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All rights reserved. http://au.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/rss/air/*http://au.biz.yahoo.com/financenews/air_index.html Australasian Investment Review en-us Sat, 4 Jul 2009 18:07:04 GMT http://au.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/rss/air/*http://au.biz.yahoo.com/090702/27/278hy.html Fri, 3 Jul 2009 08:53:00 GMT Next week the US second quarter profit reporting season starts with Alcoa popping up Wednesday night, our time.While the actual figures will be important, what will be more important will be if more companies start giving guidance about the third and fourth quarters and into 2010.The phrase 'limited visibility' has never been heard so much as in the past year and a half in the US. & #160;More and more companies have stopped talking about the outlook and confined themselves to generalities or to how tough it has been.Many have been concentrating on surviving the present, hoping that the future will take care of itself.So if there's a rise in not only guidance, but commentary, that in itself will tell us there's more confidence in the US than there was in the reporting seasons in April and May and in January and February of this year & #160;in particular. & #160;That in turn will go along way to conditioning expectations and market sentiment because US share prices (and those in many other markets) have drifted for the past month or so as investors have wondered, 'has it run too far'.'It' being the market rebound since March.Even though its high summer in the US, & #160;trading volumes have been weak: & #160;investors still worry that & #160;the economy remains prone to shocks, and credit markets are still relying on massive government support to stay liquid.Bears say the economy could be setting up for a double-dip recession that would push stocks to new lows over the next six months (A 'W' pattern recovery).Marketwatch carried this quote this week: & quot;The remainder of 2009 & quot;is likely to be marked by negative real growth, weak nominal growth and significant earnings declines, & quot; said Bob Doll, chief investment officer of equities at BlackRock Inc.Blackrock is in the process of becoming the world's biggest investor with the takeover of BGI from Barclays Bank, so his view carries some weight. & quot;When recovery finally comes, it is likely to be muted as deleveraging on the part of the consumer and the financial sector will take many years, & quot; he said.Standard & #38; Poor's S & #38;P equity analysts believe & #160;earnings will fall 17% & #160;from the June & #160;quarter of 2009 for the 500 companies in the Index.That would be better than the & #160;39% year-over-year decline in the first quarter.But there are wide variations in calls: Reuters Thompson expect a 34% fall.Wall Street analysts having been knocking down their profit estimates, and there is wide variation on 2009 and 2010 forecasts due to the economic uncertainty.Bloomberg this week said: & quot; The second-quarter earnings season kicks off next week with Alcoa the largest U.S. aluminum producer, reporting results on July 8. & quot;Analysts estimate profits in the S & #38;P 500 declined 34 percent in the second quarter and will slump 22 percent on average in the third, before rebounding 62 percent in the final three-month period, according to Bloomberg data. & quot;Marketwatch said that & #160;S & #38;P's Investment Policy Committee has predicted year-over-year changes in S & #38;P 500 earnings per share will climb out of the red by the end of 2009, even though current valuations don't justify moving higher in the short term.The index hit an intraday low of 667 on March 6, and topped out at over 956 on June 11. & #160;It was around & #160;1,500 in late 2007 as the credit crunch starting whacking markets. It closed at 923.33 on Wednesday.The rise to early June was 40%; it's around 3% short of that. Bloomberg pointed out that bank shares have gone sideways since late May in the wash up of the stress test results and the surge of capital raisings by the 19 banks on the stress list.Half of those have now freed themselves from the Government, but their prices haven't benefited from this freedom. Investors remain worried about failures in regional and local banks (eight in the past fortnight alone and 45 so far this year).In fact regional banks have underperformed the banking sector as whole because of worries about stability, commercial property and credit card loans and the continuing home mortgage disasters.If you had to pick a sector that will be worth watching and reading the commentaries, it will be the US regional banking sector. There are still a lot of basket cases there, especially in California, Florida, Georgia and throughout the Midwest.The bullish view was reported by Marketwatch who quoted one US fund manager. & quot;The landscape for stocks looks far brighter that it did at the start of the year or even three months ago, says Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at Davidson Cos.After the June unemployment figures, will he still be as bullish? & quot;We now strongly believe the stock market is in the early stages of a healthy bull market. & quot;Investor confidence continues to rise as does consumer confidence, both of which are key ingredients to sustaining a recovery and stabilizing the economy, & quot; wrote Dickson in a note. He expects most market indexes to end the year with high single-digit or low double-digit percentage gains. & quot;During the past three months, all but one of the S & #38;P 500's 10 industry groups have pulled into positive territory -- with the biggest gains seen in the hardest hit financial sector, up 30% for the quarter and off 4.2% for the year-to-date.The cyclically sensitive technology sector proved the second-biggest advancer, climbing 18% during the quarter and 25% year to date. & #160; http://au.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/rss/air/*http://au.biz.yahoo.com/090702/27/278hx.html Fri, 3 Jul 2009 08:51:00 GMT Unemployment in the US and Europe continue to rise to levels not seen for a decade or more.The US Labor Department reported that June unemployed jumped by 467,000, far more than the 325,000- 363,000 range predicted in pre release surveys.It was the worst loss for the past four months and was seen as a sign that the US economy is not getting better, as some would have us believe, but it probably isn't getting worse.It was a worrying development because it stopped four months of easing jobless numbers that had gotten some analysts wondering if the economy was travelling a bit better than expected.Job losses were widespread, another worrying sign.That left the unemployment rate at 9.5%, up slightly from the 9.4% rate of May. That's still the highest since 1983.The department said Job losses were widespread across the major industry sectors, with large declines occurring in manufacturing, professional and business services, and construction.The steepest declines in services, which fell 244,000 after a 107,000 drop in May; professional and business services fell 118,000, while government employment fell 52,000 (They have been very strong for months now). Manufacturing was one of the few sectors to show a smaller drop in June, falling 136,000 after a 156,000 slump in May.The department said that job losses from April to June averaged 436,000 per month, compared with losses averaging 670,000 per month from November to March.Since the recession began in December 2007, 6.5 million jobs have been lost.The participating rate was 59.5, down 3.2 percentage points since the recession started (In Australia its around 65.2).Separately, the department said the number of people making unemployment benefits claims last week fell in line with forecasts, but still remained above 600,000 where they've been for most of the year.the department said initial jobless claims dropped by 16,000 to 614,000 in the week ended June 27, from a revised 630,000 the week before.The number of people collecting unemployment insurance decreased by 53,000 in the prior week, to 6.7 million and the four-week moving average of initial claims, a less volatile indicator, fell to 615,250 from 618,000.May's original loss of 345,000 was revised to 322,000, according to the latest report. April's were revised to 519,000.Average hourly earnings were flat at & #36;US18.53 in June, (Earnings are up 2.7% in the past year to June after being up 3.1% in the year to May). Average weekly earnings have risen by only 0.9%, reflecting a decline in the average workweek in the US in that time .The average workweek fell six minutes to 33.0 hours, the lowest ever recorded in the series which started in 1964. Hours worked fell 0.8%. (But rose slightly in manufacturing).In Europe, unemployment in the 16 countries using the euro climbed to a 10-year high of 9.5% in May after 273,000 jobs were lost across the zone.It was the highest level of unemployment since May 1999, the European Union's Eurostat data agency estimated.The May unemployment rate was up from 9.3 % in April and 7.4% in May of last year.In the 27-nation EU the unemployment rate rose in May to 8.9%, the highest level since June 2005 with 385,000 jobs were lost.Eurostat estimated that in total 21.5 million people were unemployed across the EU in May, of which 15.0 million were in the euro area. & quot;Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in the Netherlands (3.2%) and Austria (4.3%), and the highest rates in Spain (18.7%), Latvia (16.3%) and Estonia (15.6%). & quot;Compared with a year ago, all Member States recorded an increase in their unemployment rate. The lowest increases were observed in Germany (7.4% to 7.7%) and the Netherlands (2.8% to 3.2%). The highest increases were registered in Estonia (3.9% to 15.6%), Latvia (6.1% to 16.3%) and Lithuania (4.7% to 14.3%), & quot; Eurostat reported. In Ireland the jobless rate hit 11.9%.Figures out also confirmed that deflation still grips the wider economy with producer prices falling by 0.2% in a preliminary report for June, after being down 0.9% in May.Meanwhile the European Central Bank left its main refinancing interest rate unchanged at a record low of 1.0% overnight Thursday, as expected by the market. http://au.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/rss/air/*http://au.biz.yahoo.com/090702/27/278hw.html Fri, 3 Jul 2009 08:50:00 GMT Another & #160;monthly trade deficit with those lazy, hazy days of summer and the & #160;big trade surpluses banished by the downturn in iron ore and coal prices, while the slump in imports & #160;shows the slowdown is still curbing demand, especially for capital goods.In fact the impact of the global slump on resource projects and other business investment was again seen in the noticeable fall in the value of capital goods in the month, off 14% or more than half a billion dollars in May.The import figures though tell us that the economy has gone to sleep, enlivened only by the housing sector and the stimulus boost to some sections of retailing (imports of household electricals rose 6% or & #36;29 million in the month, according to the ABS). & #160;The imports fit with the very subdued business credit figures from the Reserve Bank earlier in the week which also showed a fall in May.In fact, the early information flow from May is a bit like April, except housing approvals were down a touch and retail sales a bit stronger. Private credit was weaker, next week we will find that employment rose and overall it's a bit more of the same.But no bitter slump like Japan, the US and Europe continue to endure, even if there're signs of an easing in the intensity of the recession.Export income fell in May faster than imports fell, with the result a deficit of & #36;560 million was recorded, significantly higher than the restated & #36;282 million deficit for April.That was originally reported as a deficit of & #36;91 million, and the revisions continue the recent trend of reworking of the monthly trade figures as prices for iron ore, coal and other mineral exports are reinterpreted to get more accurate outcomes.The Australian Bureau of Statistics said & #160;that & #160;seasonally adjusted & #160;export income fell & #160; & #36;1.112 billion (or 5%) to & #36;20.392 billion in may with & #160;non-rural goods falling & #160; & #36;684 million (5%), other goods & #160; & #36;368m (24%) and rural goods down 3% or & #160; & #36;86m. Services credits rose & #36;27m (1%).The ABS said that imports fell 4%, & #160;seasonally adjusted terms, & #160;( & #36;838 million) & #160;to & #36;20.948 billion. & quot;Capital goods fell & #36;577m (14%), intermediate and other merchandise goods fell & #36;464m (7%), consumption goods fell & #36;54m (1%) and services debits fell & #36;37m (1%). Other goods rose & #36;294m (35%), & quot; the ABS said.The trade performance will continue to readjust for the next few months as more accurate information becomes available on the impact of the big price cuts for coking and thermal coal and iron ore.However iron ore price talks remain deadlocked with the big Chinese buyers, and there's a growing chance that more and tonnage may be sold into the spot market by Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, which will further add to the monthly variations for export income.The ABS also detailed a number of revisions to the trade figures going back into 2008.It's too early to say if these will have any significant influence on economic growth in the three quarters to the end of March.The ABS has to work out where the revisions impact in the trade account, but they do have the potential to cut growth. & quot;Revisions have been made to incorporate the latest available data relating to merchandise trade and international trade in services. In original terms, these revisions have: & quot;Turned around the surplus on goods and services for April 2009 by & #36;196m, resulting in a deficit of & #36;39m; & #160;decreased the surplus on goods and services for the 10 months ended April 2009 by & #36;2,847m to & #36;6,260m. & quot;Increased the deficit on goods and services for 2007-08 by & #36;2,055m with: & #160;goods debits increasing by & #36;75m! Service credits increasing by & #36;16m & #160;services debits increasing by & #36;1,996m, & quot;the ABS said. & #160;Chris Caton, Chief Economist with BT Australia said in his comment yesterday: & quot;Australia may have returned to trade deficit territory, but it's hard to get too upset. & quot;Exports are falling because coal and iron ore prices have undone some of their remarkable rise in 2008. & quot;The understated story may well be the continuing weakness in imports, which have fallen by 18% in the past six months.There are no monetary policy implications from today's data. Rates are on hold for the foreseeable future. & quot;Mr Caton pointed out that & #160; & #160; & quot;Japan remains our biggest export market, taking 23.0% of our merchandise exports in the eleven months to May, compared with 18.9% a year ago. & quot;This gives some idea of the effects of (still high) coal and iron ore prices. & quot;China's export share was 16.8%, compared with 14.9% last year. & quot;China is also our largest source of & #160;imports, with its share being 16.9%, up from 15.5% a year ago. & quot;So far this financial year, we have run a trade surplus of & #36;1.72 billion with China. & quot;The US's share of imports was 11.6%, down from 12% a year earlier. & quot; http://au.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/rss/air/*http://au.biz.yahoo.com/090702/27/277xd.html Thu, 2 Jul 2009 11:55:00 GMT The market is up 29. We were up 36 at best. The SFE Futures were up 16 points overnight.Dow Jones closed up 57. Dow up 133 at best and up 1 at worst. Lowest volume in 3 weeks on the NYSE ahead of the long weekend - 4th July celebrations. US jobs numbers tonight. Expecting job losses of 363,000, but they could well be weaker than that. Gold up & #36;13, Oil down 50c. A & #36; up to 80.91c.IRON ORE NEGOTIATIONS - The China Iron & #38; Steel Association (acting on behalf of Chinese steel mills) has backed down from its tough stance on iron ore price cuts. It is now apparently ready to talk about a price cut of 33% (instead of 40%) on benchmark iron ore fines for the 2009-10 year, in line with the cuts accepted by Japanese and South Korean steelmakers.RIO RIGHTS & #160;ISSUE & #160;CLOSED - Rio Tinto says there was a 96.97% (508.6m shares) take up of its & #36;US15.2bn rights issue in the UK. London listed shareholders were offered 21 new shares for every 40 held. Rio is yet to give an indication of the acceptance level from its Australian rights issue, but they are likely to have had a similar response from such a deep in the money rights offer.Quiet day on the news front...Extract Resources (EXT) up 4% after upgrading the resource at the first zone of its Rossing South uranium prospect in Namibia by 34%.GPT Group(GPT) says it has the facilities to buy a 16.7% stake in the Highpoint Shopping Centre after receiving a put option exercise notice in relation to the Besen family's stake in the centre. Up 1.8% today.NIB Holdings (NHF) announces FY09 policyholder growth of 5.17% (18,899), slightly better than the 4% predicted in April by NIB. It also reaffirmed guidance, expecting a pretax underwriting result for the FY in the range of & #36;35- & #36;40m. Price up 2c to 90.5c.Macquarie DDR Trust (MDT) announces a JV reorganization update.David Clarke will retire as chairman of Goodman Group (GMG) tomorrow. Ian Ferrier will continue as acting chairman.Extract Resources (EXT) upgraded the resource at the first zone of its Rossing South uranium project in Namibia by 34%.GPT Group(GPT) has received a put option exercise notice in relation to the Besen family's 16.7% stake in Highpoint Shopping centre. GPT says it has the ability under existing facilities to acquire a 16.7% in the centre.APA Group(APA) has completed a & #36;US140m US private placement.WestpacChairman Ted Evans has told shareholders in a letter that he expects to see increasing pressure on consumer loans as unemployment rises.Lakes Oil(LKO) up over 60% on news of a successful refracturing of its Wombat-2 well. & #160;In other news...RBS Equities has initiated coverage on Goodman Group (GMG) with a Hold recommendation and 38c target price. They say balance-sheet recapitalization and the debt renegotiation should refocus investors on GMG's operating model.Morgan Stanley has upped its coal price forecasts and upgraded several coal stocks. Ups Centennial Coal (CEY) to Overweight from Equalweight and its target price to 316c from 239c, Whitehaven (WHC) to Equalweight from Underweight, target price to 308c from 184c and Riversdale Mining (RIV) to Equalweight with a target price of 512c, up from 341c.JP Morgan is Overweight Boart Longyear (BLY) with a 40c target price after its Sub-Saharan drilling unit sale. & #160;The Dow Futures are down 7 at noon. & #160; & #160;Information provided to you by Marcus Today & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160;Register for a one week free trial of Marcus Today CLICK HERE http://au.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/rss/air/*http://au.biz.yahoo.com/090701/27/277t8.html Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:15:00 GMT Melbourne-based whitegoods group, Clive Peeters seems to be one retailer which missed the stimulus boom.The company is facing a 2009 loss, dividend will be skipped and the outlook is grim with a lock on costs to allow cashflow to grow.Costs have been cut, stores and a big warehouse in NSW closed and staff reduced.A revamp plan that was based on a recapitalisation of the company has been ended. & #160;The company says it expects the tough trading conditions to continue into 2010, but is confident the reduced cost structure will see a return to profitability.The market didn't like the news and the shares fell 1.5 cents to 16.5 cents.Directors announced that a Strategic Review that formally commenced in February of this year, has been abandoned after failing to provide & quot;acceptable outcome that represents shareholder value, or is in the best interests of shareholders. & quot;The company revealed that it will incur a loss in the 2009 financial year that ended on Tuesday. & quot;The Company had provided guidance in an earlier announcement about the prospect of a nominal operating loss for FY'09. & quot;The Company forecasts that it now expects to report an Operating Loss before Tax for FY 2009 within the range of & #36;4.5m to & #36;5m, but this includes non-recurring costs associated with the strategic review; losses on stores now closed and store closure costs; one off costs of re-engineering the business' overhead cost structure, and the costs of recent refinancing. & quot;Collectively these nonrecurring costs approximate & #36;2.1m & quot;.The Company also confirmed that it will not be declaring a final dividend for FY'09.Explaining the decision to ditch the review, CEO & #160;Greg Smith, & #160;said in the statement & quot;although our preferred outcome from the strategic review was a re-capitalisation of the Company it has been very difficult in this economic environment for small to medium listed companies to raise capital, so for now it is business as usual and we welcome the opportunity to concentrate our full attention on managing the business. & quot;Nevertheless we will continue to explore any genuine opportunities to strengthen our Balance Sheet and to reduce our reliance on Debt going forward. & quot;The company said & #160;it and its & #160;Bank, the National Australia Bank, have completed the annual roll over of the Company's short term facilities for a further 13 months to 31st July 2010. The Company's longer term facilities are not due for renewal until 30th June 2011.Mr. Smith said & quot;This is very positive news, and a credit to our management team. & quot;Big ticket discretionary retail conditions have been and will remain challenging, with sales and margins under considerable pressure. & quot;However our business plan for FY'10 is sound, and the Company has taken and is continuing to take the appropriate action to manage a very difficult retail cycle & quot;. & quot;Over FY'09 we have progressively reduced our underlying & #160; business overheads by & #36;38 million annualised. & quot;This is an outstanding result which our management team has worked hard to achieve. & quot;An approximate & #36;14.1m of this cost re-engineering will reflect in the FY'09 result, but the full benefit of this overhead restructuring will be realised in FY'10. & quot;With this reduced cost structure now firmly in place we are confident we have repositioned the business for a return to profitability in FY'10, even taking into account the likelihood that sales and margin will be under continuing pressure during FY'10. & quot; & quot;Whilst 2009 has been an extremely difficult year due to tougher than expected trading conditions in the premium discretionary retail space, we have used the time well to prepare the business for the long term sustainability of the Company.We have closed three small and unprofitable stores in FY 2009 (Greensborough Vic., Northbridge WA and Aspley No. 2, Qld.) and will close one more in the next few weeks (Hervey Bay Qld.). & quot;FY'10 will see a continuation of the consolidation phase, with expansion on hold until the retail cycle improves. & quot;The Company's focus on improving trading results in New South Wales resulted in the recent closure of our centralised warehouse facility, and we will now service our customer deliveries in that State direct from our retail stores. The closure of the central warehouse will not compromise the Company's customer service or value proposition. & quot;We have also taken other steps to further reduce our costs of operation in New South Wales. & quot;These initiatives should allow the State to move even closer to break even trading over FY'10. & quot;We are committed to maintaining the lower cost structure and when the business cycle does turn, as we expect it should over the latter part of calendar year 2010 and into 2011, Clive Peeters will be well placed to leverage improving profitability from this lower cost base. & quot;Having said that, our business plan for FY'10 is conservative and is predicated on the assumption that retail conditions will continue to be as challenging as they were over FY'09. & quot;The Company announces that by adopting very strict inventory management disciplines it has reduced its overall investment in inventory over FY'09 by in excess of 20% despite opening two new superstores. Smith said & quot;This has assisted us to maintain our sound cash flow position, and together with our reduced costs of operation will enable the Company to commence a solid Bank debt reduction programme over FY'10, which will then continue into 2011 and 2012, & quot; Mr Smith saidClive Peeters expects to formally announce its full year 2009 trading results on 28 August 2009. & #160; http://au.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/rss/air/*http://au.biz.yahoo.com/090701/27/277t3.html Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:12:00 GMT Hastings Diversified Utilities Fund (HDF) went into a trading halt yesterday after & #160;deciding against selling & #160;assets to raise cash in favour of a & #36;250 million capital raising.It will be the first new capital raising of 2009-10 financial year after some & #36;40 billion was raised in the 2009 year.Hastings said the & #160;funds from the raising will be used to repay an & #36;80 million loan and cover its hybrid securities.It plans to raise & #36;192 million from a one-for-one entitlement offer of new stapled securities and & #36;58 million from an institutional placement of new securities, at 90 cents each.That's a 24% & #160;discount from the last sale & #160;price for the securities of & #36;1.185The offer has been fully underwritten by JP Morgan and UBS.HDF's responsible entity Hastings Fund Management said in a statement, the raising & #160;will strengthen HDF's balance sheet and provide it with capital.The manager said its independent directors had considered indicative proposals to buy all or part the Epic Energy business, which holds three major natural gas transmission pipelines system in Victoria and South Australia, and its South East Water business in the UK, alongside the capital raising option.Those plans, especially the proposal to sell the Epic Energy business, has generated a lot of adverse publicity, as had fees paid by the fund to the responsible entity.Hastings Fund Management was entitled to an incentive fee of just over & #36;18 million for last year for outperforming the ASX 200 industrial accumulation index.(Fees since the fund was floated in 2004 total & #36;57 million, including the latest performance fee.)The performance fee was to be paid through the issue of HDF securities at a minimum of & #36;2.56 a security (7.2 million securities), but it has been deferred (but not waived) because of the slump & #160;HDF securities in recent months amid speculation about its debt problems and possible asset sales. & quot;After consideration of the options available, and having sought independent advice from Grant Samuel, the independent directors concluded that, on balance, the offer is the better decision for HDF's existing securityholders, & quot; it said yesterday.Following the offer, HDF says it will have a positive net cash position at the fund level and its consolidated gearing will be about 64%.After the loan repayment and hybrid securities cover is accounted for, the remaining offer proceeds of about & #36;50 million will be used for the proposed expansion of Epic Energy's South West Queensland pipeline, which transports coal seam gas.HDF said the chief operating officer Tom Meinert plans to leave the fund after the security offer is completed. His role will be taken over by HDF chief executive Steve Boulton until a replacement is found. http://au.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/rss/air/*http://au.biz.yahoo.com/090701/27/2770g.html Wed, 1 Jul 2009 12:11:00 GMT The market is down 87 compared to the 24 point fall the SFE Futures predicting this morning. The market popping 20 points on the end of day match out yesterday hasn't helped our performance this morning - seems we have lost that end of financial year window dressing on the open.Wall St. fell 82 overnight. Dow up 31 at best and down 135 at worst. Consumer confidence numbers came in below expectations. S & #38;P 500 up 17% in the quarter. Best quarter since 1998. Follows a 12% fall in Q1 and 24% in Q4. Metals down. Oil price down and Gold also down.The All Ords lost 26% from June to June or 1402 points. 14 stocks accounted for 50% of the fall. It was the fourth worst financial year since 1936 beaten only by 1982, 1952 and 1974.In the news today...Alliances Resources (AGS) out of a trading halt. Shareholders took up 52% of the shares offered under the Rights Issue, leaving a shortfall of 12.57m shares.Asciano Group(AIO) has successfully completed the initial allotment of 310.37m new shares under the institutional component of the entitlement offer.BHP Billiton (BHP) said it will stop producing rod and billet from its Bayside aluminium smelter.Boom Logistics (BOL) in a Trading Halt.Cabcharge Australia (CAB) say the legal proceeding initiated by the ACCC should be have a material effect on its business.Commonwealth Property (CPA) has sold its 300 Queen St. property in Brisbane for & #36;110m.Downer EDI(DOW) has appointed Grant Fenn as its CFO.Minemakers(MAK) has provided an update on its takeover offer for Bonaparte Diamond Mines.Mount Gibson Iron (MGX) has completed a restructure of its US & #36; foreign exchange hedge book, which now totals & #36;US335.1m.Babcock & #38; Brown Infrastructure (BBI) has completed an expansion of its Dalrymple Bay coal terminal in QLD state, increasing its capacity by around 50%.Boart Longyear (BLY) has sold its South African Manufacturing Operations.PanAust(PNA) has retired its & #36;US80m subordinated debt facility with JB Were.Australand Property (ALZ) has extended its & #36;950m multi option facility until June 18, 2011. & #160;In other news...May Retail Sales numbers up 1.0% - higher than the expected +0.5%.May Building Approvals numbers collapse 12.5% against the expected +3.3%.Street Talk suggest Oz Minerals could be bid for now that is doesn't have any debt, has US & #36;575m in the bank and is currently without a CEO. Anglo American a possible bidder even though Anglo is currently being bid for by Xstrata. OZL down 2c to 90c today.According to Bloomberg the ANZ Bank is in advanced talks to buy the retail and commercial banking operations of RBS Equities in at least 5 Asian countries..Clive Peeters (CPR) has abandoned the strategic review it began back in February this year saying it failed to find & quot;an acceptable outcome & quot;. Price down 14% to 15.5c. & #160;The Dow Futures suggest a 3 point gain on Wall St. tonight.Information provided to you by Marcus Today & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160;Register for a one week free trial of Marcus Today CLICK HERE http://au.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/rss/air/*http://au.biz.yahoo.com/090630/27/276my.html Wed, 1 Jul 2009 08:30:00 GMT A slow end to a big quarter for global markets, with the big question now, where to next?On & #160;Wall Street, the Dow slipped 82.38 points, or 0.97% Tuesday to end the quarter at 8,447.00. & #160;The Standard & #38; Poor 500 eased 7.91 points, or 0.85%, to 919.32 and Nasdaq lost 9.02 points, or 0.5%, to 1,835.04.For the quarter the S & #38;P 500 posted its best quarterly performance since the fourth quarter of 1998, thanks to the strong rebound from March. & #160;It was up 15%For the month of June, the Dow shed 0.6%, the S & #38;P 500 inched up 0.02%, and Nasdaq climbed 3.4%.Since its 12-year closing low on March 9, the S & #38;P 500 is up 35.9%.But markets everywhere have been moving sideways for the past three weeks to a month as investors assess the state of the global and national economies and those now legendary green shoots.But over the past three months, all but one of the S & #38;P 500's 10 industry groups have pulled into positive territory -- with the biggest gains seen in the hardest hit financial sector, up 30% for the quarter and off 4.2% for the year-to-date.The cyclically sensitive technology sector proved the second-biggest advancer, climbing 18% during the quarter and 25% year to date.The S & #38;P 500's 2-year-plus low in early March saw it down more than 57% from the record high it set in October 2007.The Australian sharemarket ended the financial year higher, but lower.On the day the & #160;ASX200 index was up 68 points, or 1.8% on the day & #160;at 3954.9 points, while the & #160;All Ordinaries index rose & #160;65.1 points, or 1.7% to 3947.8 points.The meant the ASX200 has now posted four consecutive months of gains and is up 6.3% since the start of 2009.For the June quarter, the ASX200 rose 10.4%, its best return in four and a half, while the All Ordinaries added 11.7%, the best return since the end of 2001.The rise over the June quarter was the best performance on the market since December 2001 and restored about & #36;220 billion to shareholder wealth and taking the value of the Australian market back above & #36;1 trillion for the first time since the Lehman Brothers driven meltdown started last September.However, it is still down 24.2% over the past 12 months, its biggest fiscal-year & #160;loss since 1982 and the recession before last.Australia's share drop over the past year is in line with most of the main overseas markets. Japan's Nikkei 225 lost about 26% in local currency terms over the past year, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng is off about 16%.London's FTSE 100 fell 1% Tuesday, but was up 8.2% for the quarter, the performance since the final quarter of 2003. It has gained 22.8% since touching a six-year low on March 9.The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares fell 1.1% on & #160;Tuesday to 850.17. & #160;The index rose 15.9% over the second quarter, its best performance since 1999, having hit a lifetime low on March 9.The other major European index, the Stoxx 600, fell 1.1% on the day but was also up 17% for the quarter, the biggest quarterly rise since the final quarter of 1999.The Nikkei rose 174.97, or 1.8% yesterday, to close at 9,958.44 in Tokyo.the Nikkei had a big quarter, rising 23.4% for the biggest quarter since 1995.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1.2% on Tuesday. the index rose 29% for the quarter, the biggest rise since the index started 21 years ago.Emerging market stocks recorded even stronger quarterly gains and the Chinese market is up around 62% this year, thanks to the & #160;surge in bank lending and cash from the Government's huge stimulus program. & #160; & #160; http://au.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/rss/air/*http://au.biz.yahoo.com/090630/27/276mx.html Wed, 1 Jul 2009 08:29:00 GMT Oil had a last day burst, to a new 8-month high, then fell sharply to close under & #36;US70 a barrel in & #160;New York as new doubts emerged about the greenness of those shoots.Gold ended the month, quarter and the half year with less than stellar gains.But oil had its biggest quarterly gain since 1990.Yesterday a weak US dollar & #160;and worries grew about supplies from Nigeria pushed oil up, then worries about the US economy sent it lower.It was storming end (of sorts) to the quarter and half year (and financial year in Australia).Oil jumped as much as 2.6% in New York, adding to Monday's & #160;3.4% rise, as investors sought commodities.The greenback fell & #160;against major currencies on optimism that the world economy is recovering.Shell shut a field after an attack by Nigerian rebels, disrupting supply from Africa's largest producer.It was at & #36;US72.40 a barrel at & #160;in Europe overnight and then fell under & #36;US70 a barrel in & #160;New York after a set of poor economic figures were released. It ended at & #36;US69.89 a barrel.Despite the loss, oil rallied 41% in the second quarter, the biggest three-month advance since Saddam's invasion of Kuwait in the third quarter of 1990.Crude oil rose 5.4% in June, its fifth consecutive monthly gain. It jumped 57% in the first half of the year.Oil peaked at & #36;US147.47 a barrel on July 11, 2008 and fell from then on to lows in December, and then January and February.It rebounded from a low of & #36;US33.98 a barrel on February 12.Yesterday, China, the world's second-biggest energy consumer, raised domestic fuel prices & #160;by up to & #160;11% to encourage refiners to produce more fuels amid higher crude costs.Gold provided no joy whatsoever, despite promising much.New York gold futures for August delivery fell & #36;US13.30, or 1.4% to & #36;US927.40 an ounce on Comex Tuesday.The most-active contract rose 0.3% for the second quarter, but was down 5.4% for the month.Gold is up 4.9% so far this year, a sign of how confidence about the financial system has returned, and how those occasional outbursts of concern about inflation, are not really sustainable at the moment..Comex September copper futures slid 5.4 cents, or 2.3% Tuesday in & #160;New York to & #36;US2.272 a pound & #160;That was the biggest fall in a week (Perhaps China has stopped buying after saying it was planning to do so) & #160;Copper prices were up 3.4% in June and 23% in the second quarter.Copper is up 61% so far in 2009 on that Chinese buying and the green shoots argument about recovery in the global economy.US wheat prices fell 20% in & #160;June as signs emerged the winter wheat crop would be bigger than expected. July wheat futures fell 17.25 cents, or 3.3%, to & #36;US5.1125 a bushel in Chicago, on Tuesday.US Bonds were & #160;down around 4%, according to an index from Merrill Lynch, compared to a 14% rise last year (concentrated in the final quarter) after Lehman Brothers fell over, other banks quaked, economies trembled and investors fled for cash and their close equivalents, US bonds. & #160;The Australian dollar ended at 81.14 US cents (with the Trade Weighted Index at 64.7%. That compares with 96.26 on June 30 2008 and a TWI of 73.4. That's a fall of 15.7% against the Us dollar.Over the first half of the year the dollar has risen from 69.28 (and a TWI of 55.6%) on December 30, and over the June quarter, up from 69.73 US cents, and 57.4 on March 30.The dollar's low was around 63.20 US cents in early February and the high was just over 82 US cents in May. & #160; http://au.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/rss/air/*http://au.biz.yahoo.com/090630/27/276mw.html Wed, 1 Jul 2009 08:25:00 GMT Despite the surge in profits at our major retailers, private credit dropped 0.1% in May.David Jones joined Myer and JB Hi-Fi in reporting much better than expected profit rises in the current half of the year financial year.The reports from the RBA and David Jones yesterday are seemingly at odds.One tells the story of a sluggish economy with & #160;low credit growth & #160;which is a sign of the continuing slump in demand for money.The other is a sign of the impact of the lower interest rates from the RBA, plus the stimulus package and more confidence among consumers.The RBA's report on credit & #160;came & #160;despite another solid month for housing lending, & #160;according to figures released yesterday. & #160;May's fall came after a 0.1% rise in April and continues the slowing trend in credit creation this year, especially in business lending.The RBA figures show that private credit grew just 3.9% in the year to May, down sharply from the 4.6% rate in the year to April.As in April, housing credit was strong: up 0.5% after April's rise of 0.6%. Over the year the growth rate was a solid 7%, slightly lower than the 7.1% in the year to April.The Reserve Bank said & quot;The rise in housing credit over May was mostly due to growth in lending to owner-occupiers, with only weak growth in lending to investors. & quot;Other personal credit continued weak, falling 0.6% in May from April, the same as the slide in April from March. Over the year to May other credit fell a crunching 7.8%.Business lending remains weak: down 0.7% in May after a fall of 0.5% in April. That left it up just 2.1% over the year to May, after a 3.5% rise in the year to April.The Reserve Bank said: & quot;Since its peak in November 2008, the decline in business credit has been due to falls in foreign currency denominated lending. & quot;These falls reflect both the appreciation of the Australian dollar over this period and some reduction in the stock of foreign currency denominated lending. & quot;But Australian consumers are ignoring the sluggish times in some & #160; sectors & #160;of the economy, & #160;such as resources.Going on & #160;the profit upgrades & #160;from & #160;JB Hi Fi, Myer and & #160;David Jones yesterday, Australian shoppers are not letting the rising level of & #160;unemployment or sluggish times in the broader economy, get in the way of a good spend.It may be the impact of the Federal Government's stimulus packages and the lower interest rates, but the rebound in spending reported in May and June also coincide with the solid recovery in consumer confidence surveys.Now David Jones has sharply boosted its second half 2009 profit forecast from an unsteady 0%-5% estimate that it had held to since January (with negative sales growth) to a dramatic & quot;20%-30% & quot; lift in its & #160;statement.The upgrade makes a mockery of those who claim the stimulus package hasn't worked and that they would only have a temporary affect.Retailers have been able to maintain employment levels because of the increased traffic and business and the improved second half profit will mean higher profits in 2010 than previously thought and better prospects for holding or creating jobs.David Jones competitor, Myer & #160;earlier this month upgraded its outlook: & quot;Myer now expects sales for the second half of the year to be down around 1% compared to the same period last year. First half sales were down 3.7%. This contrasts with previous guidance of a 5 per cent decline in comparable sales. & quot;Myer expects profits (Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT), Net Profit After Tax (NPAT) and Earnings Per Share (EPS)) for the full year to show a & quot;mid to high single digit & quot; increase on the same period last year, having previously given guidance that profits would be & quot;similar & quot; to FY08. & quot;That was similar to the upgrade from JB Hi-Fi around the same time: & quot;JB Hi-Fi expects to exceed average analysts expectations for the full year FY09. After continued strong sales, solid margins and cost control in the 2nd half of FY09 the company expects its profit for the year ending 30 June 2009 to be circa & #36;92 million, a 41% increase on the prior year NPAT of & #36;65.1 million. & #160; & quot;(Previous guidance was & quot;comfortable with average analysts' expectations of & #36;87.1 million & quot;). Sales are forecast to be circa & #36;2.3 billion or a 26% increase on the prior year. Comparable store sales growth for the 11 months ended 31 May 2009 was 10.6%. & quot;Both were solid upgrades, but nothing like the surge & #160;forecast by David Jones.Retail sales growth generally has been modest but positive so far this year: they rose 0.3% in April and May's figures are out later today & #160;(along with building approvals).In the statement, David Jones CEO, Mark McInnes said. & quot;As stated at the time of our 3Q09 Sales announcement, trading in April was broadly flat on last year. In May and June this trend improved and we have been trading ahead of the corresponding months last year on both a Total and Like-for-Like basis. & quot;May and June reflects a significant positive shift in our trading performance and demonstrates the resilience of the David Jones customer and brand strategy. History has shown that we are 'first in and first out' of a downturn. & quot;Whilst we still have to trade through July to complete the fourth quarter and we are not planning to repeat the clearance of excess inventory undertaken in July 2008, our trading to date has been pleasing and well above our expectations. & quot;Based on our Company's tightly managed costs, the better than expected Sales (to date) in 4Q09 is expected to flow through to PAT and the Company has therefore increased its PAT Guidance to: 20% to 30% growth for 2H09; and 8% to 12% growth for FY09, & quot; (The company's bolding).After that report the & #160;first thing David Jones & #160;should do is sack Access Economics as the basis for making decisions and get a group that better understands retailing and takes notice of what Government spending stimulus packages and Reserve Bank rate cuts can do.No the & quot;rolling downturn & quot; for David Jones. JB Hi-Fi and MyerDavid Jones is maintaining its 2009-10 guidance at & quot;0% to 5% & quot; & #160;off the new, higher earnings base (meaning that 2009-10 earnings could be up 13% to 17% from the January, 2009 forecast).That's a solid result in & #160;any economic climate, let alone one where the economy is travelling sluggishly, & #160;but nowhere near as badly as everyone thought back in January. & #160; http://au.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/rss/air/*http://au.biz.yahoo.com/090630/27/276mv.html Wed, 1 Jul 2009 08:22:00 GMT Junior iron ore explorer, the Kerry Stokes-controlled & #160;Iron Ore Holdings & #160;has lifted its & #160;Iron Valley mineral resource estimate & #160;by 50%.Shares in the company were placed in a trading halt on Monday ahead of a resource upgrade, which was announced yesterday & #160;.The boost saw the shares trade down 2 cents to 82 cents, despite the better tone to the market.Iron Ore Holdings said the & #160;increase in the estimate at the Iron Valley project in WA's & #160;Pilbara, represented a rise from & #160;the 88.2 million tonne resource announced in March of this year.The company said in the statement & #160;studies indicated 67 million tonnes of resource, with a further 65.2 million tonnes inferred, for a total of 132.3 million tonnes.The updated resource includes a high grade direct shipping ore (DSO) component of 85.9 million tonnes.The company said the resource would support a five million to 10 million tonne a year mine development with the potential to be a low-cost, low strip ratio operation. & quot;In just 10 months the Iron Valley project has moved from a new discovery to a substantial JORC indicated and inferred mineral resource of high-quality Brockman-style direct shipping ore, & quot; Iron Ore Holdings managing director Matt Rimes said in the & #160;statement.Iron Ore Holdings said it is moving toward first production next year.The wholly-owned project lies adjacent to Rio Tinto Ltd's Yandicoogina and BHP Billiton Ltd's Yandi iron ore mines. http://au.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/rss/air/*http://au.biz.yahoo.com/090630/27/275w0.html Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:28:00 GMT The market is up 60. The SFE Futures predicted a 41 point rise this morning.The Dow closed up 91 overnight. Dow up 95 at best and down 9 at worst. US Bonds up again - Bond yields have now fallen 50bps in a couple of weeks. Financial up 1.4% in the US. Oil price up 3.4% and Gold down 30c. Metals down on the LME.Retailers flying on a profit upgrade from David Jones (DJS). Now expects a rise of 8-12% from its previous guidance of 0-5% - thanks to improved trading conditions in the last couple of months. 2H profit is also expected to jump 20-30% from similar guidance of 0-5%. DJS CEO says the company is usually the & quot;first in and first out & quot; of a downturn. Harvey Norman up 8.9%.Making the news today...Qantas(QAN) says it has carried 2.8% fewer passengers in May compared with a year earlier. It has hedged 67% of its fuel requirement for the fiscal year that starts July 1 at a worst crude oil price of & #36;US92 a barrel.PanAust(PNA) says the FIRB has given Guangdong the all clear to acquire a 19.9% stake in the company.Hastie Group(HST) wins & #36;38m contracts in the UK.Elders(ELD) says it forest products unit ITC Ltd has negotiated an unchanged benchmark price of & #36;207.40 per bone dry metric ton, for exports to Japan. It has also completed an agreement to extend its refinancing facilities.Macquarie Communications Infrastructure (MCG) says more than 90% of proxy votes have been in favour of CPPI's & #36;3 a share takeover offer.Suncorp-Metway (SUN) announces it will buy back around & #36;405m worth of its subordinated debt at a cost of & #36;310m.Australian Agricultural Company(AAC) says it will not be paying a final 2008 dividend.Norfolk Group's (NFK) subsidiary has secured a & #36;96.5m contract for rail signaling relocation and installation for BHP Iron Ore's Rapid Growth project.Macarthur(MCC) say their institutional placement was oversubscribed but the whisper is they struggled a bit. The details of their Share Purchase Plan are out.The front of the AFR talks about a Chinese deadlock on iron ore prices. It is the first time in 42 years that BHP and RIO have started a financial year without an agreed industry wide price. & #160;Also making the news...Morgan Stanley cuts CSL Ltd (CSL) target price to 3068c from 3180c and maintain their Equalweight recommendation on the back of their buyback placing a floor under the share price.RBS Equities maintain their Sell recommendation on the National Australia Bank (NAB) saying it might have tax problem coming soon. NAB could have an additional tax liability of & #36;367m- & #36;615m.Morgan Stanley ups their ROC Oil (ROC) target price to 100c from 75c with an Equal-Weight recommendation describing the & #36;69m equity raising as a move forward towards recovery.Southern Cross Equities says News Corp (NWS) could easily get back to & #36;18 a share. Share price now is 1331c.Bernie Madoff got 150 yearsfor his & #36;65bn Ponzi Scheme.Today is the last day of the Financial Year. & #160;The Dow Futures suggest a 9 point rise on Wall Street tonight. & #160;Information provided to you by Marcus Today & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160; & #160;Register for a one week free trial of Marcus Today CLICK HERE http://au.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/rss/air/*http://au.biz.yahoo.com/090629/27/275j2.html Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:56:00 GMT All those claims that Rio Tinto's rejection of Chinalco, the Chinese Government-controlled aluminium giant, would see investment from China halted, have proven to be false.Chinese steel company, & #160;Ansteel says it will move quickly now & #160;to increase its stake in Australian iron ore explorer Gindalbie Metals and get a big new West Australian ore project up and running.If the Chinese Government had really been upset about the Chinalco deal with Rio falling apart, it would have found a way of delaying Ansteel's cash contribution, or some other delay to illustrate its concerns.That China chose not to doesn't necessarily mean it is over the rejection for Chinalco; but the Ansteel deal does show sophistication in handling offshore deals.The strategic nature of the Ansteel deal in investing in a new iron ore mine destined to supply China, and a controlling minority stake in the mine promoter shows how the Government sees where its real longer term interest lie: in secure suppliers of a key raw material, not a public spat with a growing trading partner.China will no doubt find a way to make its point to the Federal Government about Chinalco.The approval, last & #160;Tuesday, allowed the Anshan Iron and Steel Group (Ansteel) in northeast China's Liaoning Province to increase its interest in Gindalbie from 12.6% to 36.28% to become its biggest shareholder.According to the spokesman of Ansteel, quoted on the Xinhua website in China, & #160;the purchase will be finished within a week. Then the two sides will invest & #160;a total of & #36;A534-million in the Karara iron ore project in western Australia, with a 50-50 ownership.Gindalbie proposed Ansteel buy more of its shares in August last year. The application was approved by the board of Gindalbie early February.Once the share placement is completed, AnSteel and Gindalbie will be able to make the final equity contributions, of & #36;A143.68 million each, to complete the entire & #36;534 million equity component of the funding package for the project.The rest of the & #160;capital required for the project will be provided through a Project Loan Facility of up to US & #36;1.2 billion to be provided by the China Development Bank (CDB).Gindalbie says that after the placement to Ansteel, it will have approximately 704.6 million shares on issue, including Ansteel's 36% stake.Gindalbie says that after its equity contribution it will & #160;free cash reserves of approximately & #36;42 million, no debt and minimal cash spend.The & #160;joint venture company, Karara Mining Limited, will have approximately & #36;350 million in cash reserves, having already spent almost & #36;200 million on long-lead items, pre-development activities and other items required for project development.Gindalbie's Managing Director, Mr Garret Dixon expects work to start in the last quarter of this year. & quot;The achievement of Chinese Government approvals represents another very important milestone for the Project following the positive EPA recommendation and FIRB approval received over the past two months, & quot; he added. & quot;Ansteel remains fully committed to the development and future growth of Karara, having now invested some & #36;573 million into Gindalbie and directly into the project. We are looking forward to continuing to work & #160; closely with Ansteel as we move into the implementation phase of the Project, & quot; he added.The placement of Gindalbie shares to Ansteel was & #160;done at 85 cents a share. The company's shares closed at 79 cents yesterday, up one cent. & #160; http://au.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/rss/air/*http://au.biz.yahoo.com/090629/27/275j1.html Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:48:00 GMT Ponzi scheme operator, Bernie Madoff was jailed overnight and will now become the pin up criminal for the credit crunch and recession.Bernie got 150 years in the clink, the maximum and will die in prison.Investors attacked his character in court testimony before the sentencing.The judge cited Madoff's failure to identify accomplices, which has made it harder for prosecutors to build cases against others. The receiver of his firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities has said Madoff hasn't substantially helped his problem, complicating efforts to locate assets.Madoff pleaded guilty to securities fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, investment adviser fraud, three counts of money laundering, false statements, perjury, false filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and theft from an employee benefit plan.Bernie is bad, but he shouldn't become the symbol of the crunch.Bernie fessed up in & #160;December, when the market was plunging: if he'd been able to hang on through that until April-May, when the rebound was in full swing, would he had confessed? & #160;Somehow, I doubt it: & #160;Bernie was brought down by the slump after Lehman Brothers failed. & #160;his up till then undetected scam was a 'victim' of the credit crunch, just as his thousands of investors were victims.What he should really become is a pin up criminal who was allowed to escape for decades by incompetent regulation: both of the traditional black letter legal type and self regulation, as seen in the ways auditors in the US (and here) are subject to minimal checking.As well, investors who didn't check what he was doing, before investing with him (and that includes some large banks) should also bear some of the blame.But the primary blame rests with America's Securities and Exchange Commission, the primary regulator, which was warned about him, but apart from some rudimentary checks, did nothing.But players for the blame game should include the former George Bush administration with its mantra of light touch regulation: it might have touched the regulated lightly, but tens of millions of people have felt a heavier impact from the incompetence of US regulators who gave us the credit crunch, courtesy of the subprime mortgage disaster that is still gripping the US economy.Through boom and bust Bernie Madoff (AKA to investors as Made-off with the money) got away with his scam, even when the economy did poorly he did well, even when the market boomed, he did OK, nothing great, but enough to keep people happy.And it must also be said that Bernie turned himself in and hasn't contested the case against him; if he had we wouldn't have seen him sentenced overnight. We would have been waiting a while yet if he had fought the charges.Madoff, 71, was sentenced to an effective life term in prison during an emotional court hearing in New York, & #160;during which some of his defrauded investors & #160;described the shock of losing their life savings.The swindler, who pleaded guilty to a slew of crimes in the same Manhattan federal court in March, will & quot;speak to the shame he has felt and to the pain he has caused, & quot; said his lawyer, Ira Lee Sorkin, before the hearing. He has suggested a 12-year prison sentence. The Feds want 150 years.Bernie remained mostly silent in court.Amazingly US investigators still have no idea & #160;how much was stolen from clients, and how much was returned because Bernie won't help. & #160;No one can work out whether he made money at all, or made some and topped up returns with payments from incoming investors' funds.About & #36;US13 billion has been traced to more than 1,300 customer accounts and the & #160;trustee winding down the Madoff firm has so far collected & #36;US1.2 billion to return to investors.But according to media reports of the case, Government prosecutors claim & #160; & #36;US170 billion flowed through the principal Madoff account over decades and that weeks before his & #160;arrest last December.The sentencing was something of an event: a big court on Manhattan was allocated: that held around 250 people, according to pre trial reports. & #160;Two other rooms in the courthouse in lower Manhattan were provided for defrauded investors and spectators to watch on closed-circuit TV.Madoff and his wife have been stripped of all of their luxury homes and possessions, although Ruth Madoff is being allowed to keep & #36;US2.5 million in cash, according to an agreement with prosecutors.But now that he's been sentenced, you watch the American business and other elites try and use his case as a way of ruling off the losses and other loss making disasters we saw in the credit crunch from the subprime machine and the incompetent banks.Bernie Madoff was allowed to flourish by the inept regulation of his activities, just as the biggest financial crisis seen in 80 years was allowed to flourish.Regulators at all levels and all types, Governments of all kinds in the US allowed the rorts to develop to a point where bailing out the banks and the economy as a whole has enfeebled the US economy for years to come.Those commentators in Australia who point to the Madoff case as some type of victory for swift justice in the US versus our snail's pace process here are right to a point.The failures of Babcock and Brown and Allco for example, plus ABC Learning were all a result of incompetent management and company boards.But no one here has confessed and volunteered for jail like Bernie Madoff has. Those who see him as a metaphor for American corporate regulation and its swiftness are ignoring that point.He like Allco, ABC Learning, subprime mortgages and Babcock and Brown are all testimony to slack and poor regulation of the markets, just like Alan Bond was 19 years & #160;and more ago. & #160; & #160; & #160; http://au.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/rss/air/*http://au.biz.yahoo.com/090629/27/275j0.html Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:46:00 GMT Toll Group & #160;has entered into a & #36;180 million a three year agreement with Chevron Australia to manage logistical services on the Gorgon gas project on Barrow Island off Western Australia.Mobil and Shell both have 25% stakes in the project.Toll's says work will begin after the project receives all necessary government approvals and the final investment decision by the joint venture partners, expected in the second half of this year, the company said. & quot;The Toll Group plans to execute the scope of work of this contract through the WA-based operations of Toll Energy, which specialises in providing supply chain management and logistics services to the oil and gas exploration, construction and production industries in Australia, & quot; Toll managing director Paul Little said in a statement.This is the second major contract announced. Earlier this month Leighton Holdings subsidiary, Thiess in a joint venture with Decmil Pty Ltd and Kentz Pty Ltd & #160;was awarded a & #36;500 million contract to & #160;design and construct a construction village on Barrow Island for Chevron Australia.Work is expected to commence on the island after receipt of all necessary government approvals and following a final investment decision on the Chevron operated Gorgon Project from the Gorgon Joint Venture partners, expected in the second half of 2009.The facility was expected to accommodate as many as 3,300 construction workers.Gordon could end up costing the best part of & #36;50 billion and have a 60 year life.Toll shares fell 21 cents to & #36;6.20 yesterday. Leighton shares rose 61 cents to & #36;22.96.