By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 30 points or 0.3% while the S&P lost 0.2% to 1325 and the Nasdaq ticked up 0.2%.It ended not with a bang but with a whimper. The window displays all now look very pretty and there's tonight's jobs report to worry about, so on light volume Wall Street took a breather last night. The broad market S&P 500 index closed up 5.6% for the March quarter which marks the best ...
- Cricket Australia is proposing to list on the stock exchange- Analysts see the potential to invest at the bottom of the cycle- T20 and betting revenues could provide significant cashflow By Greg PeelSince Australia last won the Ashes in 2007 and lost several key players to retirement, our cricket fortunes in all forms of the game have been on a downward slide. Even before the announced resignati...
The Australian Dollar has risen for the 10th straight day and reached new highs overnight as commodities continue to rise and retail sales rose more than expected.
US initial jobless claims fell by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 388,000 last week.
Despite the flood of bad news in the quarter, it has turned out rather well as investors, especially in the US and Europe rediscovered risk and the joys of cheap money.Overseas the euro crisis hasn't gone away (and returned in strength with Portugal close to the brink of a bailout and Ireland needing billions of euros from its bailout package to help staunch the bleeding from some of its badl...
More all time highs this week for the Australian dollar against the US currency.According to the AMP's chief economist and strategist, Dr Shane Oliver, we are going to have to live with a strong currency for some time to come.He makes the very pertinent point:"The strong Australian dollar will likely cause more pain for internationally focused Australian companies that don't have a natur...
Queenslanders’ need for new household goods following the natural disasters of late December and January have contributed to a moderate bounce in retail figures released today, Australian National Retailers Association (ANRA) CEO Margy Osmond said.
RP Data-Rismark's Hedonic Index reports that Australian home values held ground during the month of February after a natural disaster-affected January with a 1.5 per cent decline.
Google has announced the launch of Google Fiber in Kansas City to provide users there with Internet access more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have today. The response was overwhelming-nearly 1,100 cities felt the need for speed-and we were thrilled by the enthusiasm we saw across the country for better and faster web connections.
Resource giant BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) approved on Thursday its Escondida Ore Access project (EOA), the first of a number of development options that will underline Escondida’s status as the world’s premier copper operation.
Homebuyers are feeling less confident about the housing and mortgage markets following a summer of natural disasters, according to results of the latest Genworth Homebuyer Confidence Index, which fell 1.5 per cent since September 2010.
By Greg PeelIn mid-March I published a story entitled A Positive Solution For Woodside in which I outlined analysis from BA-Merrill Lynch suggesting the troubled oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum ((WPL)) might be best served by offering to swap asset stakes for the remaining Shell shareholding. Shell owns 24% of Woodside and has indicated its intention to divest, having already reduced its h...
The Australian dollar advanced further again overnight to record a new post-float high of USD1.0338.
- Homebuyer confidence dipped 1.5% in the six months to March- Take out Queensland, and it rose 0.8%- Cost of living concerns are now outweighing interest rate concerns By Greg PeelGenworth Financial, Australia's leading mortgage insurer, published six months ago the first edition of its Homebuyer Confidence Index in association with strategic research house RFi. Yesterday it launched at a media g...
By Greg PeelThe Dow closed up 71 points or 0.6% while the S&P gained 0.7% to 1328 and the Nasdaq added 0.7%.Last night saw the release of the ADP private sector employment report in the US for March, and at 201,000 jobs added the result largely matched economist expectations. The important point, however, is that for the past four months ADP job additions have averaged 211,000 compared to the prev...
Prospects that global growth will spur demand for commodities has seen the Australian Dollar rise to its strongest level since it was freely floated in 1983.
The US ADP employment report was in line with forecasts with employers adding 201,000 private sector jobs in March.
Goldman Sachs said yesterday about the Qantas announcement:Today's announcement provides some clarity on the potential earnings impact of earthquakes in Japan New Zealand While there was no specific mention of ongoing weakness in the domestic leisure market, comments by VBA last week suggest that this remains an issue.Domestic capacity growth reductions announced by QAN are likely to be parti...
Dealing with the government and private sector in countries Australia and Singapore were perceived to be the least tainted with corruption, a new survey made by Hong Kong-based Political & Economic Risk Consultancy, Ltd.'s (PERC) latest Asian Intelligence report indicated.
Qantas (ASX: QAN), Australia's national carrier, says it is decreasing staffs and flights in response to high oil and jet fuel prices and the impact of significant natural disasters in Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
Mobile phone giant Nokia has filed another found of complaint with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) against Apple, alleging that the company infringes additional Nokia patents in virtually all of its mobile phones, portable music players, tablets and computers.
- Libya remains the immediate focus of the oil market- Tensions in Bahrain may prove more significant - Ongoing regional issues to sustain high oil market volatility By Chris ShawFor the global oil market the immediate focus remains Libya, with Barclays Capital taking the view a protracted civil war is now under way. This view is at odds with growing market optimism the success of Libyan rebels i...
Westpac Online Investing, has slashed brokerage rates to bring it in line with larger rivals Commsec and E*Trade in a bid to double its market share by mid-2013according to a report by the Australian Financial Review.
Business to business lending fell in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, according to an analysis of trade credit trends by Dun & Bradstreet. The study also found that deteriorating terms make executives nervous about extending credit to their customers. The trend is likely to act as a drag on Australia's economic performance and present as a considerable headwind for the global recovery.
- Telstra has updated investors on its Sensis strategy- Focus is on new revenue streams in SME market- Competition and high cost base remain issues By Chris ShawSensis, the advertising and directories arm of Telstra ((TLS)), represents about 9% of group revenues and 17% of earnings before interest and tax. This makes the division an important part of Telstra's overall business. The division briefe...
The Australian Dollar has opened firmer this morning and is trading just south of USD 1.0300, having found continued support from solid equity markets and a healthy risk appetite in the financial markets. Speculation of M&A activity in Australia and solid demand out of China for the currency continue.
The Australian dollar appears well and truly consolidated above 1.0200 for the time being as support held strong overnight. A subdued Asian session saw little response as New Home Sales growth slowed to 0.6% in Feb with the dollar remaining above 1.0230 for the most part.
Energy and telecommunications companies led gains for U.S. stocks as investors looked to push the market higher for the seventh session in nine, ahead of critical data later this week on unemployment and manufacturing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 84 points, or 0.7%, to 12281 in late trading, while the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gained eight points to 1319.
By Greg PeelThe Dow rose 81 points or 0.7% while the S&P gained 0.7% to 1319 and the Nasdaq added 1.0%.Wall Street seems currently determined to re-take the previous February high – now just over 100 Dow points away – as concerns over the triple threats of MENA, Japan and Europe fade into complacency.The battle continues to rage in Libya, with fortunes seemingly swinging back and forwa...
Mig Bank, the first Forex broker to have obtained a Swiss banking license in December 2009, has been granted the Securities Dealer License by the FINMA, the Swiss Financial Market Regulatory Authority.
