Caltex Australia

The 2017 East Coles Corporate Performance Research has been completed and the Top 10 Finalists from the S&P/ASX100 for the 'Best CFO's' category for 2017 (not in ranked order) are: APA, BTT, CTX, JBH, JHG, MQA, QUB, TPM, WES. The Top 10 Finalists from the S&P/ASX101-200 for the 'Best CFO's' category for 2017 (not in ranked order) are: A2M, ALU, BAP, CGC, FPH, GUD, MTR, MIN, RWC, SDF.

Boardroom.media and East Coles recently entered a partnership affording Boardroom.media access to East Coles data. As a result of this partnership Boardroom.media will act as a media partner for the annual East Coles Awards Night.

NCS International has certified the world's first organization against the Principles and Criteria of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels. Shoalhaven Starches Pty Ltd, part of the Manildra Group of Companies, successfully achieved certification through NCSI for its production facility at Bomaderry, NSW, Australia, which produces ethanol from waste starch from wheat processing.

Australian share dropped sharply this morning, while most Asian markets also opened lower as Greece's debt woes lingered. Thursday Japan's Nikkei shed more than 1.7 per cent in early trade, and Australia's S&P/ASX200 declined 1.1 per cent. Yesterday Asian markets were stronger as technology stocks were encouraged by solid earnings from Apple and higher commodities prices pushed up resources shares. Japan's Nikkei and South Korea's Kospi climbed 1.7 per cent each, China's Shanghai Composite climbed 1.8 per cent.

Australian shares rallied on Monday with gains in resources stocks helped to lift the market. The better-than-expected corporate earnings also fueled the rise. At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 82.4 points, or 1.8 per cent higher, at 4717.5, while the broader All Ordinaries index rose 76.4 points, or 1.6 per cent, to 4732.7.

Wall Street declined modestly overnight as bearish analyst comments hurt bank shares. Analysts with UBS predicted the capital market's seasonal slowing could come earlier this year, cutting its fourth-quarter earnings target for Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and others.

Wall Street rally ended on Thursday as the market was suffering from "rally fatigue". The better-than-expected US jobless claims and corporate news failed to move investors who had been bombarded by positive news in recent sessions. A surge in oil stockpiles also raised concerns over the US recovery.

Wall Street overnight extended its losses after a disappointing non-farm payrolls report in August, which raised concerns over the coming key reports on employment this week. US private sector slashed 298,000 jobs in August, a faster rate than economists' forecast.

Caltex has posted a 52 per cent rise in first half net profit to A$298 million on a replacement cost basis (RCOP), which excludes the impact of the rise or fall in oil prices, up from A$196 million in the prior corresponding period. This is above the guidance, due to wider refiner margins and A$55 million of realised foreign currency gains.

Wall Street closed with an eighth consecutive gain on Thursday, as a series of financial firms rose and energy stocks rallied on the rebound of crude oil prices. The US government figure for GDP showed that the US economy shrank at a 1 per cent annual pace in the second quarter, better than analysts' forecast of 1.5 per cent decline.