ASX loses $55b in Glencore-led sell-off

Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 30-Sep-15

The Australian sharemarket fell sharply on 29 September 2015, with the S&P/ASX 200 shedding 3.8 per cent to close at 4,918.4. The slump was prompted by a big fall in the share price of UK-listed Glencore, with the resources sector being hardest hit. BHP Billiton was down 6.6 per cent to a seven-year low of $A21.61 and Paladin Energy was 13.1 per cent lower at $A0.165. Meanwhile, the ANZ/Roy Morgan consumer confidence index fell by 3.4 per cent in the week ended 27 September, following a sharp rise after Malcolm Turnbull became Prime Minister.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, PALADIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX PDN, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, KAROON GAS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX KAR, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AWE LIMITED – ASX AWE, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN STOCK REPORT LIMITED, GLENCORE PLC, ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX

ASX recovers from low to close above 5000

Original article by Vesna Poljak, Mark Mulligan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 25-Sep-15

The Australian sharemarket rebounded on 24 September 2015, with the S&P/ASX 200 adding 73.57 points to close at 5,071. Rio Tinto was 0.6 per cent higher at $A48.30 and Senex Energy advanced 24 per cent to end the session at $A0.155 Wesfarmers rose by 2.5 per cent to finish at $A39.14 and Metcash was up 5.05 per cent at $A1.04

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, SENEX ENERGY LIMITED – ASX SXY, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX NST, ILUKA RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX ILU, SYRAH RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX SYR, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, G8 EDUCATION LIMITED – ASX GEM, IG MARKETS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, IGA, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX

Listed education sector needs investor reassurance: Intueri

Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 24-Sep-15

Australian-listed education providers have a "credibility problem" which is reflected in their share prices. Rob Facer, the CEO of Intueri Education Group, says Vocation’s problems have made investors reluctant to invest in other listed education providers. Intueri’s share price has fallen to close to $A1, from $A3 in late 2014. Facer says the stock is now undervalued.

CORPORATES
VOCATION LIMITED – ASX VET, INTUERI EDUCATION GROUP LIMITED – ASX IQE, AROWANA INTERNATIONAL LIMITED – ASX AWN, NEW ZEALAND INSTITUTE OF SPORT, ONLINE COURSES AUSTRALIA, PHOENIX ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACADEMY, AUSTRALIAN CAREERS NETWORK LIMITED – ASX ACO

Miners savaged as ASX plunges below 5000

Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 24-Sep-15

The Australian sharemarket lost ground on 23 September 2015, with the S&P/ASX 200 shedding 105.4 points to close at 4,998.1. The Commonwealth Bank was down three per cent at $A71.60 and BHP Billiton was 4.4 per cent lower at $A22.80. Telstra eased 0.9 per cent to end the session at $A5.62 and Woolworths fell by 1.7 per cent to finish at $A24.38.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS LIMITED – ASX LNG, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, NUFARM LIMITED – ASX NUF, IG MARKETS LIMITED, SAXO CAPITAL MARKETS (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, FIDELITY AUSTRALIAN OPPORTUNITIES FUND, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX

Vitaco joins Blackmores in vitamins frenzy

Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 & 30 : 17-Sep-15

Shares in Vitaco closed at $A2.38 on 16 September 2015, after listing on the Australian sharemarket at $A2.50. The vitamins and sports nutrition group’s shares reached an intra-day high of $A2.59, compared with an issue price of $A2.10 in an IPO that raised $A232m. Vitaco anticipates strong growth in demand for vitamins in China, which currently accounts for about eight per cent of group sales. Rival Blackmores has also benefited from rising demand in China, with its shares closing at $A130 after peaking at $A132.99.

CORPORATES
VITACO HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VIT, BLACKMORES LIMITED – ASX BKL, NEXT CAPITAL PTY LTD, HEALTHERIES OF NEW ZEALAND LIMITED, NUTRA-LIFE HEALTH AND FITNESS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, SWISSE WELLNESS PTY LTD, BODYTRIM, MUSASHI PTY LTD, AUSSIE BODIES PTY LTD, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH

Crescent lobs $215m bid for Cardno majority stake

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 15-Sep-15

Private equity firm Crescent is seeking a controlling stake in Australian-listed Cardno. Crescent is offering $A3.15 for one of every two shares held by shareholders in the engineering firm. The announcement of the $A215 million bid triggered a rise of as much as 16.4 per cent in Cardno’s share price on 14 September 2015.

CORPORATES
CARDNO LIMITED – ASX CDD, CRESCENT CAPITAL PARTNERS LIMITED

Deal lifts Starpharma shares 21pc

Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 8-Sep-15

Shares in Australian biotechnology group Starpharma closed 21.3 per cent higher at $A0.74 on 7 September, after securing a licensing agreement with AstraZeneca for the use of its dendrimer drug delivery technology. Starpharma CEO Jackie Fairley say the deal could potentially be worth at least $US450m to the company. Starpharma recently posted a 2014-15 loss of $A18.95m.

CORPORATES
STARPHARMA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SPL, ASTRAZENECA PLC, McGRATH REAL ESTATE PTY LTD, ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FIDELITY INVESTMENTS AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Myer investors blame guidance for 25pc plunge

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 4-Sep-15

Myer’s share price plunged 25 per cent as the stock emerged from a two-day trading halt on 3 September 2015. The stock fell to a record low of $A.090 on 3 September 2015. More than 35 million shares changed hands in the wake of the poor 2015 profit result and a disappointing outlook for 2016. However, there was support for the $A600 million "New Myer" turnaround plan proposed by CEO Richard Umbers.

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

ASX sheds $32b as China fears deepen

Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 2-Sep-15

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 2.1 per cent or 110.6 points to 5,096.4 on 1 September 2015. The market lost $A32 billion in capitalisation. Investor sentiment was negatively affected by a fall in China’s official purchasing manager’s index, from 50 in July 2015 to 49.7 in August. BHP Billiton declined 2.1 per cent to $A24.65 and Rio Tinto fell 1.8 per cent to $A49.37.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Big four banks mauled in bear market as capital rules bite

Original article by Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 24-Aug-15

Shares in Australia’s major banks continue to be under pressure. Since the beginning of 2015, they have lost more than $A85 billion in their combined market value, or more than 20 per cent. Shares in the ANZ Banking Group declined 23.9 per cent from their April peak of $A37.25. Investors worry about the bank’s exposure to Asia and to Australian mining companies.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, CADENCE CAPITAL LIMITED – ASX CDT, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, ALPHINITY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD