Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 23-Feb-16

The Australian sharemarket posted solid gains on 22 February 2016, with the S&P/ASX 200 adding one per cent to close at 5,001.2. The Commonwealth Bank advanced 1.1 per cent to end the session at $A74.24 and BHP Billiton was 3.4 per cent higher at $A17.18. Brambles rose by 8.5 per cent to finish at $A12 and NIB Holdings was up 7.3 per cent at $A3.52.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BRAMBLES LIMITED – ASX BXB, NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, APN OUTDOOR GROUP LIMITED – ASX APO, ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX

Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 4-Feb-16

The Australian sharemarket retreated on 3 February 2016, with the S&P/ASX 200 shedding 2.3 per cent to close at 4,876.8. A continued decline in the price of Brent crude oil weighed on energy stocks and reduced the market’s capitalisation by $A32bn. The Commonwealth Bank was 2.9 per cent lower at $A75.73, BHP Billiton eased 4.4 per cent to finish at $A14.27 and Liquefied Natural Gas fell 8.5 per cent to end the session at $A0.59.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS LIMITED – ASX LNG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, KAROON GAS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX KAR, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, BP PLC, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, STANDARD AND POOR’S CORPORATION, CLYDESDALE BANK PLC, YORKSHIRE BANK PLC, ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES, WORLD BANK, BANK OF JAPAN, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, HANG SENG INDEX, NIKKEI 225 INDEX, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX

Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 19-Jan-16

The S&P/ ASX 200 index fell 0.7 per cent on 18 January 2016, closing at 4,858.7 points. The energy sector performed poorly, declining 3.4 per cent, but gains were made in sectors such as consumer, industrial and telecommunications. Woolworths rose 4.4 per cent to $A23.65 after announcing it would exit its home improvement business Masters.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AURORA FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, LOWE’S COMPANIES INCORPORATED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, HOME RETAIL GROUP PLC, HOMEBASE, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Original article by Jessica Sier
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 12-Jan-16

Australian resources and financial stocks were heavily sold down in 2015, a trend that has continued in 2016. The financial sector has shed 8.12 per cent in the year to date, while the materials sector is down 9.32 per cent. Defensive stocks such as retailers and telcos have also fallen sharply, although the healthcare sector has shed just 3.84 per cent. JB Hi-Fi, Evolution Mining, Newcrest Mining and Regis Resources are among the few S&P/ASX 200 stocks to be in the black so far in 2016.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, EVOLUTION MARKETS LLC, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, REGIS RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX RRL, AUSTRALIAN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED – ASX API, PRIMARY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX PRY, RESMED INCORPORATED – ASX RMD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED

Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 8-Jan-16

The Australian sharemarket lost ground on 7 January 2016, with the S&P/ASX 200 shedding 2.2 per cent to close at 5,010.3. The bearish sentiment was prompted by factors such as lower-than-expected building approvals data, further moves by China to devalue the yuan and the Brent crude oil price’s fall to an 11-year low. The Commonwealth Bank was 2.1 per cent lower at $A80.41 and BHP Billiton eased 4.8 per cent to end the session at $A16.33. Santos was down 7.4 per cent at $A3.25 and Telstra fell by 1.5 per cent to finish at $A5.32.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, SPOTLESS GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SPO, RUSSELL INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, PEOPLE’S BANK OF CHINA, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, NIKKEI 225 INDEX, HANG SENG INDEX, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, STRAITS TIMES INDEX, CSI 300 INDEX