Today’s Headlines

• ASX 200 rises 25 points to 6208 as banks rally.
• High 6218 Low 6182.
• GST undergoes big shakeup.
• Big four rally hard.
• Orr goes floral as RC winds up.
• Metals fall in China.
• Defensives hold firm. TLS rallies.
• AUD weaker at 73.59
• Bitcoin eases to US$6589
• Aussie Gold $1701.
• US futures weak as holiday is over -32
• Asian markets slip with Japan down 0.86% and China CSI 300 down another 0.75%. Trade war countdown begins.

STOCK STUFF

Movers and Shakers

• ASX +1.24% monthly volume numbers.
• WGX +3.75% gold shares doing well.
• RSG +3.30 % outstanding drill results
• DMP -9.14% stuffed crust. Broker downgrades.
• BAL -9.62% becoming a substantial shareholder. Regulatory concerns.
• MQG +1.15% USD strength helps.
• WOW +0.10% CTX +0.28% good news on the deal.
• AGL +1.36% finding some bids.
• KDR -5.97% weak lithium prices.
• BRN +12.50% buyers return,
• AKP +8.31% media article fuels buying after falls.28k shares trade.
• WHA +8.44% buyer back in.
• Speculative stock of the day:Sayona Mining (SYA) +33.33% – Completion of the Authier environmental studies and permitting. DFS is currently being prepared.
• Biggest risers – FAR, YAL, SYD, RSG, WGX and FXJ
• Biggest fallers – BAL, DMP, NWH, KDR, LYC and MOE

TODAY

• Woolworths (WOW) +0.10% has entered into a 15-year wholesale fuel supply agreement with Caltex (CTX) +0.28%. The deal will see 125 Caltex sites added to the 638 sites already owned by Woolworths at which customers can cash-in the 4c redemptions. Woolworths has said it will however continue to pursue an IPO or sale of its petrol business.
• A2 Milk (A2M) –0.10% Announced that previously elected new MD and CEO, Jane Hrdlicka will commence her role on Monday July 16^th.
• Cedar Woods (CWP) +2.67% FY18 NPAT expected to be $40m, FY19 earnings have been de-risked as pre-sales of $320m have been achieved compared to $260m last year. The company said it expects strong earnings growth in FY19 which will be boosted by any settlements not completed in FY18. Positive announcement.
• Resolute Mining (RSG) +3.30% Received more good results from its diamond drilling out at its Nafolo mine, next to the Syara mine. Nafolo has extended its strike length by 700m and remains open to the south. RSG also said an expanded and upgraded Tabakoroni Resource expected by end of 2018

ECONOMIC NEWS

RBA latest snapshot

BOND MARKETS

ASIAN MARKET NEWS

• Asian woes continue.

• HNA Group, the Chinese conglomerate whose founder fell to his death while sightseeing in southern France yesterday, will sell its warehouse properties in Singapore for S$730m (US$534m).
• China will allow for time zones to put in tariffs. Will not fire the first shot.

EUROPEAN AND US HEADLINES

• FTSE expected to be unchanged DAX expected to be up 3 and CAC down 5 points. US back on line. Driving season begins.
• Tesla dropped a standard new-car braking test it saw as unnecessary as it pushed to make an elusive production target for its Model 3 sedans last week.
• More poisonings in Salisbury with nerve agents.
• German regulators are looking to target US tech companies in trade wars. Google criticised for push against EU copyright reform. Paul McCartney has taken aim at tech giants too accusing them of exploitation of copyright for musicians..
• The head of Brexit negotiations says the so called ‘Third Way’ is unworkable. Chequers meeting should be fun. Brexit minus 267. And counting.

And finally…………

A blonde comes home from a day of shopping and discovers that her house is on fire, so she calls the fire department on her cell phone. “Please state the nature of your emergency,” says the operator. “Help! My house is on fire!” the blonde replies. “Okay, where do you live?” “In a house you silly billy!” the blonde replies. “No,no! How do we get there?” the operator asks frustratedly. “Duh! Big Red Truck!!”

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbor. Before she says a word, Bob says, “I’ll give you $800 to drop that towel.” After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob. After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves. The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, “Who was that?” “It was Bob the next door neighbor,” she replies. “Great,” the husband says, “did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?”

Moral of the story: If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Clarence

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