Industries
Market sensitive announcements
World Indices
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| ALL ORDINARIES | 5,026.1 | + 0.1 | + 0.00% |
| S&P;/ASX 100 | 4,014.9 | - 1.1 | - 0.03% |
| SMALL ORDS | 2,941.6 | - 1.3 | - 0.04% |
| Dow Jones Industrial | 12,391.25 | + 73.11 | + 0.59% |
| S&P 500 | 1,343.01 | + 2.58 | + 0.19% |
| NASDAQ | 2,833.95 | + 2.37 | + 0.08% |
| Wilshire 5000 | 14,193.72 | + 19.40 | + 0.14% |
| FTSE 100 | 6,082.99 | - 4.39 | - 0.07% |
| CAC 40 | 4,157.14 | + 4.83 | + 0.12% |
| SMI | 6,717.25 | + 10.78 | + 0.16% |
| DAX | 7,426.81 | + 21.30 | + 0.29% |
| HANG SENG INDEX | 23,595.24 | + 293.40 | + 1.26% |
| STRAIT TIME INDEX | 3,086.92 | + 4.09 | + 0.13% |
| Nikkei 225 | 10,842.80 | + 6.16 | + 0.06% |
| SSE COMPOSITE/d | 2,899.79 | - 27.17 | - 0.93% |
Industry Reports
- Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
- Mining
- Manufacturing
- Electricity, gas and Water Supply
- Construction
- Wholesale Trade
- Retail Trade
- Accommodation, Cafes and Restaurants
- Transport and Storage
- Communication Services
- Finance and Insurance
- Property and Business Services
- Government Administration and Defence
- Education
- Health and Community Services
- Cultural and Recreational Services
- Personal and Other Service
Agribusiness
Tassal suffers long wait for a bite
Four months after it put itself up for auction, Australia’s biggest salmon producer, Tassal, is yet to receive a formal offer for a controlling stake in the company.
Australia welcomes end of Japan's whale hunt
The federal government has welcomed Japan's decision to halt its Antarctic whaling mission for the rest of the season.
Consumer Goods & Services
Tips to avoid tripping up
Relativities | Astute readers will have noticed that there is a section called Traveller on a nearby page of this paper, written by business people, who travel so often that they can master almost anything.
Tension in the shopping trolley ranks
Woolworths chief executive Michael Luscombe was uncharacteristically subdued as he released the retailer’s first-quarter sales figures late last year.
Construction & engineering
Strong $A increases asbestos liabilities
James Hardie took a US$46.4 million hit to earnings after the strong Australian dollar increased its asbestos liabilities.
Business calls for PM to show budget boldness
Business leaders have urged the federal government to boost immigration, rein in spending and adopt a much more rigorous approach to infrastructure investment as the economy approaches full employment.
Energy & utilities
Oil prices rise as Mid East unrest escalates
Benchmark crude prices rose on Friday as anti-government clashes in the Middle East kept worries of oil supply disruptions alive ahead of the three-day holiday weekend in the United States.
Tiny Gulf kingdom is key to political future of Middle East
Bahrain is but a speck of sand in the Persian Gulf, home to less than 1 million people in which a Shiite Muslim majority is ruled by a Sunni monarch, who is far from the least enlightened ruler in the Middle East.
Financial services industry
Big sister knows what’s best for you
Capital idea | The government has failed to properly account for lifting the compulsory superannuation contribution to 12 per cent.
Asia delivers, despite the naysayers
Chanticleer | As one of the few chief executives of an Australian company to stick his neck out with a full blown Asian strategy, Mike Smith at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group is used to being kicked.
Information technology
Obama has dinner in the valley
Whether Zynga is really worth $US10 billion seems not to have been the main topic of dinner conservation when President Obama met with technology executives on Thursday night.
Australia stands up for WikiLeaks’ Assange
Australia’s ambassador to Sweden is seeking assurances that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be treated fairly should he be extradited from the UK to Scandinavian nation.
Manufacturing
Holden goes electric
Peter Roberts | Australia’s automotive industry takes a giant leap into the future today with the announcement that GM Holden is to make a trial batch of all-electric Commodores.
Local outfits can meet navy’s sea-lift requirements
Defence Minister Stephen Smith said on February 16 that “all things are on the table” when it came to providing an interim sea-lift capability for the Australian Defence Force. Smith need look no further than two Australian manufacturers, Austal (Perth) and Incat (Hobart).
Materials & packaging
Street Talk
Coal yet to weather the worst
Analysts believe hard coking coal forecasts could stay closer to heightened levels of $US300 a tonne for longer than initially expected because of recent force majeure declarations in Queensland.
Broker Watch
Wesfarmers (WES)
Deutsche Bank cut its price target on Wesfarmers to $40.50 from $41.57, but made an earnings upgrade after the company’s first-half profit was ahead of the broker’s expectations.
Media & marketing
Tension in the shopping trolley ranks
Woolworths chief executive Michael Luscombe was uncharacteristically subdued as he released the retailer’s first-quarter sales figures late last year.
NAB split heralds tactical switch
NAB rolled out a series of stunts across Australia in the past week to send a message it was “breaking up” with the other three big banks.
Resources & Mining
Copper rises on $US; Vale cuts lift nickel
Copper rose on Friday as the doper centlar softened versus the euro, attracting non-US investors, while news miner Vale would cut some of its nickel output underlining supply concerns.
Gold holds near highs amid Mid East unrest
Gold held close to an earlier five-week high on Friday and silver near its strongest since 1980 as unrest in the Middle East piqued interest in precious metals.