The market is up 9. The SFE Futures were down 2 points this morning.

The Dow closed up 20 on a late rally as it recovered from being down as much as 94. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed down. This was the third straight day the S7P 500 closed down. European markets were down. China closed down 4% yesterday and Hong Kong was down more than 2%. The gold price fell $5.70 to $1652.20. Metals were mixed on the LME. The Australian dollar is down at 103.77¢. The oil price down $2.20 to $103.26. Financial stocks underperformed, down 1%. Ten-year Treasury bonds fell.

Main points:

  • Coalspur (CPL) is seeking potential strategic investment partners to provide future funding for the development of their Vista Coal project. The company is also in discussions with a number of mining contractors to use their services during the construction phase and initial years of mining at Vista. They believe the use of a contractor will reduce construction costs. CPL recently completed a feasibility study and has received added port allocation at Ridley Terminal. CPL is up 5% to 162.5c.
  • AWE has announced the sale of an 11.25% interest in oil well T/L 1 and a 2.75% interest in oil well T/18P located in the Bass Basin to Toyota Tsusho Gas. The sale is expected to fetch $80.125m and is due to be settled in the June Q this year. AWE is up 1.57% to 194c.
  • Mirabella Nickel (MBN) has had their long term corporate credit and issue ratings downgraded from CCC+ from B-. S&P has the view that MBN’s liquidity was inadequate after prolonged periods of negative operating cash flow. The outlook also reflects S&P’s expectation that nickel prices will hover around US$8 per pound below the levels required for the company to meet its financial obligations. If the company performs better than expected the outlook will be revised to stable. MBN is down 6.5% to 57.5c.
  • Leighton Holdings (LEI) closed down 6.7% yesterday after announcing a $245m write down on projects slashing FY profit guidance by a third. The company’s reputation and credibility has been tarnished by a series of disappointments. LEI has said they are not expecting any further write downs, but analysts are expecting more problems with the desalination plant which is not expected to be completed until the end of the year. They are also concerned about LEI’s Middle Eastern Venture which has been written down several times. LEI will need to rebuild market confidence to avoid further pain. LEI is down 0.95% to 2195c.
  • Qantas Airways (QAN) has announced it will be a potential investor for the US$6bn float of Japan Airways which is looking to list in Sep. Japan Airways is also looking to bring banks and trading companies into the register. This strategic move will further QAN’s plan to expand into Asia. QAN is down 0.14% to 181.25c.
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