On the tapes…

• ASX 200 rises 37 points to 5730 as risk falls.
• Low volume rally though.
• High 5736 Low 5700
• CBA CEO to retire in 2018. Stock up 55% during his reign.
• Barnaby Joyce possibly a Kiwi.
• Banks and miners lead market higher.
• REITs and Gold stocks slip.
• Weakness in dairy and agricultural stocks.
• Chinese iron ore futures down 2.3%.
• AUD relatively stable at 78.92c.
• US Futures up 56.
• Asian markets mixed with Japan down 0.92% and China up 1.29%

 

STOCK STUFF

Results today

• BEN +7.46% cash earnings up 4.2%.
• CEN +3.48% profits of $150m
• JBH -3.78% NPAT up 36.5%
• NCM -% underlying profit up 22%
• OML +7.92% – EBITDA up 27% and guidance reaffirmed
• AZJ -1.17% Underlying earnings down 4%. 8.9c div.
• ANN -3.06% fails to bounce on numbers.

Movers and Shakers

• CWN +0.43% update on employees in China
• MYX +3.29% change in substantial holding.
• BOQ +3.20% following BEN higher.
• REA +2.84% bargain hunting after falls last week.
• BBN +6.56% recovery after results.
• VTG +4.69% buyers chasing momentum.
• IFL +2.57% change in substantial holding.
• VOC +4.44% no news is good news from private equity.
• AAD +0.49% company tells shareholders to vote against ARA proposals.
• TLS +0.72% recovery continues.
• AGL -2.27% broker caution after numbers.
• Speculative stocks of the day: Updater (UPD) +18.69% on news the company had more than 15% of the US moving and relocation market.
• Biggest risers – BEN, OML, IRI, VOC, IGO and BOQ.
• Biggest fallers – HTA, RSG, MLX, LYC and OCA.

TODAY

• Ansell (ANN)-3.06% has announced a full year dividend of US44c versus US43.5c with a final of US213.75c. EBIT fell 6% to $217.8m. The sale of the Sexual wellness business has clouded the result. The outlook looks a little disappointing with EPS for FY18 of between 91c to 101c.
• Newcrest (NCM) -1.05% announced a AISC of $787 an ounce. Underlying profit of $394m up 22%. Final dividend of US7.5c 70% franked. New divided policy of payout of 10-30% of free cash flow no less than US15c. Cadia Mill throughput increasing to 30mtpa. Hold still driven by gold price.
• Commonwealth Bank (CBA) +1.01% has announced that Ian Narev (CEO) will retire by the end of 2018.
• Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (BEN) +7.46% underlying cash earnings of $418.3m up 4.2%. Fully franked dividend of 34c with a DRP at a 1.5% discount. CET1 ratio is 8.27%. Looks like NIM is around 2.22% down from 2.23% due to mortgage repricing. Looks ok.
• JB HiFi (JBH) –3.78% Good result from the company this morning. Underlying EBIT up 38.5% to $306.3m Total dividend of 118c up 18%. Final dividend of 46c. Guidance of opening five new stores and good opportunities for The Good Guys. Group sales are expected to be around $6.8bn with a split $4.65bn for JBH and $2.15bn for The Good Guys.
• Ooh!Media (OML) +7.92% net profit rose 22.5% to $7.3m in the six months ended June 30 from the year-earlier period. Revenue rose 18% to $173m, compared with $146.6m in the year-earlier period. EBITDA lifted 19% to $31.9m. Fully franked dividend of 4.5¢ to be paid on September 4. Digital revenue accounted for 52.1% of revenue in the half-year report, up from 44.5% a year ago.
• Aurizon (AZJ) -1.17% Underlying EBIT fell 4% to $836m after the company took $554m in impairment charges announced last month. The company reported a loss of $188m. AZJ will also sell its intermodal business to Linfox and Pacific National for $220m. It also announced a $300m on-market share buyback, which represents about 3% of its issued share capital. A final dividend of 8.9c which represents a payout ratio of 100% of net profit after tax.

ECONOMIC NEWS

• New Zealand retail sales rose in the June quarter, benefiting from increased consumer spending during the World Masters Games and the Lions rugby tour. Sales volumes gained 2% in the three months ended June 30, 2017, following a 1.6 % rise in the March quarter.

BOND MARKET UPDATE

ASIAN NEWS

• Japan’s GDP expanded an annualised 4.0% in April-June, government data showed, the fastest pace in more than two years as consumer spending and capital expenditure both rose highlighting stronger domestic demand. Compared to the previous quarter, the economy expanded 1.0%, versus the median estimate for 0.6% growth.

• China’s factory output grew 6.4% in July from a year earlier, while fixed-asset investment expanded 8.3% in the first seven months, both below economists’ forecasts.
• Chinese Retail sales rose 10.4% in July from a year earlier. Growth of private investment slowed to 6.9% in January-July from 7.2% in the first half of the year.

• Iron ore inventory at China’s major ports stood at 137 million tonnes on Friday, down 2.15 million tonnes from the prior week

EUROPE AND US MORNING Headlines

• Bitcoin holds above record $4,000 level. The big driver has been the quicker trade execution by moving some data off the main network. The solution is called SegWit2x.

In October, the UK will host what is believed to be its first medical cannabis conference. Internationally the industry is worth around US$20bn and is forecast to reach US$100bn by 2020. In the US, more than 20 states permit cannabis for medical purposes.

 

And finally………………

Jack wakes up with a huge hangover after attending his company’s Christmas Party. Jack is not normally a drinker, but the drinks didn’t taste like alcohol at all. He didn’t even remember how he got home from the party. As bad as he was feeling, he wondered if he did something wrong.

Jack had to force himself to open his eyes, and the first thing he sees is a couple of aspirins next to a glass of water on the side table and, next to them, a single red rose!! Jack sits up and sees his clothing in front of him, all clean and pressed. He looks around the room and sees that it is in perfect order,spotlessly clean.

So is the rest of the house. He takes the aspirins, cringes when he sees a huge black eye staring back at him in the bathroom mirror.

Then he notices a note hanging on the corner of the mirror written in red with little hearts on it and a kiss mark from his wife in lipstick:

“Honey, breakfast is on the stove,

I left early to get groceries to make

You your favourite dinner tonight.

I love you, darling!

Love, Jillian”

He stumbles to the kitchen and sure enough, there is hot breakfast, steaming hot coffee and the morning newspaper. His 16 year old son is also at the table, eating.

Jack asks, “Son… What happened last night?”

“Well, you came home after 3 a.m., pissed out of your mind, you fell over the coffee table and broke it, and then you puked in the hallway, and got that black eye when you ran into the door. All in all, one hell of a performance Dad.”

Confused, he asked his son, “So, why is everything in such perfect order and so clean? I have a rose, and breakfast is on the table waiting for me??”

His son replies, “Oh THAT… Mum dragged you to the bedroom, and when she tried to take your trousers off, you screamed….

“Leave me alone, I’m married!!”

Broken Coffee Table $240.00

Hot Breakfast $10.20

Two Aspirins $1.00

Saying the right thing, at the right time. . PRICELESS

 

Clarence

XXXX