Today’s Headlines

• ASX 200 grinds higher up 20 points to 5814. Four-month high.
• High 5825 Low 5793. Tight range low volume again.
• Index up 1.8% this week.
• Government shakes up private healthcare.
• Big four banks lead the charge as miners rally.
• Healthcare stocks ride reforms higher.
• Even TLS rallies. Dairy bubble continues.
• AUD pushes ahead to 78.32c
• US futures up 15.
• Asian markets higher with Japan up 1.09% and China CSI up 0.28%.

STOCK STUFF

Movers and Shakers

• DMP +3.34% rising dough. Sentiment has changed
• GXY +5.10% back in the winners’ enclosure.
• PLS +3.21% lithium stocks renew rally.
• XIP -31.94% profit downgrade.
• RHC +3.60% private health insurance reforms helping.
• TLS +0.86% technical buying.
• NEC +3.09% new season line up and Ashes to come.
• LYC -6.67% profit taking.
• TCL +0.90% drawing strength from AGM.
• BOQ -1.83% broker downgrades.
• BUB +5.22% on newsletter focus.
• WHC -1.86% brokers cooling after production numbers.
• MTR -unchanged- boss says shareholders are positive on merger with Accor.
• CNU +3.13% positive connections in NZ announcement
• Speculative stocks of the day: CAT +14.03% buyers seem to be back.
• Biggest risers – GXY, HT1, BGA, WPP, RHC and DMP
• Biggest fallers – LYC, PNI, IPH, SPL, MLX and ALQ.

TODAY

• Qantas (QAN) +0.32% The company announced today that the level of foreign investment in the group is 47.73%. The government only allows a maximum of 49%.
• HUB 23 (HUB) +2.40% Thorney Technologies (TEK) has sold down to 14.94%.
• iCar Asia (ICQ) +4.55% Highest ever Q3 cash receipts up by 39% to $2.18m. The company has delivered the third successive quarter of strong growth with 47% growth in total leads and 66% uplift in the number of bumps (this pushes a listing up to the top of the searches). Listings have grown by 12% year on year.

ECONOMIC NEWS

The RBA released its Financial Stability Review today, six months after APRA imposed lending restrictions on the banks. Key points:

• Global economic conditions have strengthened over the past six months.
• Australian financial system is in a strong position, and resilience has increased.
• Business conditions are generally favourable.
• Housing market conditions have varied which indicates an easing.
• Banks have good access to a range of funding sources.
• Risks have elevated in China thanks to high corporate debt l Canada will not quit talks on modernising Nafta after US demands for a so-called sunset clause which would subject the trilateral pact to regular renegotiation or face expiryevels.
• Household indebtedness relative to income continues to edge higher – and this continues to be a core area of interest.
• Growth in riskier types of lending has moderated, and will likely migrate to the non-banking sector.
• Expressed concerns about the non-residential commercial property markets.
• Said conditions in the Brisbane Apartment market is relatively weak.
• NAB has cut its Sydney house price growth expectations this year to 5.1% from 6.7% in July. NAB’s Q3 2017 Residential Property Survey upgraded price growth forecasts for Melbourne (up to 8.6% from 7.5%), Brisbane (up to 3.1% from 1.3%), Adelaide (up to 3.4 % from 2.2%) and Hobart (up to 10% from 4.7%).
• The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness has revealed that Australia is being left behind in our economic performance. We are now ranked 21 out of 137 countries.
• Our mediocrity is summed up in this sentence from the report – “Australia’s overall performance is not remarkable: in most pillars it does not rank among the top 25 countries.” Listening Malcolm?

BOND MARKET

ASIAN MARKETS

• China’s overseas shipments rose from a year earlier amid robust external demand, the latest sign Asian trade is strengthening as the global outlook brightens. Exports increased 9.0%in September in yuan terms, the customs administration said Friday. Imports increased 19.5%, leaving a trade surplus of 193 billion yuan ($29.4 billion).

• Kobe Steel confirmed on Friday it falsified quality inspection data on steel wire but said it had confirmed with a customer that there were no problems with the product. Drops to an 11-month low.

EUROPE AND US MORNING HEADLINES

• Canada will not quit talks on modernising Nafta after US demands for a so-called sunset clause which would subject the trilateral pact to regular renegotiation or face expiry
• Brexit deadlock as EU leaders to block any transition at new summit. This will never happen. New vote?
• DAX above 13,000 for first time in history. FTSE at a record on sterling woes.
• Bitcoin soars again.
• The price of a single room in London is now more than an entire house in the North East.

• Everest tip. Tulip each way.

• Next week have a think about what you were doing 30 years ago.

And finally……………..sorry to be unPC but it is funny

“Life is not the way it’s supposed to be – it’s the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.”

After his plane was hit and he was forced to eject, the Navy fighter pilot finally regained consciousness.

He was in a hospital, in a lot of pain. He found himself in the ICU with tubes/IV drips in both arms, a breathing mask, wires monitoring every function and a nurse hovering over him, looking worried.

It was obvious he was in a life-threatening situation.

The nurse gave him a serious look, straight into his eyes. She spoke to him softly and slowly, enunciating each word: 

“You may not feel anything from the waist down.”

Somehow he managed to mumble in reply, “Can I feel yourbreasts, then?”

And that, my friends, is a real positive attitude.

 

Have a great weekend

 

Clarence

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