Blackthorn Resources Ltd (ASX:BTR) has placed 16 million ordinary shares to its joint venture partner for the Perkoa Zinc Project in Burkina Faso, Glencore International AG.
Upscale retailer David Jones Ltd (ASX: DJS) today reported a record high first half profit after tax (PAT) of $105.7 million for the six months ended 29 January 2011 (1H11). This represents an increase of 5.2 per cent on 1H10 ($100.5 million).
- Recent threats and events have had a noticeable impact on US consumers appetite for discretionary durable goods- Surveys by the Consumer Metrics Institute show another decline in spending was occurring prior to events in Japan- Is there a parallel between human errors made at Chernobyl and Fed policies post the GFC? News And The Consumer, Reflections On Chernobyl And The EconomyBy Consumer Metri...
Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd (ASX:VBA) is expecting its 2011 financial year profit to fall to a net loss of between $30 million to $80 million.
- The market is fearful of Shell's desire to sell its Woodside stake- The market is not ascribing value to Woodside's ambitious developments- Woodside is struggling with funding, but Shell needs projects- Perhaps the solution is to swap one for the otherBy Greg PeelGlobal oil and gas giant Royal Dutch Shell has a problem. Once the global leader in liquid natural gas, Shell is finding its position ...
The Australian Dollar has opened firmer this morning, trading north from yesterday’s levels through USD 1.0100 after continued support from investors seeking higher yielding assets.
The Australian Dollar was supported yesterday by firmer commodity prices and a return to risk after last week's co-ordinated G7 intervention to curtail the surging Japanese Yen.
The International Monetary Fund has reportedly left its forecasts for the global economy unchanged with growth tipped at 4.4pct in 2011 and 4.5pct in 2012.
By Gavin Wendt, Founding Director & Senior Resource Analyst MineLife Pty LtdThe reactions of financial markets around the world to the horrific events that have taken place in Japan have been reasonable and entirely predictable. Markets that were already nervous from the ongoing political unrest in MENA, ongoing European debt woes, rising oil prices and fears of an outbreak of inflation, have used...
By Greg PeelThe Dow fell 17 points last night or 0.2% while the S&P lost 0.4% to 1293 and the Nasdaq lost 0.3%.After several sessions featuring large moves, first to the downside and then to the up, Wall Street decided to take a break last night. There was news to digest but nothing much to change the current situation. Volume was anaemic.In Japan, power has now been restored to all six reactors a...
Strategic Airlines, Australia’s newest domestic and international airline, has acquired a Brisbane engineering maintenance facility and new corporate headquarters in Brisbane.
Marex Group Ltd, the international broker of commodity derivatives, financial futures and foreign exchange, which is majority-owned by JRJ Group and its partners, Trilantic Capital Partners and BXR Group, has reached agreement with Imarex ASA to acquire its 100 per cent holding of Spectron Group Ltd for approximately 94.5 million pounds.
Andrew Jenner CEO of Astra Investimentos, announced today the launch of the Astra Agro Fund L.P. The fund has signed a strategic advisory agreement with Rabobank Brasil and will invest primarily in privately held agribusiness companies in Brazil. [Jenner] says recent global and local trends in food staples make the commodity-rich country a compelling investment opportunity.
Wealth manager Australian fund manager AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) said a unit has launched a A$600 million floating rate subordinated exchangeable note to partially fund its takeover of AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd's Australia and New Zealand businesses.
Iron ore junior BC Iron Ltd (ASX: BCI) has asked the Takeovers Panel to challenge the validity of Regent Pacific Ltd’s purported termination of the Scheme Implementation Agreement (SIA) between the companies as announced on Tuesday 15 March 2011.
- Beijing increases its reserve ratio for the ninth time in 12 months- Another rate hike already priced in- Economists at odds over the ongoing pace of tightening measuresBy Greg PeelLast Friday the People's Bank of China announced yet another increase to the reserve requirement ratio for depository institutions, this time by 50 basis points. That's the third RRR hike this year and the ninth in tw...
By Greg PeelI updated the uranium spot price situation late last week in the wake of the nuclear reactor crisis which had seen uranium producer stocks taken to the cleaners. ("Uranium Update")At that point the immediate response in consultant UxC's indicative price had been a 10% price fall to US$60/lb, but after a week of trading fellow consultant TradeTech has dropped its previous indicative pri...
The Australian dollar has opened stronger today trading at 1.0050 following news that the dangerous situation in Japan is easing.
Westpac Banking , which closed at $116.74 on Election Day, has since fallen 3.3% to its most recent close at $112.83.
The Australian Dollar (1.0050) moved slowly and steadily upwards in Asian trade yesterday as commodities in general started the week on a firmer foot and news out of Japan confirmed that 2 out of the 6 reactors at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant were under control.
US existing home sales fell by 9.6pct in February to an annual rate of 4.88 million - a near nine year low and more than double the fall analysts had expected. The supply of homes available for sale rose to 8.6 months.
By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 178 points or 1.5% while the S&P gained 1.5% to 1298 and the Nasdaq added 1.8%. The Dow reclaimed the 12,000 mark, closing at 12,036.Wall Street has always loved a good war. Typically stocks fall on the threat of war and rebound strongly when pictures of the first plumes of smoke are broadcast. Speaking in Chile this morning, President Obama declared that he expected the e...
It wasn't surprising that the Australian dollar regained parity with the greenback yesterday afternoon, as reports from Japan on the continuing nuclear power station crisis improved.The dollar rose from 99.59 USc at the close in New York early Saturday to around $US1.1019 yesterday in local trading.All the doom and gloom reports in the media and from some analysts disappeared as well as the c...
Australian merchandise imports rose 6 per cent or $1.010 billion in February, to $18.032 billion, seasonally adjusted, official national figures show.
Sundance Resources Ltd (ASX: SDL) says all of Ken Talbot's shares in the iron ore explorer have been transferred to Hanlong Mining, making the Chinese company Sundance's largest shareholder.
- Analyst bank target prices unchanged despite global disruptions- Several ratings upgrades in the past week- ANZ's Asia strategy sets it aside from the packBy Greg PeelI lasted updated the Australian banking sector a month ago just after all the interim and quarterly results were in. At that point analysts felt the results had been reasonable without being spectacular, and market prices were now ...
The Australian dollar has opened firmly in the mid 0.9900’s this morning after one of the wildest weeks in the currency markets since the GFC in late 2008.
- 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.
