Morning all,

 

Great run yesterday from the market with all sectors firing. Volume was a much more respectable $4.6bn..so all is right with the World…well at least the shorts were made to suffer..with no really bad news around, any slightly good news was always going to have an effect and Woodside announcing production upgrades and some bargain hunting in the Big miners was all it took..up up and away! So can it last? That’s the question ,is this the start of a sustainable market move..I do hope so but suspect that it will peter out ..we shall see. The interesting thing that the US market has been rallying hard on company numbers whilst economic numbers have been somewhat worrying..although the view is if they get too worrying then Uncle Ben will wave his magic wand and all will be sorted…so after QEI QE II have basically only held the stock market up with nothing really achieved on the economy they are banking on QEIII…I remain a little sceptical..especially given the looming tax hikes and spending cuts due to hit the US early next year..but happy to go along for the ride at the moment.

 

Our market yesterday had its best day since January..whoohooaa..WPL was the standout as previously discussed(tipped them on Telly on Tuesday..happy days!!) and should continue to benefit from a rising oil price..The Syrian revolution is not getting better and may drag more into the fray..this has potential to escalate and the comments from the security council hardly suggest a harmonious bunch of people..Russia and China holding out .

 

We continue to hear the woes of the retailers but in official figures shoppers have started to spend(GROWTH in consumer spending hit a four-year high of 10.1 per cent in the year to June 30, according to figures from Commonwealth Bank)…whether it’s the latest Gillard government bribe going into the pokies or spending on the internet the issue at stake for the retailers remains not that consumers aren’t spending but they aren’t spending like they used to..This all suggests that the RBA will stay their hand on any more rate cuts for a while..suspect that may be it for the next three months unless things deteriorate in ‘Zombieland.’.

 

In stocks we will see a firm day today but not anywhere near as good as yesterday…it’s been a good week with only Wednesday a down day…could be 4/5 ..that would be nice…

 

The bid from ‘Big Nath’ for Whitehaven looks to be getting interesting as the Chairman Mark Vaile suggests that it would be unwise to underestimate him.He believes that he can get the finance..if anyone can its Nath..at just over 4 bucks this one may start to look attractive with the bid at $5.20..plenty of upside if he can get the dosh!

 

Target on the market now around 4250 …then reassess…..TLS to continue as yield still king..AUD against the Euro spectacular!!Holiday time!!

 

Things to make me go all Peleton!

 

1.Bradley Wiggins looks like he will be the first British rider to ever  win the Tour de France(can’t win Wimbledown still though)…congratulations..Cadel had a better night now lying 6^th .

2.British Open kicks off with Adam Scott out in front..Great Scott…

3.Microsoft posted it s first ever loss as a public company..sales up 4% whilst  big write down in its online unit…$6bn hit to the bottom line..

4.The bad news last night came from Morgan Stanley with a 50% profit slump ,stock down 5%,Spainish Bonds bust through 7% again with a lacklustre auction, US unemployment numbers were worse than expected.Yet still we go up..amazing!

5.Despite all the hoopla on US earning s being better than expected they are still down nearly 3% on a year ago..expectations are so easy to beat if you have such low ones !

6.VIX at levels not seen for many moons..down 4.4% to 15.45…extraordinary given the state of the World..when it gets this low its usually a sign..a sign to start to sell a few things as markets have run hard…

7.The Rinehart cowboy manages to get her man on the Fairfax board..now that is a Hungry Jack! Maybe she will be next to get on board…

8.Is this what the smart money is doing… Millionaires added U.S. stocks more than any other asset in the latest year as average investors fled to bonds, according to a survey by Fidelity Investments.

9.No wonder the new CEO of Yahoo is always shown smiling..she could be in for a $59m pay day over the next few years…nice!

10.Channel Nine could be in the sights of Private Equity with TPG emerging as a potential buyer…$3bn play to come..

 

And finally

 

Two Aussie cattle drovers standing in an Outback bar.

One asked, “What are you up to, Mate?”

Ahh, I’m takin’ a mob of 6000 from Goondiwindi to Gympie.”

“Oh yeah … and what route are you takin’?”

“Ah, probably the Missus; after all, she stuck by me durin’ the drought.”

 

Back on Sky TV this afternoon at a new time of 5.30 for a new program called Market Moves..should be fun..have a good weekend..

Clarence

XXX

 

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