now been re-published to make it available to non-paying members at FNArena and readers elsewhere).- February revealed an extreme gap in earnings growth between "winners" and "losers"- This gap is expected to narrow, if not close over the next 18 months- This prospect is not priced in share prices for most industrial stocksBy...
The Australian Dollar has bounced dramatically off 3-month lows against the greenback around the 0.9780 area and opens the new week at 0.9950.
The Group of Seven nations intervened in currency markets on Friday to reduce the value of the Japanese yen - the first co-ordinated intervention since 2000. A strong yen would hamper economic recovery in Japan.
From now onwards, FNArena will survey investor sentiment in Australia in an effort to generate, over time, a similarly leading gauge as the AAII Investor Sentiment Survey in the US. You are hereby invited to participate by expressing your personal view on the share market. The survey takes up a few minutes only. As we do this in coordination with the Australian Investors Association (AIA) we ask m...
Japan, the situation in Libya and other states in the Middle East, the NSW election and a moderate flow of economic data here, in the US and Europe will dominate this week.Hopefully events this week will be better for Japan and global markets.Friday night's intervention to boost the value of the yen by the Group of Seven major economies will help settle last week's volatility.The situati...
More than half of Gunns Ltd workers who were axed when the timber company closed down its Manjimup project on February found new careers as fly-in fly-out miners, thanks to Rio Tinto Ltd.
Outgoing Google chief executive Eric Schmidt lauded the Australian government’s national broadband initiative of putting up a country-wide network that he said would boost business and consumer growth.
Australian national carrier Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) had reached a settlement with the New Zealand Commerce Commission in relation to price fixing conduct within its freight division between 2000 and 2006.
By Greg PeelIn this week's regular uranium report (Uranium: A New Dynamic) I noted that pre-quake trade had the uranium spot price rising for the first week in many, by US$1.00 to US$67.75/lb on industry consultant TradeTech's weekly indication. It's all academic now of course, given the situation in Japan has thrown the global uranium industry into turmoil.Fellow consultant UxC published its week...
The Australian dollar has opened lower this morning as investors remain focused on news from Japan overnight.
(This story was originally published on March 10, 2011. It has now been made available to non-paying members at FNArena and to readers elsewhere.)The following is the text of a speech prepared by Greg Peel and delivered in November 2009 to a financial markets seminar in Singapore. The text is no less relevant today and given the attention being directed towards high frequency trading in the US and...
U.S. stocks were on track to post their first gain in four sessions Thursday as bets that rebuilding efforts in Japan could lift energy and industrial companies and offset anxieties around the country's nuclear power crisis.
US consumer prices rose by 0.5pct in February - marking the largest monthly increase in 18 months. In the 12 months to February consumer prices were up 2.1pct. Gasoline prices was the key driver rising by 4.7pct.
By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 161 points or 1.4% while the S&P gained 1.3% to 1273 and the Nasdaq closed up 0.7%.If I had told you last week that the Dow was up 160 points on a night oil was up four dollars you'd have thought it was a typo. But that's where we find ourselves, only one week after a period in which rising oil simply meant falling stocks.Last night MENA was firmly back in the frame. Tensi...
TEMPTU, the worldwide leader in airbrush makeup, announced today the donation of sales proceeds from TEMPTU websites to Japan Tsunami & Earthquake Relief to assist the recovery of the victims and areas affected by the devastating earthquake.
In 2007 the US housing sector and all the exotic securities than hang off dodgy valuations, falling prices and going broke homeowners smothered the US financial system and economy, producing the 2008 crash and crunch.In 2011 the US housing sector remains broken and is in danger of smothering, or at best severely retarding America's stuttering economic recovery.In its post meeting statement th...
A speech this week by a senior executive at the Reserve Bank should force all investors to reassess their holdings (if they have them) in Australian banksIn short, if you are looking for capital gains in the next three years from bank shares, which dominate the local market, then think again.And if you are income driven, the banks will find themselves under increasing pressure to drive earnings hi...
The early gloomsters are out and about proclaiming that Australia will suffer from any sell off of Japanese investments or from any slump in Japanese economic activity as a result of the quake, tsunami and nuclear crisis.Many of these 'experts' are the same who saw collapse and debt crisis in the GFC for Australia, and have yet to get around to correcting some of their more outrageous co...
Australian department Store Myer Holdings Ltd announced total sales for the 26 weeks to 29 January 2011 were $1.73 billion, down 3.5 percent compared to last year. On a like-for-like basis, excluding the impact of new stores, refurbishments and Myer Melbourne, sales were down 5.2 percent.
Pursuing a dangerous tact to quell a nuclear disaster, Japan has used helicopters to cool down the nuclear reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power facility.
An unsolicited offer has been made by Carlyle Securities L.P to purchase up to one million Contact Energy shares(NXE: CEN), Origin Energy (ASX: ORG) said today. Origin owns 51 per cent of Contact.
Macquarie Group has announced today that its chairman David Clarke has formally stepped down from his post to address some personal health issues.
The gains attained by the Australian dollar to reach parity along with the US dollar had been wiped away by the volatile pessimistic markets.
- Oil is China's biggest import- Oil price strength pushing inflation higher- Currency revaluation should followBy Greg PeelAs Libya descended into civil war and Saudis threatened a Day of Rage, the price of Brent crude reached a peak above US$116/bbl. The Saudi protest did not materialise and thus took some of the heat off the oil price, but it is the immediate reaction to the Japanese earthquake...
The AUD has gone into freefall this morning as fears grow over the ongoing nuclear crisis in Japan.
By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 225 points or 2% while the S&P lost 2% to 1256 and the Nasdaq dropped 1.9%. The S&P is now one point down for 2011.I suggested yesterday that Prime Minister Kan appeared to be keeping the world up to date with developments – a far cry from the Chernobyl incident in Russia which saw the first alarm raised by Sweden. The Japanese are renowned for their calm in a...
News of another explosion at the Fukushima nuclear power station sent shockwaves through global markets.
The Australian share market closed in the black for the first time in the past six trading sessions, triggered by strong gains in Tokyo and buoyed by bargain hunting.
US producer prices rose by 1.6pct in February - marking the largest monthly increase in 18 months. In the 12 months to February producer prices were up 5.6pct. Energy price surged by 3.3pct in February.
