SHARE PRICES – AUSTRALIA

Market sinking in a sea of red

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 27 : 27-Feb-20

The Australian sharemarket has shed 6.3 per cent since reaching a record high of 7,197.2 points on 20 February, slashing its capitalisation by $136bn. Richard Coppleson of Bell Potter believes that a further sell-off is likely amid growing concern about the spread of the coronavirus beyond mainland China. Wall Street and Asian sharemarkets have also retreated, while the Australian dollar fell to an 11-year low in local trading on 26 February.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED

Markets hit fresh record high

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 26 : 21-Feb-20

The Australian sharemarket has gained 7.2 per cent so far in 2020, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 reaching a new intra-day high of 7,197.2 points on 20 February. The rally saw a number of blue-chip stocks rise to new highs. Meanwhile, the Australian dollar fell to its lowest level in more than a decade in response to data showing that the unemployment rate rose to 5.3 per cent in January. This in turn heightened market expectations of an official interest rate cut by August.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Miners to bear the brunt of China woes

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 25 : 29-Jan-20

The coronavirus crisis has weighed on the shares of Australian resources groups that have exposure to China. Shares in Rio Tinto have closed below $100 for the first time since mid-December, while BHP, Fortescue Metals Group, OZ Minerals and Sandfire Resources also retreated on 28 January. The prices of iron ore and base metals have also fallen in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Macquarie notes that based on the SARS pandemic, base metal prices may take 3-5 months to recover from their recent losses.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL, SANDFIRE RESOURCES NL – ASX SFR, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Scale of Qantas turnaround catches Joyce by surprise

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Original article by Steve Creedy
The Australian – Page: 20 : 10-Dec-14

Alan Joyce, CEO of Qantas Airways, admits that he and his management team had not expected their cost-cutting strategy to bear fruit so rapidly. He has been able to forecast a 2014-15 interim underlying profit pre-tax of up to $A350m, after the previous loss. The carrier’s stock on 9 December closed $A0.01 lower at $A2.38, but had gained nearly 14% the day before when the news was released. Meanwhile independent senator Nick Xenophon wants the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission to look into whether Qantas’s refusal to lower its fuel surcharge despite a falling crude oil price constitutes misleading and deceptive conduct

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, BOEING COMPANY, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AIRBUS SAS, NICK XENOPHON GROUP

Andrew Forrest’s $500m payday as iron ore rallies

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Original article by Julie-anne Sprague
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 12-Dec-19

Shares in Fortescue Metals Group closed $0.14 higher at $10.38 on 11 December, after peaking at a record $10.45. The pure-play iron ore miner’s shares have gained nearly 150 per cent in the year to date; the rally has seen the stake of founder Andrew Forrest rise to around $11.3bn, with the iron ore price trading at around $US93 per tonne. BHP’s share price is currently trading at its highest level since August, while Rio Tinto is trading at a four-month high.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Costello’s warning to retirees

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Original article by Greg Brown, Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 7-Aug-19

Future Fund chairman Peter Costello has urged the US and China to "sensibly negotiate" a resolution to their ongoing trade dispute in the wake of a global financial rout. The Australian sharemarket has shed $86bn in the last two trading sessions, following China’s move to devalue its currency; Costello has warned that Australians’ savings and the federal Budget will be impacted if the trade dispute is not resolved. However, he says it is important to not "overhype" the recent market slump.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Iron ore is surging, but not all producers are joining the party

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Original article by Clyde Russell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 23-May-19

The spot price of iron ore for delivery to China has risen by more than 38 per cent so far in 2019, to over $US100 per tonne. Shares in Australian-listed Fortescue Metals Group have in turned gained 119 per cent in local currency terms, while Rio Tinto and BHP have risen by 33.7 per cent and 15.6 per cent respectively. In contrast, Brazil-based Vale has shed seven per cent in local currency terms so far in 2019, and nearly 16 per cent since a tailings dam collapse in late January.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, VALE SA, GRANGE RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GRR, MOUNT GIBSON IRON LIMITED – ASX MGX, ARGUS MEDIA PTY LTD

Vale’s latest legal blow boosts iron ore stocks

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 8-May-19

Brazilian miner Vale has advised that its sales of iron ore and pellets in 2019 will be at the lower end of its previous forecast of between 307 and 332 million tonnes. The revised guidance follows a court’s move to reverse its decision to allow Vale to resume production at mines that were affected by a tailings dam collapse in January. Shares in Australian iron ore miners rallied on 7 May, and Peter O’Connor of Shaw & Partners expects further volatility in the price of the steel input in the next several years.

CORPORATES
VALE SA, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, MOUNT GIBSON IRON LIMITED – ASX MGX

BHP shares rise on dividend optimism

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 21 : 21-Feb-19

Investors have welcomed BHP’s latest interim financial results, with its share price closing at a long-term high of $37.94 on 20 February. The stock has gained 35.5 per cent in the last year and is now trading at or above the share price targets of seven out of the 12 analysts who are tracked by Bloomberg. BHP has flagged a strong rise in full-year profit if commodity prices remain at current levels, while it announced an interim dividend of $US0.55 per share.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, BLOOMBERG LP, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Banks surge after royal pardon

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Original article by David Rogers, Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 19 & 23 : 6-Feb-19

Jon Mott of UBS has described the final report of the financial services royal commission as a "clear win" for Australia’s banks, saying its recommendations did not meet market expectations. Investors agreed, with shares in the banks and wealth managers AMP and IOOF Holdings rallying on 5 February. Brian Johnson of CLSA says bank stocks could rise further, as the market had priced in more onerous recommendations by commissioner Kenneth Hayne.

CORPORATES
UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, IOOF HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX IFL, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIAN FINANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX AFG, MORTGAGE CHOICE LIMITED – ASX MOC, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, S&P GLOBAL RATINGS