Wednesday 30th May – Australian Market Wrap | Beeks Downunder-Because not all financial news is boring!

Today’s Headlines

STOCK STUFF

Movers and Shakers

KGN +7.98% finds friends after recent losses.
TWE -2.15% regional head dodges HK goes to China.
A2M +3.43% rallies after recent falls.
MYX +3.36% initial directors interest.
SWM +5.23% Joyce promo stirs interest.
GTK -5.11% investor presentation.
MTS -3.32% more supply owes.
MOE -3.97% executive selling
WTC -3.21% yet another acquisition.
MSB -2.33% reverses gains.
APT -5.01% high PE sell off.
YOJ -6.06% profit taking.
CCV -6.94% capital raising.
AVZ -6.25% Manono project update.
LVH -4.69% unravelling.
TTT -3.10% profit taking
RFG +4.73% feel good new CEO optimism.
TLS -0.71% bond issuance program.
WFD -0.34% scheme becomes effective URW. Last day today.
Speculative stock of the day: Koppar Resources (KRX) +42.50% New IPO. Good start to life on ASX.
Biggest risers –KGN, BAL, ELD, SWM, GSC and SXL.
Biggest fallers –GTK, ORE, REA, APT, MOE and FNP.

TODAY

ANZ -1.84% -To sell its OnePath Life NZ limited for NZ$700m to Cigna, a specialist life insurance business. ANZ in a statement said “the transaction represents a slight premium to embedded value and is expected to generate a gain on sale of around NZ$50million, increasing ANZ Group’s Level 1 and Level 2 CET1 ratios by ~5 basis points and ~15 basis points respectively.
REA Group (REA) -3.98% Has received ACCC approval for its acquisition of property data services firm, Hometrack Australia for $130M.
Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) -2.15 The regional head of TWE Peter Dixon has withdrawn from a large industry event ‘Vinexpo’ in Hong Kong saying he needed to “fix” some issues in Shanghai. The decision is likely driven by the “China Wine Glut” story, which raised questions over the company’s ability to track and audit stock levels in China.
WiseTech (WTC) –3.21% Has acquired SaaS Transportation (specialist transport management solution provider) in the US. WTC CEO, Richard White said the move fits the company’s acquisition strategy and will expand its road booking and road rates offering to its customer base. WTC added the transaction while of strategic value, is not material to the company.
Cynata Therapeutics (CYP) +2.40% conducted a $5.2m share placement to global equities manager Fidelity International, increasing Fidelity’s stake in the biotech to 10%. Fidelity acquired the additional interest at $127.5c a share.

ECONOMIC NEWS

Australian building approvals fall in April: Month: -5.0% (survey: -3.0%) led by a steep decline in apartment sales; Year: +1.9% (survey +4.1%).

BOND MARKETS

ASIAN MARKETS NEWS

Nintendo has anno8unced a series of new Pokemon titles for its consoles.
Japan’s retail sales picked up in April, beating estimates. Up 1.6% more than the 1% forecast.

EUROPE AND US MORNING HEADLINES

German unemployment tonight. Swedish GDP.
Brazils chicken business is in crisis as a Trucker’s strike threatens breeding cycle.
Kremlin critic shot dead in Ukraine.
Pret a Manger has a new owner and is targeting US expansion. JAB Holdings, the owners of Douwe Egberts coffee and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts bought the sandwich business for GBP1.5bn.
Italy first, Spain next as PM Rajoy faces confidence test.
World Cup starts soon so all will be on hold in Europe. Except Italy who did not get the invite to Moscow.

And finally…………

“Golf is the hardest game in the world to play, and the easiest to cheat at.” – Dave Hill

What is a Shih Tzu?

Answer: A Zoo without animals….

Bonus non PC joke…

Those with prior radio procedure and/or phonetic alphabet knowledge will appreciate this one.

A Glasgow policeman spots a huge black guy dancing on the roof of a Ford car. He radios for backup.

“What’s the situation?”

“A big fat black guy is dancing on the roof of an old Ford car.”

“You can’t say that over the radio!”, replies the operator, “you have to use politically correct terminology.”

“OK”, he says:

“Zulu….Tango….Sierra”