Wesfarmers slides. Well, well, no profit histrionics for Coles owner Wesfarmers this morning after reporting a tiny 1.2% rise in December half-year net profit to $1.4 billion, thanks to its Woolies killer, hardware chain Bunnings (and with Officeworks assisting). Revenue rose 4.7% to $33.5 billion in the half year to December 31. Despite the weak earnings performance, Wesfarmers boosted the interim fully franked dividend to 91 cents, up 2.2% on that paid for the December, 2014, half year (89 cents a share). The group was held back by its coal and industrial interests, where earnings before interest and tax slid 88% to just $22 million from $180 million.

Coles lifted its EBIT by 5.6% to $945 million. Bunnings and Officeworks had a 13.8% jump in EBIT to $760 million and the department stores (Kmart and Target) saw a 9.5% rise to $393 million. This morning’s profit statement was preceded by an announcement late yesterday that Wesfarmers was merging Kmart and Target into the one business, with Kmart boss, Guy Russo gets the top job and Target boss, Stuart Machin continues at Target until July and then goes elsewhere in the Wesfarmers empire. This morning’s results revealed why: Kmart lifted sales revenue 12.6% in the six months (it is on another planet compared to all other Australian retailers) and earnings were up 10.4%. Target grew sales 1.9% and EBIT was up 5.7%. Kmart’s performance will be the best by any type of department store this half year. — Glenn Dyer

Can a “freeze” become a cut? On a snowy, cold day, perhaps, if you fall over on an icy sidewalk, but not in the global oil market says Saudi Arabia’s Petroleum Minister, Ali al-Naimi, who told a Houston conference overnight that a lack of trust between the world’s biggest producers meant a cut in production “is not going to happen” (read that as Shia Iran and Iraq don’t trust Sunni Saudi). He said the Saudis would instead push for a co-ordinated production freeze to help balance a market swamped with an oversupply of crude, which, with weak demand, has pushed oil prices to their lowest level in more than a decade. And he warned high-cost operators such as US shale drillers to trim costs or risk going bust. They will of course, listen and obey and freeze, or even cut production, won’t they? Not on your nellie. Even if many go broke, the banks and other operators will keep production going to generate cash to pay off debts or fill their fallen rivals’ deals. The minister’s key words were: “All I am saying is, we are not banking on cuts” — meaning that agreement last week with Russia and two smaller producers won’t be the start of anything more than talking. — Glenn Dyer

Missed the boat. UK-based fund manager and would-be analyst Jonathan Tepper and Sydney-based hedge funder John Hempton are ganging up to short the Australian banks and housing market. The duo were up front on page 1 of this morning’s Australian Financial Review about what they were doing, although the paper failed to point out that the duo are just the latest in a long list of hedge funders and other speculators to short the Aussie dollar, Aussie shares and the Aussie economy because of 1) our exposure to China, 2) our high debt, and 3) the housing boom (ad infinitum). This is not the first time this has happened and it won’t be the last. Our dynamic duo though are a bit late to the short the banks game in Australia. ANZ shares are down more than 34% in the past year, NAB, over 28%, Westpac, 21% and the Commonwealth are off 19%. But perhaps they were set a while ago? Much of the real rorting of investor lending was happening in late 2014 and early 2015 by some of the big four banks — NAB and ANZ — whose staff and management had to restate $50 billion of mortgages from owner occupier to investment (and this was done without any apparent punishment). — Glenn Dyer

Banks as victims. The riskiest of all global banks, Standard Chartered, reported overnight and revealed an embarrassing loss for 2015 — the first in 25 years. It was a standout short a year ago as it struggled with disclosure problems in the US and Europe. It was pinged for money laundering and other sins, changed CEO and senior managers, and still the shares fell (shares are down almost 52% in the past 12 months). Last night they closed down 6.7% after falling nearly 12% in early trading after revealing a loss for the year of US$1.52 billion pre-tax, against a profit in 2014 of US$4.24 billion. It joins other Euro basketcase banks in Credit Sussie and Deutsche Bank on the ailing and infirm list for worried global regulators. And huge global bank, HSBC did its best to join that list with a surprise fourth-quarter loss of US$1.33 billion. — Glenn Dyer