AAP
Stocks to watch on the Australian stock exchange at close on Wednesday:
AMC - AMCOR LTD - down 17 cents at $7.36
New Zealand's Commerce Commission says the High Court erred when it dismissed much of its case against Australia's Visy Board and a former executive last year for alleged cartel behaviour in the country's packaging market.
AUT - AURORA OIL & GAS - down six cents at $3.07
EKA - EUREKA ENERGY LTD - steady at 45 cents
Suitor Aurora Oil & Gas has appointed three representatives to takeover target Eureka Energy's board after increasing its stake to 68.4 per cent.
FXJ - FAIRFAX MEDIA LTD - down 0.5 cents at 59 cents
Australian Greens Leader Christine Milne has suggested the corporate regulator administer charters of editorial independence.
LYC - LYNAS CORPORATION LTD - steady at $1.015
A controversial new processing plant in Malaysia run by rare earths miner Lynas has received the support of a Malaysian parliamentary committee.
MTS - METCASH LTD - down 15 cents at $3.82
Grocery wholesaler Metcash plans to take its competitive push against the supermarket giants into the hardware sector by taking full control of the Mitre 10 brand.
NWS - NEWS CORPORATION - up 11 cents at $20.15
NSWLV - NEWS CORPORATION NON-VOTING - up 13 cents at $19.90
News Ltd will restructure its newsrooms and shed staff as part of a major restructure at Australia's biggest newspaper publisher.
NWS - NEWS CORPORATION - up 11 cents at $20.15
NSWLV - NEWS CORPORATION NON-VOTING - up 13 cents at $19.90
CMJ - CONSOLIDATED MEDIA HOLDINGS LTD - up 30 cents at $3.38
TLS - TELSTRA CORPORATION LTD - down five cents at $3.59
The consumer watchdog says it will review News Ltd's $1.97 billion bid to take full control of James Packer's Consolidated Media, which would allow its owner Rupert Murdoch to dominate Australia's pay TV industry.
RIO - RIO TINTO LTD - up 95 cents at $57.72
Rio Tinto has committed $US3.7 billion ($A3.64 billion) to expanding its massive iron ore operations in Western Australia's Pilbara region.
Asia Stocks Advance, U.S. Dollar Weakens - Businessweek
Spanish and Italian bonds rose for a second day. U.S. stock futures and the Dollar Index were little changed before the Federal Reserve announces whether it will take new steps to boost the economy.
The yield on the Spanish 10-year bond fell six basis points to 6.98 percent at 9:30 a.m. in London, with the equivalent maturity Italian yield three basis points lower. The Stoxx Europe 600 (SXXP) Index slipped 0.2 percent and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures retreated 0.1 percent. Japan’s Topix rallied 1.7 percent to the highest close since May 15. The Dollar Index rose less than 0.1 percent. Turkey’s lira gained after Moody’s Investors Service upgraded the country’s debt. Cotton climbed 1 percent after jumping 6 percent yesterday.
The Fed is expected to announce added stimulus measures as soon as this week’s meeting, according to 12 of the 21 primary dealers who trade with the Fed. Germany plans to sell as much as 5 billion euros ($6.3 billion) of two-year notes. Japan’s exports gained more than expected in May, the Finance Ministry said today.
“The Federal Open Market Committee is taking center stage with expectations once again high that Fed will finally do something to stimulate increasingly sluggish growth,” said Markus Huber, head of German sales trading at ETX Capital in London. “The Fed will have to deliver something today.”
The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond slipped one basis point to 2.73 percent. The Fed will probably decide today to expand Operation Twist beyond $400 billion to spur growth and buy protection against a deeper crisis in Europe, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists.
Fifty-eight percent of respondents in a June 18 poll said the Fed will prolong the program, which seeks to lower borrowing costs by extending the average maturity of the securities in the central bank’s portfolio. The current program ends this month.
P&G Forecast
The decline in S&P 500 futures indicated the U.S. equities gauge will snap a four-day rally. Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) (PG) dropped 1.6 percent in European trading after the world’s largest consumer-products company cut its forecasts.
The Stoxx 600 retreated from the highest level in more than a month. Aer Lingus Group Plc jumped 22 percent in Dublin trading as Ryanair Holdings Plc revived its push to purchase the airline with an offer valuing the company at 694 million euros ($883 million). Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc and Unilever fell more than 1.5 percent after P&G cut is outlook.
The yield on the German 10-year bund rose three basis points. The two-year note rate was little changed at 0.88 percent.
The New Zealand dollar weakened against all 16 of its major peers after a report showed the nation’s current-account deficit widened more than economists estimated.
Cotton Rallies
Cotton has climbed 19 percent in five days on speculation stockpiles won’t be enough to meet demand with a sale pending to China, the world’s largest buyer. China is seeking to buy 1 million metric tons of cotton, according to two executives familiar with the matter. Brent crude dropped 0.9 percent to $94.92 a barrel and copper declined 0.6 percent to $7,562 a metric ton.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index (MXEF) added 0.5 percent, poised for its highest close since May 14. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong rose 0.3 percent. Turkey’s benchmark equity gauge jumped 1.1 percent the lira strengthened 0.3 percent against the dollar after Moody’s raised its rating on the country’s debt to one level below investment grade.
To contact the reporters on this story: Stephen Kirkland in London at skirkland@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stuart Wallace at Swallace6@bloomberg.net
Business leaders forcast a brighter future - Reading Evening Post
Business leaders in the region are overwhelmingly confident about the year ahead, according to the results of a survey.
More than 80 per cent of bosses questioned during a conference in Reading said they felt positive about their companies’ prospects.
But there has been a big drop in support for the Government’s recovery plan and the burden of regulation is considered to be a key challenge for businesses.
Auditor KPMG, the Royal Bank of Scotland and legal firm Shoosmiths surveyed 100 people at the Thames Valley Business Leaders’ Dinner at the Hilton Reading.
According to the survey, 83 per cent of respondents said they felt confident or very confident about the prospects of their company for the forthcoming year.
Business leaders were also more optimistic than last year about the recovery of the UK economy, despite the double dip recession and turmoil in the Eurozone.
Forty-eight per cent said they expected to see the economy improve over the next 12 months, a five per cent increase on 2011.
However, surprisingly the affects of the potential fall-out from a Eurozone break-up did not feature heavily in people’s minds with only 48 per cent saying they had prepared for such an occasion.
Andrew Morgan, partner at KPMG’s office in Arlington Business Park, Theale, said: “In the face of significant global economic headwinds it is very encouraging that business confidence remains high in the Thames Valley.”
The survey showed a drop in support for the Government’s economic recovery plan with just 53 per cent saying they believed the plan was right, compared with 67 per cent last year.
Robin Barnes, regional director at The Royal Bank of Scotland, said: “Whilst the majority of businesses surveyed support the coalition’s recovery plan, they stressed the need to have the correct balance between growth and austerity.”
Emma Gibson, partner at Shoosmiths, in Apex Plaza, Forbury Road, said: “Increased regulation was listed by those surveyed as one of the biggest challenges facing their business at the moment.”
More than 100 business leaders attended the dinner on May 29 where broadcaster James Naughtie was guest speaker.
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