Japan: Quake, Tsunami Impact To Be Detailed
Later today and tomorrow we will get a very good idea of the damage done to the Japanese economy by the March 11 quake and tsunami and then the Fukushima nuclear crisis which remains unresolved.
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DIARY: Inflation, Growth, Meetings, Japan, Aust. US
It’s a three-day week in Australia this week, with a fair bit packed into that time.
Read MoreJapan: Exports Down, Confidence Down
Japan is facing several months of falling exports after reporting a 2% fall in shipments in March yesterday.
Read MoreFeature Story: Boom, Bust, Or Bust, Boom, It’s Up To You,
The AMP’s chief strategist, Dr Shane Oliver looks at the role played by investor psychology in investment markets and what it means for investors.
Read MoreUpdates: BHP Billiton’s Bowen Basin Woes Continue
BHP Billiton is facing production and sales problems at its highly profitable Bowen Basin coking coal mines for much longer than previously thought.
Read MoreUpdates: Coles Outperforms Woolies
Have no doubt; Coles Group continues to run rings around rival Woolies, no matter what anyone says.
Read MoreEnergy: Nuclear Power Projects Dropped In Italy, Texas
Japan’s Fukushima crisis continues to impact the nuclear power industry around the world.
Read MoreUpdates: A Busy Time For TSE
It’s been a busy time for Transfield Services with two new service contracts announced after media speculation emerged that the company and UGL Ltd might be a good fit (according to media reports which reckoned UGL bosses could be interested in a deal).
Read MoreUpdates: Higher Oil Prices Cushion Woodside As Sales, Output Slump
It’s not only production of iron ore, coal and uranium that have been impacted by the wet weather and cyclones across northern Australia since the start of the year.
Read MoreTravel: Qantas Boosts Oil Surcharge For A 5th Time
Qantas shares hardly moved yesterday after the airline boosted its fuel surcharge for a 5th time this financial year to where the extra cost is more than some domestic and international routes to NZ.
Read MoreThe Economy: RBA Sees No Reason To Raise Rates
No sign of a rate rise looming from the latest Reserve Bank of Australia board meeting minutes, so the slightly restrictive 4.75% cash rate remains on hold for another month or three, although the big test will come with next Wednesday’s CPI for the March quarter and then the April jobs data on May 12.
Read MoreUpdates: Newcrest Cuts Forecast, More Details On PNG Find
Newcrest Mining has downgraded its full-year gold production guidance following a 16% fall in production in the first quarter of calendar 2011 (the third quarter of its financial year).
Read MoreUpdates: More Troubles For Leighton?
Leighton Holdings may have answered a ticklish question from the ASX yesterday about why it didn’t update the market about its profit drop and writedowns faster than it did, but its problems in the troubled Middle Eastern state of Dubai seem to be deeper than thought last week.
Read MoreRetailing: Woolies Lifts Its Game
Shares in supermarket giant, Woolworths Ltd bounced around yesterday as investors struggled with the third quarter sales update.
Read MoreCredit: US Outlook Cut To Negative For The First Time
Share prices fell and gold and silver charged to new highs overnight in the wake of more fears about Europe and Standard & Poor’s made the historic move and lowered its outlook for America’s long-term debt.
Read MoreChina: New Energy Deal, Market Not Stirred
We had a China link up story yesterday with a small Australian company with lots of talk about big sales potential and profitability, but no immediate market reaction.
Read MoreInsurance: Premium Rises Ahead In Australia
The recent spate of natural disasters here and in New Zealand will see home and car insurance premiums rise "materially" in 2011, according to ratings agency Standard & Poor’s.
Read MoreChina: Inflation Up, Growth Slowing
The sharp increase in China’s inflation rate in the year to March has had an immediate impact with the Government again lifting the reserve asset ratio for banks to a new high.
Read MoreInflation: Worries In The US, India And China
Inflation continues to worry markets (as we said in Friday’s weekly Air) with a spate of reports on Friday night adding to concerns, as well as a misreading of the latest US consumer price inflation.
Read MoreMarkets: Good News For Big 4 Aussie Banks
Australian bank stocks got a boost on Friday ahead of the March interim reporting period early next month for Westpac, the ANZ and the NAB.
Read MoreCommodities: Gold, Silver Up, Copper, Oil Down
Gold jumped Friday and silver on a heady mixture of inflation worries in the US (which were groundless), higher oil prices and more worries in Europe about Greece and Ireland after the latter’s sovereign debt rating was cut by Moody’s.
Read MoreDIARY: Central Bank Minutes Here, Meetings Offshore, Earnings
A short week in many countries because of Easter.
Read MoreSilver: Up, Up And Away
Compared with gold, the action has been in silver for much of the past year.
Read MoreInvestment: Big Global Funds Still Chase Risk
In February big global investors abandoned their reserve and went for risk, only to pull back in early March, before the March 11 disasters in Japan.
Read MoreAsia: Inflation Fears Rise
A week where inflation concerns continued to shuffle into the spotlight across Asia.
Read MoreCorporates: Bank Of Qld Up, Leighton Down
Bank of Queensland shares took a couple of tough bits of news in their stride yesterday, closing up 8c at $9.85 after the bank confirmed a sharp fall in interim earnings and the surprise impending loss of long time CEO David Liddy.
Read MoreGold: Up For The Rest Of 2011
Gold prices could reach or top $US1,600 an ounce by the end of the year, which would put them up by around 10% on current prices, according to the London-based metals consultancy, GFMS.
Read MoreJapan: Economic Outlook Cut By Government
The Japanese government downgraded its assessment of the economy in its monthly report yesterday as the impact of the March 11 quake, tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear crisis take a grim toll on activity and confidence.
Read MoreUpdates: Tabcorp’s 3rd Revenues Up
Gambling giant Tabcorp Holdings yesterday has reported a 5.4% rise in normalised net revenue for the March quarter.
Read MoreUpdates: ERA Shares Trashed On Loss, Grim 2011 Warning
Shares in the uranium miner ERA fell to a 16 year low yesterday in the wake of an earnings warning late Tuesday night and then gloomy comments from yesterday’s AGM.
Read MoreUpdates: Coal And Allied Sees Asia Making Up Japan Losses
Rio Tinto’s 75% owned NSW coal arm, Coal and Allied, revealed rise in production and a rise in sales for the March quarter as the company rode out fluctuating demand and the impact of the March 11 quake and tsunami on the economy of its largest export market, Japan.
Read MoreUpdates: Rio Shares Down As Iron Ore, Copper, Coal Output Falls
Rio Tinto is heading for sharp slowdown in first half profit growth after revealing bigger than expected falls in iron ore and coal production and exports in the three months to March.
Read MoreCorporates: Hastie Shares Hit, Leighton On Creditwatch Negative
More problems for Leighton Holdings and Hastie Group yesterday.
Read MoreUpdates: Macarthur, Iluka, Fortescue
Queensland coal miner Macarthur Coal has warned that further heavy rain in March means it is likely to keep a force majeure in place until the end of this month.
Read MoreJapan: Economy Worsening
The Fukushima nuclear crisis is helping drain the strength from the Japanese economy.
Read MoreAustralia: Economy Recovering From Floods, As Expected
As expected, business conditions rose in March, but confidence remains weak, according to the latest monthly survey from the National Australia Bank.
Read MoreJapan: Markets Down As Nuclear Crisis Upgraded
After ignoring Japan for 10 days, world markets got a reminder yesterday that the world’s third biggest economy continues to be hurt by the impact of the tsunami, earthquakes and the Fukushima nuclear crisis which won’t go away.
Read MoreDeals: WAN Shareholders Tick Seven Deal
As expected, shareholders in West Australian Newspapers Holdings have approved the $4.1 billion purchase of Seven Media Group to create Seven West Media.
Read MoreUpdates; Hastie Joins Leighton In The Red Ink Club
Joining Leighton in the downgrade stakes yesterday was a much smaller contractor, Hastie Group, the air conditioning company, which has been struggling to balance the books for December 31, as well as maintain the confidence of its banks.
Read MoreChina: Import Data Shows Softening Demand
More details of China’s March trade performance (and that for the quarter), tells us the economy is actually looking a bit more sluggish than some think.
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