F33 Basic Material Wholesaling

China manufacturing weakest in three years

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Original article by Angus Grigg
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 2-Sep-15

China’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for August fell to 49.7 in August 2015, down from 50 the previous month. Julian Evans-Prichard, from Capital Economics, says the PMI reading should be seen in context. The lower reading for manufacturing is less alarming when the service sector PMI is taken into account. The latter fell to 53.4 in August, from 53.9 the previous month, which is not a significant decline.

CORPORATES
CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, PEOPLE’S BANK OF CHINA

China’s steel production to fall

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker, Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 20 : 5-Feb-15

The iron ore price may fall to below $US60 ($A77) a tonne, having dropped 50% between September 2013 and early February 2015. The commodity is now trading at $US63, but China Iron & Steel Association executive vice secretary-general Li Xinchuang forecasts a further weakening in demand. In response, dominant Australian producers Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton have ramped up their output while also cutting their cash costs by nearly half. Lourenco Goncalves, CEO of US-based rival Cliffs Natural Resources, has criticised the strategy

CORPORATES
CHINA IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, CLIFFS NATURAL RESOURCES INCORPORATED, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, ILUKA RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX ILU, SOUTH32 LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, NIKKO ASSET MANAGEMENT GROUP

China claims Woodside withheld gas

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Original article by Angus Grigg, Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 : 29-Jan-15

Woodside Petroleum’s Chinese customers have accused the Australian company and its partners of delaying LNG shipments. The Chinese side claims that the North West Shelf Gas consortium is holding back gas in an attempt to force the clients to renegotiate the terms of a deal signed in 2002 and raise the price. At an investor briefing in August 2014, Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said the contract was running at a "cash loss"

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, NORTH WEST SHELF AUSTRALIA LNG PTY LTD, JAPAN AUSTRALIA LNG (MIMI) PTY LTD, TRI-ZEN INTERNATIONAL PTE LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY AND SCIENCE, BP PLC, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, CHEVRON CORPORATION, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

Iron ore set for $6bn in writedowns

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 18 : 28-Jan-15

Provisioning worth $A5.7bn combined due to the falling iron ore price has so far been announced by Australian producers Arrium, Citic Pacific, Atlas Iron, Mount Gibson Iron, Gindalbie Metals and Grange Resources. Fortescue Metals Group may join them when it issues its output data for the December 2014 quarter on 29 January 2015, while the commodity on 27 January declined a further $US2.88 to $US63.54 a tonne. Fortescue shares closed 2.4% lower at $A2.09, after an intraday low of $A1.92 that had not been seen since 2009

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, MOUNT GIBSON IRON LIMITED – ASX MGX, GINDALBIE METALS LIMITED – ASX GBG, BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI, GRANGE RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GRR, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, CITIC PACIFIC LIMITED, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, METAL BULLETIN PLC, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BAILLIEU HOLST LIMITED

Oil prices to stay low for years, JPMorgan warns

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 : 21-Jan-15

JP Morgan has lowered its 2014-15 earnings forecast for Australian-listed resources group BHP Billiton to $US8.3bn ($A10.1bn), or $US1.2bn less than the consensus. A major factor is that JP Morgan also expects the global crude oil price to fall further, and not recover for two years. Brent crude is now tipped to trade at $US49 a barrel in 2015 and $US57 in 2016, compared with previous estimates of $US82 and $US88 respectively. However the Global Energy Fund of Investec Asset Management has taken advantage of the bargain buying opportunity to acquire stock in energy company Santos

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, INVESTEC ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, INVESTEC GLOBAL ENERGY FUND, LUKOIL-NEFTEGAZSTROY, CNOOC LIMITED, CHINA NATIONAL OFFSHORE OIL CORPORATION, PETROBRAS, PETROLEO BRASILEIRO SA

Robb determined to secure India FTA

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Original article by Amanda Hodge
The Australian – Page: 17 : 14-Jan-15

The Australian Government has secured three free trade agreements (FTAs), with China, Japan and South Korea. Trade Minister Andrew Robb says he is very keen to add India to that list, and will continue a series of talks on such a deal during 2015 that started in 2011. He concedes that there are significant hurdles, especially in the areas of agriculture and foreign investment, but notes that the same applied to the China FTA when those negotiations began. Some 450 business leaders from 14 Australian industries are currently visiting India with Robb

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, UNITED PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE, CONGRESS PARTY (INDIA)

Wholesalers defend fuel pricing strategies

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 8-Jan-15

The Australian Government has ordered a review of Australia’s fuel pricing system. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission will monitor oil companies for three years. Viva Energy CEO Scott Wyatt said on 7 January 2015 that the pricing system works well. It is transparent and fast enough to ensure that savings resulting from lower oil prices are promptly passed on to retailers and motorists, he argued

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, VIVA ENERGY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF PETROLEUM LIMITED, EXXONMOBIL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, 7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, ROYAL AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF VICTORIA (RACV) LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY

Exporters face tough times: BIS

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Original article by Bianca Hartge-Hazelman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 16 : 8-Dec-14

A report from the Bank for International Settlements has warned that commodity exporting nations may continue to experience difficult conditions for some time. It cites factors such as the rising US dollar, the recent fall in commodity prices and the funding models used by commercial banks. The price of iron ore has fallen by 18 per cent in recent months, while Brent crude oil is down 32 per cent. The Australian dollar in turn has fallen to a 4.5-year low of $US0.83

CORPORATES
BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

At risk: 13% of nation’s exports

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Original article by Peter Martin
The Age – Page: 4 : 13-Nov-14

Australian shipments of thermal coal to China have grown from virtually nil a decade ago to account for 13% of the nation’s total exports. However, this could drop dramatically again once a new agreement comes into force that commits China and the US to increased use of renewable energy sources as well as nuclear power. Australian National University expert Frank Jotzo says the new deal to curb greenhouse gas emissions is for a reduction in absolute terms. Meanwhile, Minerals Council of Australia CEO Brendan Pearson promotes "clean coal" technology as the solution

CORPORATES
MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Trade action pivotal to G20

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 21 : 12-Nov-14

BHP Billiton chief executive Andrew Mackenzie is also the chair of the trade taskforce of Business 20 (B20), the body advising the Australian Government on the Group of 20 (G20) leaders’ summit in Brisbane in mid-November 2014. He argues that the G20 goal of additional global GDP growth worth $A2trn-plus relies heavily on increased investment in trade-related infrastructure. G20 nations such as India have pledged tariff reductions. GE Mining CEO and B20 human capital taskforce chair Steve Sargent also wants the leaders to roll out new job creation measures

CORPORATES
GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), BUSINESS 20 (B20), BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, GE MINING SERVICES HOLDINGS PTY LTD, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION