Morning World Cup fans,,

 

And so it begins, a terrific weekend of football…my Dutch friends will be unbearable..Wallabies match a brilliant ad for why Football is the World game…Socceroos did well…Chile are pretty good..

 

Iron ore at a two year low will not be a positive today..energy stocks pushing ahead on escalating Iraqi civil war…not quite sure what the US will do but whatever it is Tony will be right behind them..let’s hope there is not too many ‘Sh*t Happens’  casualties in another foreign adventure.

 

So expect a quiet start to the week as the drop in Iron ore stocks is countered by some strength in energy stocks…will be a downward pressured week I suspect and I still think we are sideways to down…no reason to get really excited..I guess that is why the boys are all playing the IPO stocks as at least they offer comparative value against the current highly priced listed ones…down a smidge I suspect today…

 

 

 

Idea of the Day

 

Drop Rooney…bring on Ross Barkley!!

 

Good to see the England Physio carried off on a stretcher having injured himself celebrating a goal!!Epic fail!!Probably won’t do it again though!!

 

Let’s not forget people that BHP is an energy company too…it is not all about Iron Ore so at some stage a floor will be found..

 

I have also invited iSelect in to present to us today and as you know I have been a fan of this one so will be interested to meet the new CEO and hear their story…if anyone wants to sit in let me know…

 

 

Things to make me go mmmmm!!!

 

Be prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse

 

 

Gotta love all this free money sloshing around the system.. the Stoxx Europe 600 Index is now 17.5 times annual earnings, the highest since 2002, The advance since June 2012 has pushed the gauge up 48 percent and sent its price-earnings ratio 26 percent above its decade average relative to reported earnings. Super Mario really is super!! Yields  on 10-year Spanish bonds fell on June 9 to a record low of 2.58 percent from as high as 7.62 percent in July 2012,apparently Zombie growth will pick up to a massive head spinning 1.1% this year!!!The stuff of dreams for the unemployed….

 

Good to see Baosteel call AQA ‘s bluff with their full and final offer at 3.40!!Hedge funds would have had a shocker on Friday!!!

 

Seems when the going gets tough ,the tough play golf!!!Obama down in Palm Springs playing golf ,raising money and checking out real estate…

 

 

 

The answer to Iraq must be out there somewhere..maybe at the short 10^th?

 

Saw this..sums it up well I thought…The mega banks are “Too Big to Fail,” multi-national corporations are “Too Big to Pay Taxes” and the government is just “Too Big to be Useful.”

 

Had a discussion with HSBC’s Paul Bloxham on Sky on Friday night about the irrelevance of the RBA and what a terrible job they had done…I suggested the banks would be funding big time from offshore..so much cheaper than deposits..and so it appears according to today’s press.. From the AFR Australia’s banks: are ramping up their use of wholesale financing from offshore as favourable global credit conditions lure them into the capital markets

 

According to the National Council of Homelessness, one survey of homelessness found 62,619 veterans were homeless in January 2012. Other at-risk groups for homelessness include the seriously ill, battered women and people suffering from drug addictions or mental illness. The economy isn’t helping. More Americans live in poverty than before the recession began in 2008 and the number of households living under the poverty line has reached levels unseen since the 1960s.

 

In a bid to stem taxpayer losses for bad loans guaranteed by federal housing agencies Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac, Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) proposed that borrowers be required to make a 5% down payment in order to qualify for a loan. His proposal was rejected 57-42 on a straight party-line vote because, as Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn) explained, “Passage of such a requirement would restrict home ownership to only those who can afford it.”

 

One large investor has sold down their CCL holding.. Capital Investment Partners sold out of the stock before the market opened on Friday at 9.02…

 

I reckon the DJS takeover will go through despite Solly’s shenanigans…

 

Star performer LNG has a new friend.. $US27 billion hedge fund Baupost has become the latest US investor to pile onto the share register of aspiring US LNG terminal developer Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd,The stocks has tripled recently….its Magnolia Project the attraction…

 

The bid frenzy continues…especially in the US where Express Inc surged 21% after Sycamore Partners said it plans to buy the clothing chain.  International Game Technology improved 11% after receiving two bids and Priceline Group dropped 3% after agreeing to buy OpenTable Inc for $2.6 billion in cash pushing OpenTable stock up 48%.

 

And yet another this morning… Medtronic to Buy Covidien for $42.9 Billion in Cash-Stock…yet more healthcare takeovers to come..still like UNS for that reason!!!

 

FOMC meeting this week…on hold til then…

 

And finally….

 

A man takes his seat at the World Cup Final. He looks to his left and notices that there is a spare seat between himself and the next guy.

The man: “Who would ever miss the World Cup final?”

The guy: “That was my wife’s seat. We have been to the last five World Cup finals together, but sadly she passed away.”

The man: “That’s terrible, but couldn’t you get another member of the family, friend, or someone else to come with you?”

The guy: “No…they are all at the funeral!”

 

Have a great day

 

Clarence

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