Stocks to watch at close on Monday - Sydney Morning Herald Stocks to watch at close on Monday - Sydney Morning Herald

Monday, May 21, 2012

Stocks to watch at close on Monday - Sydney Morning Herald

Stocks to watch at close on Monday - Sydney Morning Herald

Stocks to watch on the Australian stock exchange at close on Monday:

CPB - CAMPBELL BROTHERS LTD - down 60 cents at $56.70

Laboratory group Campbell Brothers' full year profit is up 68 per cent and the company expects more growth in the year ahead.

ELD - ELDERS LTD - down 0.5 cents at 20 cents

Agribusiness and automotive interiors supplier Elders has returned to profitability, boosted by a large tax win.

JHX - JAMES HARDIE INDUSTRIES SE - down 10 cents at $6.95

Building products maker James Hardie Industries has posted a significantly improved full year profit due to a favourable ruling in a long-running tax dispute.

ORI - ORICA LTD - up five cents $25.24

Chemicals company Orica is part of a joint venture that will build a $US800 million ($A815.87 million) ammonium nitrate plant on the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

PMP - PMP LTD - up three cents at 40 cents

Shares in printer and publisher PMP have added more than 10 per cent in value after the company confirmed ticketing and labelling group TMA is behind a recent takeover bid.

QAN - QANTAS AIRWAYS LTD - steady at $1.43

Qantas Airways will axe 500 jobs as it restructures its heavy aircraft maintenance and engineering operations in Queensland and Victoria.

TOE - TORO ENERGY LTD - up 0.7 cents at 7.4 cents

BHP - BHP BILLITON LTD - up 64 cents at $32.10

Western Australia could be a step closer to getting its first uranium mine.

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STOCKS NEWS THAILAND-KGI cuts Thai Oil target price to 73 baht - Reuters UK

Mon May 21, 2012 8:48am BST

KGI Securities (Thailand) cut its price target on Thai Oil Pcl to 73 baht ($2.33) from 85 baht ($2.71), partly reflecting the impact of weak oil market on earnings of the country's biggest refiner.

The broker downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "outperform".

Thai Oil shares fell 1.27 percent to 58.25 baht. At one point, they were at 58 baht, their lowest in more than six months. The stock has fallen 20 percent this quarter, underperforming the broader market's 4.9 percent loss.

The price of oil has declined 13 percent quarter-to-date following uncertainties in the euro zone, KGI said in a report.

"We expect Thai Oil's quarterly earnings to repeat the trend seen last year where they peak in the first quarter and drop in the subsequent quarters on the absence of stock gain. As such, the share price seems to have no short-term catalyst," the broker said.

1440 (0740 GMT) (Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap in Bangkok; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)

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STOCKS NEWS THAILAND: Kasikorn raises Thai Union Frozen; price at 9-day low

Kasikorn Securities raised the target price for Thai Union Frozen Products Pcl TUF.BK to 64 baht from 60 baht with a neutral rating, on expectation that the firm's expansion plan will help boost its yearly revenue.

Shares in Thai Union Frozen, the world's largest canned tuna producer, were trading at 71.75 baht, their lowest in nine days. The share price fell to 71.50 baht at one point. The main Thai index .SETI was down 1.12 percent.

"We expect the company to grow its revenue by 13 percent to 3.7 billion dollars during 2012 from its continued expansion in sardine and mackerel products," Kasikorn said in a research note.

The broker also said the company previously raised 9.6 billion baht($31.91 million)in capital from its rights offering subscription, which is likely to be used to buy other seafood brands to enlarge its position in the global seafood market.

"We believe Thai Union Frozen wants to take advantage of the current slowdown in the European Union to acquire good assets," the broker added.

However, Kasikorn said it maintains Charoen Pokphand Foods CPF.BK as its preference in the sector due to Thai Union Frozen's higher current trading price.

Shares in rival Charoen Pokphand Foods were down 2.85 percent to 37.75 baht.

1112 (0412 GMT) (Reporting by Sinsiri Tiwutanond in Bangkok; sinsiri.tiwutanond@thomsonreuters.com) ($1 = 31.34 Baht)



India presents white paper to check illegal money - BBC News

India's Finance Minister Pranab Mukerjee has proposed the setting up of fast-track courts to deal with the issue of illegal money and tax evaders.

Mr Mukerjee said the government had already brought five bills in the parliament to deal with the problem.

The minister presented a "white paper" on illegal money in the lower house.

It did not name any offenders or give any estimates for illegal money but earlier reports have said $500bn was deposited in overseas tax havens.

Outlining the various proposals to deal with the problem of black money, the minister suggested that anti-corruption ombudsmen be appointed at the central and state levels.

"While these measures will set the tone for an equitable, transparent and a more efficient economy, there is much that we could do, both individually and collectively, to strengthen the moral fibre of our society," Mr Mukerjee said.

In the past, officials have said that illegal funds were often sent to tax havens such as Mauritius, Switzerland, Lichtenstein and the British Virgin Islands among others.

Analysts say this flight of capital has helped widen inequality in India.

According to one estimate, India's underground economy accounts for 50% of the country's gross domestic product.

In recent months, India's Congress party-led government has been on the back foot on the issue of black money and corruption.

The Supreme Court has also chided the government for not doing enough to unearth illicit money.



US STOCKS-Futures higher as G8 wants Greece in euro - Reuters UK

Mon May 21, 2012 12:25pm BST

* World leaders back Greece, vow to combat crisis

* Fed's Lockhart says circumstances not ripe for QE3

* Nasdaq revamps system after tech problems on Facebook IPO-WSJ

* Futures up: S&P 9 pts, Dow 80 pts, Nasdaq 16.5 pts

By Angela Moon

NEW YORK, May 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday after Wall Street posted its worst weekly loss for the year and on assurances that world powers want debt-laden Greece to remain in the euro.

* On Saturday, G8 leaders stressed that their "imperative is to promote growth and jobs" and gave verbal backing for Greece to stay in the euro, but despite calls from the United States for immediate moves to boost growth, no sign emerged that Germany would soften its stance on austerity as the cure for Europe's debt problems.

* Yahoo will be in the spotlight after news that Chinese Internet entrepreneur Jack Ma is buying back up to half of a 40 percent stake in his Alibaba Group from Yahoo for $7.1 billion, in a deal that moves the Chinese e-commerce leader closer to a public listing. The stock was up 7 percent at $16.50 in premarket trade.

* Newly issued shares in Facebook Inc may have a hard time in the coming week if lead underwriter Morgan Stanley stops supporting the stock and managers lower down in the IPO book who were hoping for an early surge decide to get out before going underwater.

* The Nasdaq is planning to revamp its systems for handling stock offerings after acknowledging that technology problems had affected trading in millions of newly issued Facebook shares on Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported.

* The U.S. economy needs "measured" efforts to bolster growth, but the central bank should focus on improving its communications because circumstances do not warrant further bond buying at this time, said Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhart.

* Wanda Group, one of China's largest theatre owners, has agreed to buy AMC Entertainment in a deal valued at $2.6 billion, creating the world's biggest cinema operator, the companies said.

* Lowe's Cos Inc, the world's second-largest home improvement chain, reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on strong spring sales. The company fell 3.1 percent to $27.60 in premarket trade.

* U.S. stocks fell on Friday, posting the worst week for the year, after a sloppy debut by Facebook spoiled hopes that a spectacular open for the most-anticipated stock sale in years would brighten the mood in what has been a gloomy month for equity markets.

* S&P 500 futures rose 9 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 80 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 16.5 points.

* Chinese traders have defaulted on some thermal coal contracts following a drop in prices over the past month, traders said on Monday, providing more evidence that a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy is hitting the appetite for commodities.

* The coal defaults also come after sources at steel mills and traders said last week that some iron ore shipments had been postponed. China is the world's biggest consumer of iron ore, coal and other base metals, but recent data has shown the economy cooling more quickly than expected. (Reporting By Angela Moon)


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