Trade Talk
Newcastle Herald
Saturday October 13, 2001
BOURSE ELECTION COURSESHARES are likely to remain under pressure until the federal election, with polls traditionally depressing equity markets. A report by ABN Amro Morgans chief economist Michael Knox found that federal elections introduce uncertainty into stockmarket returns with investors and institutions historically tending to withdraw funds prior to the election. A survey by Mr Knox of the nine federal elections since 1977 showed the share market fell by about 3.1% in the two months prior to the election, before rising an identical 3.1% in the election month and the two months after the election. However, the trend is not widely accepted with AMP Henderson chief economist Shane Oliver believing no clear evidence existed of an impact on the stock market from an election. He said the key issue for the local market remained the global economic downturn with the election likely to be nothing more than a minordistraction. MORE GOLD CONSOLIDATIONKALGOORLIE gold miner Croesus Mining NL will be transformed into a 300,000-ounce-a-year producer after unveiling plans to merge with WMC Ltd subsidiary Central Norseman Gold Corp Ltd. If successful, the $65million offer will mark the second stage of WMC's divestment of its 750,000-ounce-a-year gold business. It also continues the wave of consolidation transforming the Australian gold industry and brings an end to Central Norseman's position as the oldest continually run gold company in the country. Croesus Mining has offered Central Norseman shareholders two alternatives under its friendly bid, the first being four Croesus shares for every three Central Norseman shares in a scrip bid valued at 38.7? a share. KERRY GETS EVEN LEANERKERRY Packer's Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd (PBL) expects further redundancies across the group. And PBL executives have been told to keep a tight rein on costs as the advertising market continues to slow. A company spokeswoman said yesterday that recent redundancies were part of an on-going assault on costs across the magazine, television and gaming group. Further redundancies were likely, she said. The spokeswoman declined to speculate on the number of redundancies but added PBL was already a `pretty lean' organisation. PBL had also reminded its top executives that the company needed to cut costs to combat the worst advertising market in more than a decade. SINGAPORE COOLS ON ANSETTSINGAPORE Airlines is understood to be cooling on the idea of taking equity in Ansett, but is still likely to accept an advisory or management role in any partial rival of the collapsed airline. Singapore Airlines said yesterday it was still considering the Ansett administrator's offer to take consultancy and management roles in an Ansett Mark II, with first-option to inject cash through equity. But it is understood the airline is preoccupied with the broader aviation crisis in the wake of terrorist attacks in the United States. Ansett's administrator Andersen has been hoping that cashed-up Singapore might take equity in a rebirthed version of Ansett. Singapore Airlines has long been desperate for a foothold in the Australian domestic market, and is a key member of the Star Alliance which lost its Australian domestic connections along with Ansett. RETALERS DIG IN AGAINST ACCCRETAIL giant Woolworths Ltd is refusing to hand over documents to help the competition watchdog investigate claims of unfair trading practices in the liquor industry. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it would oppose an application to the High Court by Woolworths seeking permission to withhold documents it claims are subject to legal professional privilege. Fellow retailer Coles Myer Ltd had also indicated to the ACCC it would take similar action, the watchdog's chairman Allan Fels said. The ACCC wants to see the documents as part of its probe into allegations of anti-competitive agreements between proprietors of licensed liquor outlets. The investigation follows complaints that established bottle shop operators had been trying to ensure that new operators of hotels did not compete against them. AMP TAKES AXE TO HENDERSONAMP is axing staff from its Henderson Global Investors funds management division to help it cut costs while it weathers volatile stock market conditions. The division has given its 1730 staff spread across Australia, the UK and New Zealand three options, including voluntary redundancy, as part of its plans to reduce worker numbers. Staff members, who were told of the plan in an e-mail on Wednesday, choosing not to take up the redundancy offer have been asked to consider taking a sabbatical or a switch to working part-time. Most of Henderson's staff are based in the UK, where the group employs 800 workers. It also has 760 in Australia, 100 in New Zealand, 20 across Asia and 50 in the United States. BANK TO NAB MORE WEB CUSTOMERS NATIONAL Australia Bank Ltd is preparing to unveil its new multi-million dollar Internet banking service next month in a move it hopes will nearly double the number of users in a year. NAB, which lags behind its three big banking rivals in terms of online banking customers, is trialing the new service among 5000 staff and customers and hopes to have it up and running by the middle of next month. The trial comes after the bank effectivelyprevented customers with Apple Mac computers using its Internet banking service when it launched three years ago because of a non-compatible software system. Project director Mike Durrant said the new service was expected to boost user numbers from the current 474,000 to at least 750,000 within 12 months. NEW CHINA OFFICE FOR AXAAUSTRALIAN AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd has been given the green light to open a new office in China. The Chinese Regulatory Commission said AXA's life insurance joint venture in Shanghai, AXA-Minmetals Assurance Co Ltd, can start preparing a branch office in one of the cities opened to foreign insurers. AXA has been active in the Chinese market since 1989 with smaller representative offices in Beijing, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Chengdu and Dalian, as well as Shanghai. AXA corporate affairs general manager Robin Burns believes the most logical office to expand is Guangzhou because of itsproximity to Hong Kong. HARDIE'S NEW TICKERJAMES Hardie Industries Ltd's well-known HAH trading ticker has disappeared from trading screens after 50 years. It will be replaced with JHX on Monday, after the building products group won approval to move its headquarters to The Netherlands as part of a major restructure. James Hardie would retain its primary listing in Australia but would change its name to James Hardie Industries NV under the plan. Shares in the new parent company would begin trading on Monday, on a deferred settlement basis until October 23, under the new ticker JHX. The group, which would still have the same weighting on the Australian stock market as before, was also expected to start trading American Depository Receipts on Wall Street later this year using the new ticker. BHP BILLITON MINE ON STREAMBHP Billiton Ltd's part-owned $US2.3 billion Antamina copper mine in northern Peru has begun commercial production, four months ahead of schedule and slightly under budget. BHP Billiton had a one-third stake in the huge copper project. It was one of the key projects in the Billiton growth pipeline which the company brought to its $57billion merger with the cash-rich BHP. Linking Billiton's growth prospects with BHP's cash-flow was a major factor of their union into the world's biggest diversified miner earlier this year. The company said commercial production was defined as 80% of Antamina's designed throughput rate of 70,000 tonnes a day over a period of 90 days. CHASING UP ONE.TEL'S DEBTSADMINISTRATORS to the collapsed Packer and Murdoch-backed One.Tel Ltd said yesterday they had hired debt collectors to chase unpaid debts. Administrator Steve Sherman, of Ferrier Hodgson, said One.Tel's debtors book had been outsourced to five mercantile agencies, although he didn't reveal how much was being sought. The agencies - Austral Mercantile Collections, Brodie Collection Services, Bridgement Smith and Associates, Impact Financial Services (Aust) Pty Ltd, and Action Mercantile - will work together to gather funds for creditors. Mr Sherman said some former One.Tel customers might have forgotten their bills, or mistakenly believed that the liquidation of the company released them from the legal obligation to pay.
© 2001 Newcastle Herald