Good Shares to Buy Floating shares
{ 8:44 AM, 28/1/2010 } { 1 comments } { Link }
Alan Kohler in his regular briefing explained how shares floats are done these days. The investment banks run what’s called a “book-build”, which is a type of private auction designed to set the price that then flows through to float buyers. They put high prices into the book-builds knowing they will lose money, on the understanding that it will be made up to them later by the investment bank that’s managing the float. Alan says the whole thing is a rort and his advice: stay away from floats, all of them, all the time.
Shares not popular yet
{ 8:40 AM, 15/1/2010 } { 2 comments } { Link }
Recent Citibank Australian Wealth Report indicates that for 75 percent of Australians investing in property is a top priority. Citibank’s survey also found that shares and managed funds are now the least popular method of investment among Australians, with 48 percent believing that now is a good time to invest in the stock market. Is it a sign that shares have more potential to appreciate in value?
Super and Shares in 2009
{ 7:19 PM, 10/1/2010 } { 0 comments } { Link }
The value of average Australian’s superannuation is now $78000, compared with $70000 at the start of the 2009. During last 12 month Australian shares value increased by 30.86% against international share returns of just 2.27% over the same period. According to data from SuperRatings Pty Limited the current five years rolling return of the Australian shares is just around 5% per year.
ANZ on recovery
{ 3:41 PM, 15/8/2009 } { 1 comments } { Link }
ANZ is saying that economic recovery is arriving faster, but of poorer quality and shorter duration. The central issue is to improve savings and shift resources into the economy’s productive base.”But there is no free lunch. Saving and investing for tomorrow means growth being sacrificed today,” ANZ said. That looked to have started with discretionary spending reduced sharply, credit growth slowing rapidly and credit card billings down on a year ago. “But the de-leveraging dynamic is now being tested. If house sales are anything to go by then credit growth is certainly picking up,” ANZ said.
Macquarie Group Ltd
{ 2:20 PM, 4/5/2009 } { 0 comments } { Link }
Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG) reported profit in the six months ended March 31 dropped 64 percent to $267 million as a collapse in asset prices caused larger than forecast writedowns. Macquarie also priced a $540 million capital raising at $27 per share. Separately, the company’s stock rating was cut to “neutral” from “buy” at Merrill Lynch & Co. MQG shares are trading at $32.97.
Mining shares downgrade
{ 10:29 AM, 19/1/2009 } { 0 comments } { Link }
Mining bubble is well a truly over. According to report by Access Economics contract prices for coal and iron ore will be halved in the near future. “We’ve long thought commodity prices have to come back, substantially so,” the economic forecaster says in its latest Business Outlook report. Access Economics has found that spot market prices for the two commodities have dropped to the level of five to six years ago. The price decline in the resources sector would cut employment in mining companies by up to 12 percent in the next financial year, says Access Economics.
BlueScope Steel decline
{ 11:25 AM, 14/11/2008 } { 0 comments } { Link }
BlueScope Steel (BSL) chairman Graeme Kraehe blamed steep decline in its share price to $4.20 recently from $12 a year ago on “a worldwide trend.” He also added that it would leave its interim dividend unchanged at 22 cents this year despite warning that the steelmaker faced tough market conditions for the next nine months. BlueScope projects that it will see production fall by 25 percent in the June half of 2009 because of a $370 million revamp at its Port Kembla industrial complex.
Japanese shares market
{ 5:33 PM, 20/10/2008 } { 1 comments } { Link }
Are we in Japanese style of share market for the next few years? If you think that the years between 2000 and 2003 look bad, get last 30 years chart of Nikkei 225. Keep in mind that on December 29, 1989 the Nikkei 225 had an intra-day high of 38,957. It should not be as bad in our part of the world but the sky in not a limit any more.
Japanese share market index 2000 to 2008
Babcock & Brown Communities
{ 1:12 PM, 6/10/2008 } { 4 comments } { Link }
Babcock & Brown Communities (BBC) formally rejected Prime’s offer of A $A130m in scrip for 40% shares, backing instead a rival proposal by Lend Lease. Analysts at broker Merrill Lynch said BBC would fit in with Lend Lease’s own Retirement by Design brand and take a higher share of the market. BBC shares are trading at $0.36 on 6th of October.
Short selling on ASX
{ 4:16 PM, 28/9/2008 } { 0 comments } { Link }
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission ASIC eased its total ban on short selling, announced on 22nd September, 2008. Under pressure from fund managers, brokers and investment banks some form of short selling will be allowed. The corporate regulator yesterday announced exceptions to the prohibition, allowing investors to continue to use derivative products such as contracts for difference CFDs and equity swaps. The move came in the wake of a similar partial relaxation by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Fairfax Media Digital
{ 5:05 PM, 1/9/2008 } { 0 comments } { Link }
Fairfax Media Ltd (FXJ) which last month announced staff cuts of 550 people at its newspaper division, added 100 people to its Fairfax Digital division in 2008 financial year. Fairfax Media Digital division intends to increase its share of the Internet advertising market. The division’s chief executive, Jack Matthews, said the business was outperforming the rest of the market and they need to invest in that growth. “The division boosted earnings by more than 50 percent in Australia and New Zealand last financial year, underpinning a 47 percent rise for the Fairfax group”. FXJ shares are trading at $2.83.
Is Tabcorp a buy?
{ 4:49 PM, 8/8/2008 } { 1 comments } { Link }
Tabcorp (TAH) the biggest gaming and wagering group in Australia has dismissed calls to restructure its operation or a possible merger with rival Tatts Group to help it recover from the loss of its Victorian poker machine licence few months ago. The company delivered a loss of $165 million yesterday, after announcing write-downs totalling $708 million. However, investors found some optimistic tone in the news that Tabcorp would maintain its 94 cents-per-share dividend paid in 2007-08, and pushed the stock to $9.17. Is it a start of new upward trend?
Babcock & Brown shakeup
{ 11:41 AM, 13/6/2008 } { 3 comments } { Link }
In last two days it is hard not to notice Babcock & Brown Ltd (BNB) shares being aggresivly hit by short-selling. The troubled investment bank lost aroud 40 percent of its value in just two trading sessions. Babcock & Brown market capitalisation has fallen below $2.5 billion, less than a quarter of what it was in mid-2007. The sharp decline has triggered a review of the bank’s $2.8 billion debt facility. It is hard to see how Babcock & Brown will emerge from this drastic shakeup. Peter Meany, the head of listed infrastructure securities for Colonial First State, said “Australia has been the worst performing infrastructure market in the world in the past year, because the gearing structure of the vehicles has changed the defensiveness of the underlying assets,” but eventually, “infrastructure companies that control assets with monopoly characteristics and are focused on delivering operating performance will come out on top”.
NYSE Birthday
{ 3:00 PM, 17/5/2008 } { 0 comments } { Link }
It is good to know that shares trading has been with us for a very long time. Today on May 17 is The New York Stock Exchange birthday. NYSE also called Big Board was started on May 17, 1792. On that day Buttonwood Agreement was signed by 24 stock brokers outside of 68 Wall Street in New York under a buttonwood tree. The first central location of the NYSE was a room rented for $200 a month in 1817 located at 40 Wall Street. The NYSE was destroyed in the Great Fire of New York in 1835 and it moved to a temporary headquarters. In 1863 it changed its name to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Later on The Dow Joes Industrial Average (DJIA) was created by Dow Jones & Company, a financial news publisher in 1896.
Wesfarmers shareholders
{ 12:32 PM, 3/5/2008 } { 1 comments } { Link }
Wesfarmers (WES) has announced a $2.5 billion pro rata entitlement offer to conclude the refinancing of the bridge loans used to facilitate the Coles Group Acquisition. It will raise the funds via a fully underwritten 1 for 8 Accelerated Renounceable Entitlement Offer at an issue price of $29.00 per new share. For detailed information on the announcement, please refer to the WES announcement on the ASX website or contact Computershare (Wesfarmers share registry) directly.
The offer price of $29.00 represents a discount of 22% to the closing price of WES ordinary shares on the ASX on Wednesday 16 April 2008. So if you’re a WES shareholder, you’ll be offered the opportunity to buy one new share for every 8 WES shares you currently hold. Example: If you hold 1,000 WES shares, you will receive an entitlement to 125 shares at $29.00 per unit (a total of $3,625). The rights issue closes on 20 May 2008.
AWB upgraded profit
{ 4:06 PM, 25/4/2008 } { 0 comments } { Link }
AWB Limited (AWB) upgraded its profit forecast for the half-year to March 31 2008. Managing director Gordon Davis credited the upward revision to increased wheat growing activity following recent rains. He said the company’s financial services and domestic commodities arms had performed well, but the international commodities division had seen earnings fall. The half-year result will be known on May 21. AWB shares closed 6.5 percent higher on Thursday at $3.20.
Share trading game
{ 5:44 PM, 21/4/2008 } { 1 comments } { Link }
The Australian and CommSec organized another shares trading game. The top price to win is $24,000. But remember only first 10,000 people can play!
Share trading game
City Pacific shares plunge
{ 12:49 PM, 5/3/2008 } { 9 comments } { Link }
Debt concerns are making yet another property company to manage the financial storm. City Pacific (CIY) had to request trading halt for its shares after half their value was lost on Monday. Shares fell to 97.5 cents on concerns the Queensland based loan provider will not be able to repay the bulk of a $240 million loan facility which is due next month. The share price plunge also forced City Pacific to seek permission to stop redemptions in its $960 million First Mortgage Fund. The chief executive Phil Sullivan described this as “unbelievable.” He added that “We played it clean and straight”. Freezing the funds looks harsh, but not even a bank would survive if most of depositors would ask for money back at the same time.
Wesfarmers positive outlook
{ 10:01 AM, 25/2/2008 } { 0 comments } { Link }
Wesfarmers (WES) indicated that it does not need to sell assets this year despite having to refinance $4 billion of debt accrued during its $20 billion acquisition of Coles Group. Chief executive, Richard Goyder, said Wesfarmers has plenty of cash because of its lucrative investments in the coal industry, with very strong profits and cash flows in its coal division in coming years expected to support other ventures. He said Wesfarmers was dealing with Coles’s “structurally flawed” business. Wesfarmers shares are trading at $39.00.
Telstra strong results
{ 12:49 PM, 21/2/2008 } { 1 comments } { Link }
Telstra (TLS) seems to be a safe bet for now. The company has exceeded expectations with a 13 per cent rise in first-half profit, very close to $2 billion dollars. This result was helped by rapid mobile phone and broadband subscriber growth. The shares are trading around $ 4.80 on Thursday afternoon.
Shares are crashing
{ 3:28 PM, 22/1/2008 } { 2 comments } { Link }
I think that buyers did not come back from a holiday yet. And the traders are pushing the shares to new lows again. This day will go to the history of share market. Today the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index suffered its biggest one day drop since October 28, 1997, falling 7.05 per cent to 5186.8 points. And the All Ordinaries index fell 7.26 per cent to 5222 points. At the moment with the market P/E at around 12 all shares seem to be good to buy.
