Macarthur Coal Ltd (ASX:MCC) forecasts a net profit between A$155 million and A$170 million for the year ending June 30 2009. It is anticipated that sales volumes for the year will total 4.5Mt to 4.8Mt, which exceeds previous guidance of 3.9Mt. Shares in Macarthur Coal have entered a trading halt pending an announcement about a capital raising.
Sydney, June 18, 2009 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Wall Street closed mixed Wednesday. Dow Index ended marginally lower amid weakness for commodity and financial stocks, while the technology stocks helped the Nasdaq Composite outperformed the mainstream indexes. Financial stocks were hit after Standard & Poor's lowered its credit rating and revised the outlook on 22 US banks.
Yesterday, the Australian market slumped for the third consecutive session as investors locked in gains from recent rallies. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 58.4 points, or 1.47 per cent lower, at 3,904.1 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index fell 53.7 points, or 1.36 per cent, at 3,904.2 points.
Key Economic Facts and Figures
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said dwelling commencement volumes fell four per cent to a seasonally adjusted 30,949 units in the March quarter. Over the year to March, total dwelling commencements fell by 22.5 per cent. ABS figures also showed that building approvals increased by 5.1 per cent in April.
Today, the Reserve Bank of Australia releases its monthly bulletin. The Australian Bureau of Statistics international merchandise imports data for April is due Thursday. The Melbourne Institute will release its housing saving and investment report for the June quarter.
M&A News
The board of Drillsearch Energy (ASX:DLS) has formally rejected the hostile takeover bid by its joint-venture partner Beach Petroleum (ASX:BPT). Drillsearch said in a statement that the board has carefully considered the offer and is unanimous in recommending that shareholders reject the inadequate and opportunistic offer from Beach.
Automotive brakes supplier Pacifica Group Ltd (ASX:PBB) has advised shareholders to take no action in relation to a move by German-based Robert Bosch GmbH to acquire the Pacifica stock it does not own. Manufacturing giant Bosch holds about 76.6 per cent of Pacifica.
Important Corporate News
Macarthur Coal Ltd (ASX:MCC) forecasts a net profit between A$155 million and A$170 million for the year ending June 30 2009. It is anticipated that sales volumes for the year will total 4.5Mt to 4.8Mt, which exceeds previous guidance of 3.9Mt. Shares in Macarthur Coal have entered a trading halt pending an announcement about a capital raising.
Santos (ASX:STO) has struck a sales deal with Petronas for its Gladstone liquefied natural gas project. Santos has agreed to sell two million tonnes of LNG a year to the Malaysian company, with an option for an additional one million tonnes a year.
Elders Ltd (ASX:ELD) says it has reached in-principle agreement with its financiers to extend for three months its short term debt facilities due to mature on June 30. The company also reached agreement to consent to waive its financial covenants under its bank facilities and US private placement notes.
A statement from the ASX on Thursday said Babcock and Brown Ltd (ASX:BNB) would be delisted, at the request of the company, at the close of trading that day.
Singapore Telecommunications Ltd's (ASX:SGT) wholly owned Australian unit Optus has signed a contract worth more than A$100 million to extend its work with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for eight years.
Paladio Group Ltd (ASX:PDO) has won a A$500 million contract along with its joint venture partners to design and construct an accommodation village for Chevron Australia. Paladio will trade as Decmil Group Ltd (ASX:DCG) from June 22.
Silver Swan Group Limited (ASX:SWN), in Western Australia continues to grow with Assay results from the first hole intersecting 61m @ 1.9% copper from a depth of 58m down-hole including high grade intervals to 9%Cu and 61m @ 5.4g/t silver. In addition to copper and silver, the mineralisation continues to record significant zinc and gold assays. Silver Swan managing director, Dr Susan Vearncombe, said, "These excellent results continue to reinforce our discovery of significant and exciting volcanogenic copper-zinc mineralisation. This style of mineralisation usually occurs with multiple deposits within a (mining) camp or area."
Contact
Michelle Liang
Asia Business News Asia Bureau
Tel: +61-2-9247-4344
Email: michelle.liang@abnnewswire.net
| ||
|
