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(31 May 2016, AFR, p28, by Vanessa Desloires) ‘High-profile investor Geoff Wilson believes the next six months will be be difficult for the sharemarket, and is hoping to use the weakness to build the portfolio of his fund’s new large cap-oriented listed investment company. “In terms of the overall market, it’s going to be a difficult six months, because … Continue reading
(31 May 2016, AFR, p9, by Michael Bleby) ‘Sydney home prices led a national rise this month in line with April’s increase, research firm CoreLogic said. A 3.4 per cent increase in the NSW capital this month helped drive the capital city-average index 1.6 per cent at the same time, the data provider said, up from 1.7 per … Continue reading
(31 May 2016, The Age, BusinessDay, p23, Mark Mulligan, Senior markets and economy writer, View more articles from Mark Mulligan) ‘Corporate profits continued to decline in the March quarter, adding drag to the value of national output ahead of Wednesday’s gross domestic product figures. The Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Monday that gross operating profits … Continue reading
(30 May 2016, AFR, p21, Financial Times) ‘… Jeweller Tiffany saw its sales dip 3 per cent in 2015. The tourist malaise has extended to Europe and Hong Kong, too. The company had already damped down expectations for the year, but first-quarter results reported this week failed to meet even the lowered targets. Overall sales dropped … Continue reading
(30 May 2016, AFR, p17, by Jamie Freed) ‘A spate of recent profit downgrades by travel industry players shows companies are often better at providing accurate guidance to investors at a time when earnings are rising rather than when they are falling, says McGrathNicol partner Jason Preston. Over the past six weeks, Flight Centre Travel Group, Qantas Airways … Continue reading
(30 May 2016, AFR, p15, by John Kehoe) ‘Hedge funds are copping a shellacking. Returns are falling short, big institutions are ditching the money managers, funds are cutting fees and Warren Buffett couldn’t resist recently admonishing the industry. Clients pulled a net $US15 billion from hedge funds in the March quarter, the largest quarterly withdrawal … Continue reading
(30 May 2016, AFR, p12, by Emma Dong) ‘Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin officially unveiled his Dalian Wanda Group’s first large-scale theme park and entertainment project in China on the weekend, as the conglomerate seeks to unseat Walt Disney Co. as the world’s largest tourism operator. The Wanda Cultural Tourism City, spanning 2 square kilometres in southeastern … Continue reading
(30 May 2016, AFR, p11, by Craig Trudell) ‘Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to propose a fiscal stimulus package of as much as 10 trillion yen ($US90.7 billion) after warning Group of Seven leaders that the global economy faces significant risk of another crisis.’ Read more at AFR.com (might need AFR login access, or … Continue reading
(30 May 2016, AFR, p8, by Julie-anne Sprague) ‘Australian wheat farmers are losing market share in key Asian markets, prompting industry warnings for urgent improvements to railways and other infrastructure to ward of aggressive competition from Black Sea growers.’ <snipped…> ‘GrainCorp chief executive Mark Palmquist said Australia’s natural freight advantage had been eroded by the … Continue reading
(30 May 2016, AFR, p4, by Jacob Greber) ‘Ballooning government and household debt has failed to produce a meaningful economic growth dividend and is increasing risks to the economy, according to damning research by Morgan Stanley that lends support to Labor’s push to dump negative gearing. Calculations by the investment bank show Australia last year … Continue reading
(30 May 2016, AFR, p3, by Matthew Cranston) ‘A rush of investors keen to secure properties before a possible scrapping of negative gearing rules also helped keep both Melbourne and Sydney’s auction markets hitting clearance rates in the mid 70 per cent range.’ Read more at AFR.com (might need AFR login access, or try: AFR.com/trial)
(30 May 2016, AFR, p3, by Su-Lin Tan) ‘Lendlease sold all 391 apartments of the third and final stage of its Darling Square apartments on Saturday, collecting about $460 million. In a four-hour frenzy, a mostly domestic group of 400 buyers, who started turning up from 8am, scooped up the apartments priced between $630,000 and $3.5 million. “This time around there … Continue reading
(30 May 2016, The Age, BusinessDay, p18, Madeleine Heffernan, SMH) ‘In good news for insolvency firms but not much else, insolvencies are rising and the number of retailers appointing external administrators is also up. Electronics chain Dick Smith, home furnishings company Laura Ashley Australia and clothing retailer Man To Man are among retailers to have gone under recently. John Winter, chief … Continue reading
(27 May 2016, AFR, p41, by Stephen Cauchi) ‘Australian shares rose for a seventh consecutive week, pushing the ASX above the 5400-point barrier that had long been a stumbling block to the index and bringing the market to levels last seen in August 2015.’ Read more at AFR.com (might need AFR login access, or try: … Continue reading
(27 May 2016, AFR, p9, by Larry Schlesinger) ‘Apartments in Melbourne’s Docklands, CBD and Southbank are being resold up to 24 per cent below their previous off-the-plan purchase price, catching out vendors, many of whom bought them from investment companies or spruikers. AFR Weekend has found numerous examples of such apartments, most of which are … Continue reading
(28 May 2016, AFR, p1, by Matthew Cranston) ‘Almost $5 billion worth of failed residential development deals this week and a growing number of apartments being sold at a loss is raising the levels of risk and fear in the property industry. Apartments in Melbourne are selling for as much as 24 per cent less than their owners … Continue reading
(27 May 2016, AFR, p8, by Mark Mulligan) ‘Business investment contracted sharply in the March quarter, as non-mining expenditure again failed to much of the slack left by Australia’s resources downturn. The Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday that private sector March-quarter capital expenditure on buildings, equipment, plant and machinery shrunk…’ Read more (and see the graph of capital expenditure … Continue reading
(26 May 2016, AFR, p46, by Michael Bleby) ‘Construction contracted further in the three months to March as engineering work continued to slump and housing construction grew at its slowest rate since 2014. Total work done fell 2.6 per cent to $47.9 billion in March from December, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed. Over the 12 … Continue reading
(26 May 2016, AFR, p35, by Vanessa Desloires) ‘Morgan Stanley has added its voice to a gloomy chorus forecasting deep cuts to interest rates, expecting a fall to 1 per cent. But the weakening impact of central bank stimulus means the sharemarket will find little joy, leading the investment bank to stick to its year-end target of … Continue reading
(26 May 2016, AFR, p34, by Philip Baker) ‘Every now and then the sharemarket ignores the murky outlook for earnings and just heads higher with a full head of steam. Now is one of those times. But downbeat earnings expectations loom…’ <snipped…> ‘But back home, thanks to Wesfarmers and Flight Centre, corporate Australia has finally entered into “confession season”. It’s later than usual … Continue reading
(26 May 2016, AFR, p12, by Michael Bleby) ‘Opteon Property Group says parts of Sydney’s booming apartment market face a price correction next year as they tip into oversupply. Constrained by lack of sites in the city centre in a way that Melbourne and Brisbane haven’t been, the apartment boom in the NSW capital has spread out across the … Continue reading
(26 May 2016, The Age, BusinessDay, p27, Angela Macdonald-Smith, Energy Reporter, View more articles from Angela Macdonald-Smith) ‘Crude oil prices have “turned a corner”, helped by the massive wildfires in Canada and disruptions in Nigeria that are pushing the market back towards a balance more rapidly than had been anticipated, according to Citigroup. Citi has … Continue reading
(25 May 2016, AFR, p24, by Philip Baker) ‘Bell Potter’s Richard Coppleson isn’t superstitious at all. He’s not scared to walk under ladders, he’s got nothing against black cats and for him, Friday the 13th is just another day. But right now there’s one old wives’ tale out there that he’s very worried about. Indeed, he’s warning it could all end … Continue reading
(25 May 2016, The Age, BusinessDay, p35, Jessica Sier, Reporter, View more articles from Jessica Sier) ‘Blue-chip stocks, or the larger players, tend to grab headlines a lot more than their mid-cap counterparts. However, underneath the weight of the big four banks and the resource giants, mid-cap companies have again outstripped the rest of the … Continue reading
(25 May 2016, AFR, p29, by Su-Lin Tan) ‘Brisbane faces an imminent oversupply of apartments, property research group BIS Shrapnel says. Rental apartments are now the majority – 58 per cent – of all apartments in the inner Brisbane area, which is also experiencing a rise in rental vacancy, BIS Shrapnel’s latest market brief reveals. ‘ Read more at … Continue reading
(24 May 2016, AFR, p32, by Vanessa Desloires) ‘The relatively smooth sailing that has fuelled six golden weeks of gains is set to make way for a return to event-driven volatility next month, and investors say they are taking profits from the now expensive Australian sharemarket and lifting their cash positions. The S&P/ASX 200 has risen more than 8 per cent in the past six … Continue reading
(24 May 2016, AFR, p13, by Grant Smith and Mark Shenk) ‘London After failing to reach an accord on oil supply in Doha last month, OPEC is poised to go another meeting with no agreement on how much crude to produce. All but 1 of 27 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg said the Organisation of Petroleum … Continue reading
(24 May 2016, AFR, p12, by Nikos Chrysoloras and Paul Tugwell) ‘Greek lawmakers have approved additional austerity measures required to unlock more emergency loans from the euro area, ahead of a meeting of finance ministers that will assess the country’s compliance with its bailout program and determine the scope for debt relief.’ Read more at AFR.com … Continue reading
(24 May 2016, AFR, p9, by Nathan Paull) ‘Queensland’s crime watchdog is holding secret hearings to look at ways to shut down so-called boiler room scams on the Gold Coast. Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) chair Alan MacSporran told a parliamentary committee on Monday intelligence hearings were already under way into cold call investment frauds, … Continue reading
(24 May 2016, AFR, p9, by Duncan Hughes) ‘Macquarie Bank is planning to hit the brakes on lending to high rise and high density apartment dwellings in up to 120 postcodes around the nation amid growing fears about falling demand and oversupply. A confidential memo from the bank to brokers announces that from May 23 … Continue reading
Aussie Sharemarket Barometer 