Australian Markets

Some news that may explain some recent market movements.

QAN - Qantas: 10.3% International revenue growth almost all yield.
Domestic revenue growth of 14.4% in Nov comes after 6.6%, 13.4%, 17.3% and 14.4% in the prior 4 months.

SGB - St George Bank: looks as if its reached some sort of plateau.

TLS - Still hovering around the $4 mark I see. UBS has a Buy 2 recommendation on Telstra with a target of A$4.55. The battle of pricing between the ACCC and TLS is ongoing. If pricing is accepted watch this beast slowly go up in price...

A surge in imports took Australia's trade gap with the rest of the world to $2.5 billion in November. But much of the blame for the ballooning deficit has been placed on a glitch with a new Customs computer program which created a backlog of imports. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Tuesday showed the trade deficit for November grew $1.1 billion to $2.47 billion, the 44th consecutive monthly trade deficit. The value of exports inched up one per cent to $15.12 billion, while imports jumped seven per cent to $17.59 billion.

[GFF] Goodman Fielder Listed on the ASX today hitting the boards at $2.06 - up by 6 cents over issue price: Goodman Fielder listed on the Australian Stock Exchange at noon on Monday, with the food group's shares at a 6¢ premium to their issue price. The stock hit the boards at $2.06, well up on the $2 issue price. Goodman Fielder's initial public offer (IPO) raised approximately $2.12 billion from the issue of 1.06 million shares at $2 each.

Treasurer Peter Costello has accepted reality and cut $6.5 billion from the Federal Government's 51 per cent stake in Telstra. Releasing the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, Mr Costello said this year's slump in Telstra's share price made it necessary to include a more realistic estimate of the proceeds of the sale of the government's 6 billion shares.

With the shares valued at $5.25 in the May budget, Mr Costello said Treasury had based its new price estimate on the 90-day average price of Telstra up to December 8, which worked out at $4.13 a share.

The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) will strengthen its surveillance of insider trading and simplify its operating rules following a wide-ranging review into its role as market supervisor.

In changes expected to cost about $10.4 million over the next three years, the listed exchange will also set up a separate subsidiary company to conduct its supervisory functions.

The ASX said on Thursday it would bump up annual listing fees from July 1 next year to cover the cost of some of the changes.

In the view of UBS, 2006 will be a story of two halves for the Australian economy, where the first six months is likely to produce better results than the second six months.

The broker expects the current moderate recovery in economic growth to continue for the next few quarters, but the fact high commodity prices have been masking issues for the domestic economy is likely to be revealed in the December half next year.