Gold equity investors flee sector early
May 16 - 22, 2012
MAY 14: GENUINE gold bulls seem to have invested directly in gold. Less convinced investors look to have bought shares in gold producers and abandoned the trade more quickly. Australia’s listed gold equities barely reflected record gold prices and are now leading the way down.
World faces promising outlook if European risks are overcome
May 2 - 8, 2012
IF THE end of the world is not upon us, the outlook remains pretty buoyant, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Sector stars fail to hold gains
April 25 - May 1, 2012
THE March quarter review of Australian resource sector ‘dogs’ and ‘stars’ shows some of the companies characterised as ‘dogs’ from previous quarters outshining the sector’s stars, offering more evidence of mean reversion in sector performance.
Missed timelines hit investment returns
April 18 - 24, 2012
THREE causes of delayed development milestones needlessly sap mining investment returns and drain capital from the sector. Executives better attuned to investor needs could avert some of the share price damage.
Early equity market gains suggest more to come
April 11 - 17, 2012
APRIL 10 - MINING investors received some welcome relief from stock markets in the March quarter after suffering one of the worst years on record in 2011. The stronger March quarter hints at greater upside potential for markets in 2012.
Resource sector profits may be big but not super
April 4 - 10, 2012
MARCH 28 - WHILE resources industry profits have grown dramatically, so has the quantity of capital used by the industry to engineer the profit rise. Against a backdrop of a huge surge in capital spending, the profits do not look so super.
Asian century fails to excite Aussie businesses
March 21 - 27, 2012
THE presumptuous declaration by the Australian government of “an Asian century” is possibly wrong and appears to have fallen on deaf ears.
Resource sector equities could resist China slowdown
March 14 - 20, 2012
NEWS that the Chinese government had foreshadowed a reduced GDP growth rate in 2012 created fresh and well based doubts about the continuation of a China-led resource cycle. That may not mean equity values will go down.
WGC gilds the lily with gold statistics
March 7 - 13, 2012
MARCH 1 - THE World Gold Council is gilding the lily when it comes to presenting statistics about the global gold market. Its claim that “record investment demand boosts global demand to an all-time high in 2011” could just have easily been reported as “downtrend in gold use continues”.
Nuclear power potential damaged by industry track record
February 22 - 28, 2012
A HISTORY of delays, cost overruns and regulatory hurdles have to be overcome to make the nuclear power industry a competitive investment and kick start wider use of nuclear energy in advanced economies, according to recent research.
Weaknesses show up in results from market leaders
February 15 - 21, 2012
THE strengths and weaknesses of BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto were on show when the companies posted results last week. The big challenge for resource sector investors is to decide whether the strengths or the weaknesses will dominate investment outcomes now that earnings growth sourced from higher commodity prices has run its course.
Big deals may signal end of cycle
February 8 - 14, 2012
THE possibility of Xstrata hooking up with Glencore could be construed as an ominous sign for investors if the history of mega mergers in the sector is any guide.
Markets need to re-define what they mean by normal
February 1 - 7, 2012
NO matter how many times economists and investment strategists repeat how important the emerging economies are to world growth, we still run scared at the thought of any growth slippage in the advanced economies. We will have to train ourselves to react differently because the changes underway to the structure of the world economy are part of an ongoing, irreversible evolution.
December quarter stars and dogs
January 25 - 31, 2012
USING the best performing stocks from the September quarter as an investment guide would have delivered a superior investment outcome in December. Score one for momentum investing. Meanwhile, despite a weak market, we had a new batch of top performing ‘stars’ as well as losers – the ‘dogs’ – in the December quarter.
Capital management will be key 2012 theme
December 15 - 21, 2011
AUSTRALIAN resources equities can deliver some outstanding calendar year results but investors must bear the brunt of frequent negative returns to take advantage of the upside.
NSW government tells Nucoal to stop
December 8 - 14, 2011
AMONG the challenges confronting mining companies striking out into new locations are unscrupulous politicians controlling approvals, capricious government rule-making and apparently rock solid agreements that can fall apart. In this case, we are talking about New South Wales.
Missed targets cost Sundance shareholders $400m
December 1 - 7, 2011
SUNDANCE Resources has been using up its credibility vouchers by repeatedly missing business milestones for over four years. The cost to investors is more than $A400 million.
A principled approach to remuneration
November 24 - 30, 2011
COMPANIES are continuing to stumble when it comes to aligning the interests of executives and shareholders. EIM Capital Managers has formalised a set of principles aimed at having shareholders pay for quality while discouraging executives looking for a free ride.
Copper prices to fall without more US quantitative easing
November 17 - 23, 2011
THERE is more to the copper market than just China. The conduct of US economic policy may have been just as important over the last two years. US monetary policies may set the tone for the next year or more.
Coal and Allied directors have taken wrong side in bid
November 10 - 16, 2011
THE bid for Coal and Allied Industries is an outstanding example of why directors should not give investment advice and how independent experts have become the tools of corporate bidders.