Commodities: Oil, Silver, Copper Battered, Still Weak
A steadier end to the week for commodities after Friday’s jobs report settled nerves in the US.
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Markets: Steadying End To Week With US Jobs Jump
Respite on Friday night our time for the markets with an easing of the sell off of the preceding four days, thanks to a better than expected jobs report for the US for April.
Read MoreProfits: Nab Joins The Higher Dividend Club
Well, pitching yourself as being customer-friendly by ending charges and fees, such as the controversial home loan exit imposts (and insulting its peers in its advertising) seems to have paid off for the National Australia Bank.
Read MoreUS Debt: More Woe?
The US economy seems to be struggling to maintain momentum, 10 days away from the debt ceiling D-day that seems to be concerning few people at the moment.
Read MoreJapan: Nuclear Energy’s Future To Be Cut?
The March 11 quake and tsunami and the associated Fukushima nuclear crisis seems certain to produce a dramatic change in Japan’s latest growth and energy policy which was only adopted 11 months ago.
Read MoreThe Economy: March Contraction Looms
So the economy is in a strange place.
Read MoreMarkets: Silver’s Rout Spreads
Who’s the first one out the door as markets tank and tremble?
Read MoreThe Economy: Car Sales Weaken
The long and rare combined Easter-Anzac Day break (and the usual one fewer selling day for April) clipped new car sales last month, compared with the corresponding month in 2010.
Read MoreDeals: What Is Reckon Up To With Melbourne IT?
So what’s Reckon up to, buying a bit of Melbourne IT, ruling out a takeover offer, but suggesting closer commercial links.
Read MoreUpdates: Macarthur Lifts Profit Forecast, Cuts Production
Even though Macarthur Coal had good news on the profit front yesterday, the market wasn’t listening, or so it seems.
Read MoreProfits: Westpac Earns, Pays More, Shares Fall
Westpac has joined the banking reality club, along with charter member, ANZ.
Read MoreUpdates: Coca Cola Amatil Warns On Dollar Impact
Investors had a couple of thoughts about yesterday’s trading update from the usually reliable Coca-Cola Amatil.
Read MoreUpdates 2: Stockland Update Fails To Impress
The market took a look at what was on the whole a positive update from property developer and investor, Stockland yesterday and went ‘hmmmmm, don’t know’ and marked the securities down by more than 2% by the close.
Read MoreBanking: ANZ Shares Down On Profit, Dividend Boost
The headline figures looked good, but the market didn’t like the interim results from the ANZ yesterday: it seems there were too many unanswered queries about the quality of the earnings.
Read MoreMedia: Fairfax, APN Warn On Profits
The bad news continues about the newspaper sector of the Australian and NZ media: it’s glum and there’s not much future to be seen.
Read MoreUpdates 1: Good News From Kathmandu, Ruralco
At least one retailer is having a good time at the moment.
Read MoreEconomy: No Rate Rise Now, But One Is Coming
No change in interest rates yesterday, but an increase is looming, perhaps next month or in July after the RBA Governor Glenn Stevens made a significant change to the statement issued after yesterday’s rate setting meeting of the bank’s board.
Read MoreChina: Currency Firming As Manufacturing Steadies
More faint signs of a slowdown in Chinese manufacturing, but they are nothing to get excited about, despite the attempt to do so by some analysts.
Read MoreCommodities: Odd Day For Silver
A weekend after gold and especially silver closed at new highs, they got belted in very thin trading electronic yesterday, especially silver.
Read MoreHousing: Prices Down
Australian home prices are falling, where they will end up no one knows, but they could have a way to go given that lending finance figures for March from the Reserve Bank were weak.
Read MoreProfits: Market Takes A Shine To Orica’s Interim
Mining services and explosives group, Orica withstood the impact of floods and bad weather in Australia and the US and the stronger dollar to report an improved profit performance in the six months to March 31.
Read MoreEarnings: Big Banks Face Testing Week
Three of Australia’s top banks are set to report record profits this week, but did Macquarie tip their hand on Friday with a surprise lift in dividend?
Read MoreThe Dollar: $US1.30 Possible As The Surge Continues
The Reserve Bank board meets tomorrow and is not expected to lift rates.
Read MoreMarkets: Australia Misses The April Boom
Gold up, silver up, oil a bit firmer, Wall Street up, April was a month on the up and up for many markets and investment classes.
Read MoreUpdates: Disasters Slash Buffett Company’s Profit
It’s easy to see why Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is looking at two large acquisitions on the scale of its $US9 billion cash purchase of chemical company Lubrizol Corp.
Read MoreDIARY: Rates, Central Banks, US Jobs, Bank Profits
A very big week ahead for the economy in Australia, the US, Europe and the UK, not to mention China and other economies in Asia.
Read MoreInvestment: Better Deal On Fees And Charges
According to the federal government, there’s a new deal for investors from the long awaited reforms released yesterday.
Read MoreJapan: Economy Damaged By March 11, Rebound Expected
The first rounded glimpse of the damage done to the economy of Australia’s second biggest trading partner reveals damage much larger than expected, but confidence in the recovery undiminished.
Read MoreNZ: Rates On Hold, Outlook Seems A Bit Better
As expected, New Zealand’s Reserve Bank has kept interest rates unchanged after its meeting yesterday and that situation will continue for some time to come because of the impact of the February 22 second Christchurch quake which will help keep core inflation under control.
Read MoreUS Economy: Growth Slows
Higher oil and food prices, a falling dollar, weakening government spending and now US economic growth has come in on the downside of comfortable.
Read MoreUpdates: Macarthur Coal-Bradken
As expected, the flooding and big wet across Queensland since January has put a big hole in the production and sales performance of Macarthur Coal in the three and nine months to the end of March.
Read MoreAustralia: Inflation Up, As Expected
Headline inflation was a bit stronger than expected in the March quarter, but that won’t force the Reserve Bank’s hand at its May meeting next Tuesday.
Read MoreJapan: S&P’s Odd Warning
Strangely, Standard & Poor’s yesterday put Japan on a creditwatch negative because of uncertainty about the amount of spending and borrowing for the reconstruction of the damage caused by the March 11 quake and tsunami and the impact of the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
Read MoreSouth Korea: Economy Still Growing Strongly
Australia’s third most important export market, South Korea, continues to grow strongly, as does the chances of another rate rise.
Read MoreUS Economy: Fed Sits, QE To End In June
As expected there was no change from the US Federal Reserve after its two day meeting which ended early Thursday morning, Sydney time.
Read MoreUS: Fed Meets With Rate Decision Awaited
A big week for the US, with the Federal Reserve expected to keep interest rates and its quantitative easing program on hold, and the first estimate of March quarter economic growth expected to show a sharp slowing.
Read MoreEconomy: Inflation Figures Today
In assessing the likely impact of the March quarter consumer price data later today, here’s a reminder from the minutes of the April 5 meeting of the Reserve Bank board which left rates unchanged.
Read MoreDeals: Barrick Bids For Equinox, Resources Quits
Equinox Minerals has found another Canadian company as its white knight to fight off the hostile bid from one of China’s largest mining and metals groups.
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