- 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.
Leading mobile affiliate network MobPartner just closed a $3.5 million first round from Alven Capital and Newfund. This funding will enable MobPartner to accelerate its international growth.
Leighton Holding Ltd (ASX: LEI) subsidiary Thiess has won a $166 million contract to provide bulk earth works and selected infrastructure for BHP Billiton Iron Ore’s Jimblebar mine near Newman in Western Australia.
Global miner Rio Tinto is negotiating with one of two major shareholders in Riversdale Mining to try and save its near $4 billion offer to secure a majority stake in the Africa-focused miner.Rio Tinto had launched a $3.9 billion, sweetened takeover bid for Riversdale, conditional on at least 50% acceptances, but has so far secured only about 41%.Rio Tinto's lawyer said in a letter released to...
U.S. stocks gave up modest gains to turn lower in the final minutes of Monday's trading session, as financials and materials sectors joined consumer and tech stocks in the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 5.6 points, or 0.1%, at 12,214. The S&P 500 was down 2 points at 1,312.
By Greg PeelLast week's Uranium Report had the weekly spot uranium price indicator determined by industry consultant TradeTech falling from US$67.75 to US$53.00/lb in the previous week's trade. The Monday of that week experienced the first market response to the Japanese earthquake and nuclear disaster.Uranium initially changed hands as low as US$50/lb, TradeTech noted, but prices this low brought...
Australia’s farmer-owned dairy company - Murray Goulburn today advised the co-operative’s dairy farmer - shareholders of a further increase in the farmgate milk price.
Morningstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today released the findings from its 2011 Mutual Fund Stewardship Grade research study, which evaluated more than 1,000 funds from more than 40 fund families on how well each fund treats its fund shareholders' capital.
Emerging East Asia's local currency bond markets lifted by 13.6 per cent to $5.2 trillion in 2010, propelled by strong growth in corporate bonds that helped to offset a decrease in issuance by central banks and some governments in the last quarter of 2010.
By Greg PeelThe words “collateralised debt obligation” are enough to send a shiver down the spine of anyone impacted by, or able to simply appreciate, the recent Global Financial Crisis and its origins. The butterfly which caused the storm was the trickle of defaults in the US of subprime CDOs, a form of mortgage security.That storm finally resulted in the fall of Lehman Bros and the n...
Despite of the bid deadline late yesterday, the management of Rio Tinto is still in negotiation with one of the major Riversdale Mining shareholders to assure a majority stake in the Africa-focused mining company.
By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 22 points or 0.2% while the S&P lost 0.3% and the Nasdaq dropped 0.5%.Wall Street rose to be up around 50 points in the Dow early in the session and remained positive until right at the death, when a large swathe of “sell on close” orders were taken. Talk on the floor last night was not of the movement of the indices however, but of the almost non-existe...
South Australia's monthly retail spending has lagged behind national spending since May last year, official figures show.
What's moving the currency market? Here's the top headline from ForexCT's Market Insight Report delivered to you by the International Business Times AU.
US consumer spending rose by 0.7pct in February after an upwardly revised 0.3pct gain in January.
Gaming console giant Nintendo has announced the launch of several new gaming applications which aims to provide entertainment for players of all ages. The company invites players of any to check out new demo versions of games for the WiiWare service - one offering competitive darts challenges, the other giving preschoolers a fun way to learn by interacting with baby animals.
Online shopping giant eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) has announced completion of a plan to acquire GSI Commerce (NASDAQ: GSIC), a leading provider of ecommerce and interactive marketing services, for $29.25 a share, or total consideration of approximately $2.4 billion. The acquisition, which will be financed with cash and debt, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2011.
Ratings agency, Fitch Ratings says it does does not expect eBay Inc.'s (eBay) proposed acquisition of GSI Commerce, Inc. (GSI) to have an impact on eBay's ratings.
By J SaetteleThe uptrend remains intact as long as price is above US$97.00. Short term support is from US$100.70-102.99 (Fibonacci) and probably strongest near the lower end of that range (reinforced by pivot low). Favor the upside (again, against 9700) towards the longer term channel resistance and a measured objective of US$117.38.The views expressed are not FNArena's (see our disclaimer).For re...
Despite some optimism that Japan would bounce back quickly, there are now signs the recovery will take longer and the impact on the economy will be greater than expected.All those confident forecasts and comparisons with the March 11 quake and tsunami with the 1995 quake in Kobe are starting to look a bit thin.A 6.1 magnitude quake yesterday saw a brief tsunami alert off the northeast coast of Jap...
Good news for the minority shareholders in Village Roadshow (VRL), with the company taking the money and running from Southern Cross Media's bid for Austereo and using the cash to make a capital return of $1 a share.As well the company says a review of costs has found savings of $20 million.But while minorities might cheer (especially with the share jumping 15% yesterday to $4.00, a new 52 we...
Good news for the minority shareholders in Village Roadshow (VRL), with the company taking the money and running from Southern Cross Media's bid for Austereo and using the cash to make a capital return of $1 a share.As well the company says a review of costs has found savings of $20 million.But while minorities might cheer (especially with the share jumping 15% yesterday to $4.00, a new 52 we...
