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Macmahon Holdings Limited (MAH) said it had extended its Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with Leighton Holdings Limited (LEI) to extend its business co-operation agreement first signed in 2007. The MOU helps Macmahon expand its business in Australia and overseas the company said.

The MOU, the company added, gave Macmahon exposure to a range of additional, larger infrastructure projects that otherwise would not be available to it.

At the same time the two companies said the ‘Standstill Agreement’, which required Leighton to obtain Macmahon's written consent before acquiring a shareholding beyond 19.9% of the issued capital of Macmahon and formed part of the previous MOU signed in 2007, has not been extended.

At 1057 AEDT, Macmahon Holdings shares were trading up 3c to 56.5c, while Leightons shares were up 44c to $34.79.

Air New Zealand Limited (AIZ) said it would acquire 14 new Airbus A320 aircraft, to replace its current domestic jet fleet of 15 Boeing 737-300 aircraft. The company said at list prices, the cost would be in excess of US$1 billion, however Air New Zealand had secured the aircraft at a discount that reflects the current market conditions.

Air New Zealand said as part of the agreement it also has secured purchase rights for a further 11 aircraft.

The company expects the first A320 aircraft to arrive in January 2011, with the fleet to be progressively introduced through until 2016 coinciding with the expiry of 737 aircraft leases.

Group General Manager Short Haul Airline, Bruce Parton, said it was a good time to buy aircraft with the industry at the bottom end of the cycle meaning demand for aircraft is limited.

“As we did with the 777, 787 and earlier A320 purchases, we have been able to buy counter-cyclically and again secure an excellent deal for Air New Zealand,” Mr Parton said.

“This is a very exciting time for Air New Zealand when you consider we will be introducing 777-300s, 787-9s and now also A320s into our fleet during the first half of the next decade.”

Mr Parton added that moving to one single-aisle jet aircraft type across both domestic and short haul networks would deliver efficiencies in fuel burn, maintenance, training, spares holding and fleet management.

“Thanks to its fuel efficiency, the A320 will enable Air New Zealand to increase capacity on the domestic market while reducing carbon emissions,” Mr Parton said.

The company said the larger aircraft would enable Air New Zealand to increase capacity on routes that are beginning to face capacity constraints at some airports during peak times.

As at 1040 AEDT, Air New Zealand shares were unchanged at $1.00.

United Group Limited (UGL) today announced that it has changed its name to UGL Limited, following shareholder approval at the company’s Annual General Meeting on 22 October 2009. The company said the renaming of the company to a single recognised umbrella brand is important for a business which incorporates a number of diversified trading entities.

Epsilon Energy Limited (EPS) said it has completed its due diligence in relation to the acquisition of Takatu Minerals Limited and would now move to finalising formal agreements with the vendors and ratifying of the transaction by Epsilon’s shareholders. The company said it would call an extraordinary meeting of its shareholders to approve the acquisition and issues of securities. Epsilon said the transaction would see it acquire highly prospective uranium exploration acreage as well as several advanced stage gold targets and a strategic crustal scale exploration position in one of the world’s least explored major gold belts.

Montezuma Mining Company Limited (MZM) are pleased to advise that recent drilling in the Naracoota Volcanics at the Durack Project has intersected a new zone of gold mineralisation south of the existing resource. The company said the new zone has the potential to add significantly to the size of the overall resource once further drilling can be completed.

Directors' Interest Notices
02 November 09

Symbol	Shareholder	+/-	Prior	Now
AIO	Robert Edgar		9,884	29,884
BLD	Robert Lindsay Every		13,004	38,004
BLD	Kenneth John Moss		31,000	46,000
VPG	Robert Leslie Seidler		228,364	285,454*
VPG	Kevin McCabe		47,561,868	59,452,335*
VPG	Andrew Martin		843,750	1,054,687*
VPG	Trevor Gerber		1,335,208	1,669,010*
VPG	Peter Hurley		12,444,645	13,096,909*

* Issue of Securities under Retail Entitlement Offer

Wall Street bounced off its worst day in six months as a volatile day's trade ended with a late rally. Earlier in the day, the Dow had reached as much as 145 points above the line and as low as 34 point below it, before settling at 76 points in the black.

In economic news, the Institute for Supply Management revealed manufacturing activity increased from 53 points the previous month to a better than expected 55.7 points in October.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said construction spending increased by 0.8%. Forecasts were for a 0.5% slide.

The National Association of Realtors said pending home sales increased 6.1% in September. Forecasts were for a rise of 1.2%.

The Dow Jones put on 76.71 points, or 0.79%, to 9,789.44, the S&P 500 gained 6.69 points, or 0.65%, to 1,042.88 and the NASDAQ added 4.09 points, or 0.20%, to 2,049.20.

CIT Group became the fifth largest company in US history to file for bankruptcy protection. The decision sent the lender's stocks tumbling 65.3%.

American Express led financials higher with a 2.4% gain.

Of the banks, JPMorgan advanced 1.9%, while Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo added 0.3% each.

Citigroup fell 2.4%.

While the majority of tech stocks closed below the line, gains from a few heavyweights resulted in the NASDAQ closing slightly higher.

Hewlett-Packard put on 1.5%, while Microsoft and Apple added 0.5% and 0.4%.

Google and Yahoo! weakened 0.4% and 0.3%.

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion dropped 5.1% on a broker downgrade.

Ford surged 8.3% after the automaker posted its first quarterly profit in over a year. The company was expected to report a loss.

Telco’s were out of favour, with Verizon and AT&T shedding 0.6% and 0.3%.

Energy majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron tracked the price of crude higher with gains of 0.7% and 0.1% respectively.

NYMEX light crude oil for December delivery gained US$1.13 to settle at US$78.13 a barrel.

COMEX gold for December delivery rose US$19.10 to settle at US$1,059.50 an ounce.

European Markets

European shares closed higher following the release of better than expected manufacturing and housing data out of the US. Banks and commodity stocks led the rally.  

The UK benchmark FTSE 100 rose 59.95, or 1.19% to 5,104.50. The French CAC40 added 31.77 points, or 0.88% to 3,639.46, while the German DAX gained 15.86, or 0.29% to 5,430.82.

Financials recovered some of the previous session's losses. Barclays and HSBC put on 2.5% and 1.9%.

BNP Paribas and Commerzbank gained 3.3% and 1.3%.

Royal Bank of Scotland sank 7.8% on concerns it might be forced to sell more assets than planned by the European Union. Lloyds shed 2.3%.

Miners rallied on the back of rises in base metals prices. Xstrata climbed 4.4%, while Anglo American and Antofagasta advanced 3.2% and 2.9%.

Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton rose 4.5% and 2.8%.

Energy stocks tracked the price of crude higher. BP, BG Group and Total put on 2.2%, 1.9% and 1.3% respectively.

German semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies jumped 4.1% on a broker upgrade.

Japanese Markets

The Nikkei closed at a three-week low Monday. A stronger yen battered exporters while a poor read on US economic data prompted a broad sell-off.

The Nikkei 225 gave up 231.79, or 2.31% 9,802.95.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group lost 1.6%. Larger rival Mitsubishi UFJ Financial shed 1.2%.

Mizuho Financial Group bucked the trend, adding 0.5%.

The major gainer was second-tier lender Aiful, which soared 17.29% after the government said it would ease regulations on getting loans.

Sony upgraded its outlook, though still slumped 5.8%. Canon declined 3.1%.

Among the autos Honda and Mazda, which get the majority of their revenue from overseas markets, shed 2.1% and 3.3% respectively.

Copper producer Nippon Mining Holdings retreated 6%.

Hong Kong Markets

Hong Kong stocks lost ground Monday. The losses weren’t as pronounced as its regional neighbours because the market benefited from strong gains from the mainland stocks as earnings and manufacturing data encouraged investors.

The Hang Seng lost 132.68, or 0.61% to 21,620.19.

Bank of China dipped 1.3%, while China’s number one lender ICBC tacked on 0.2%.

HSBC shed 1%.

Clothes manufacturer for Wal-Mart and Pacific Brands, Li & Fung shed 3.7% following poor consumer data out of the US on Friday.

Oil stocks paced a decline in the price of crude with offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC down 1.2%. Top refiner PetroChina was 1.3% below the line.

Property developers lost ground with State-owned Sino Land down 2.4%.

Brilliance China Automotive Holdings, a partner of German’s BMW, jumped 25%.

Wall Street bounced off its worst day in six months as a volatile day's trade ended with a late rally. Earlier in the day, the Dow had reached as much as 145 points above the line and as low as 34 point below it, before settling at 76 points in the black.

In economic news, the Institute for Supply Management revealed manufacturing activity increased from 53 points the previous month to a better than expected 55.7 points in October.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said construction spending increased by 0.8%. Forecasts were for a 0.5% slide.

The National Association of Realtors said pending home sales increased 6.1% in September. Forecasts were for a rise of 1.2%.

The Dow Jones put on 76.71 points, or 0.79%, to 9,789.44, the S&P 500 gained 6.69 points, or 0.65%, to 1,042.88 and the NASDAQ added 4.09 points, or 0.20%, to 2,049.20.

CIT Group became the fifth largest company in US history to file for bankruptcy protection. The decision sent the lender's stocks tumbling 65.3%.

American Express led financials higher with a 2.4% gain.

Of the banks, JPMorgan advanced 1.9%, while Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo added 0.3% each.

Citigroup fell 2.4%.

While the majority of tech stocks closed below the line, gains from a few heavyweights resulted in the NASDAQ closing slightly higher.

Hewlett-Packard put on 1.5%, while Microsoft and Apple added 0.5% and 0.4%.

Google and Yahoo! weakened 0.4% and 0.3%.

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion dropped 5.1% on a broker downgrade.

Ford surged 8.3% after the automaker posted its first quarterly profit in over a year. The company was expected to report a loss.

Telco’s were out of favour, with Verizon and AT&T shedding 0.6% and 0.3%.

Energy majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron tracked the price of crude higher with gains of 0.7% and 0.1% respectively.

NYMEX light crude oil for December delivery gained US$1.13 to settle at US$78.13 a barrel.

COMEX gold for December delivery rose US$19.10 to settle at US$1,059.50 an ounce.

European Markets

European shares closed higher following the release of better than expected manufacturing and housing data out of the US. Banks and commodity stocks led the rally.  

The UK benchmark FTSE 100 rose 59.95, or 1.19% to 5,104.50. The French CAC40 added 31.77 points, or 0.88% to 3,639.46, while the German DAX gained 15.86, or 0.29% to 5,430.82.

Financials recovered some of the previous session's losses. Barclays and HSBC put on 2.5% and 1.9%.

BNP Paribas and Commerzbank gained 3.3% and 1.3%.

Royal Bank of Scotland sank 7.8% on concerns it might be forced to sell more assets than planned by the European Union. Lloyds shed 2.3%.

Miners rallied on the back of rises in base metals prices. Xstrata climbed 4.4%, while Anglo American and Antofagasta advanced 3.2% and 2.9%.

Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton rose 4.5% and 2.8%.

Energy stocks tracked the price of crude higher. BP, BG Group and Total put on 2.2%, 1.9% and 1.3% respectively.

German semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies jumped 4.1% on a broker upgrade.

Japanese Markets

The Nikkei closed at a three-week low Monday. A stronger yen battered exporters while a poor read on US economic data prompted a broad sell-off.

The Nikkei 225 gave up 231.79, or 2.31% 9,802.95.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group lost 1.6%. Larger rival Mitsubishi UFJ Financial shed 1.2%.

Mizuho Financial Group bucked the trend, adding 0.5%.

The major gainer was second-tier lender Aiful, which soared 17.29% after the government said it would ease regulations on getting loans.

Sony upgraded its outlook, though still slumped 5.8%. Canon declined 3.1%.

Among the autos Honda and Mazda, which get the majority of their revenue from overseas markets, shed 2.1% and 3.3% respectively.

Copper producer Nippon Mining Holdings retreated 6%.

Hong Kong Markets

Hong Kong stocks lost ground Monday. The losses weren’t as pronounced as its regional neighbours because the market benefited from strong gains from the mainland stocks as earnings and manufacturing data encouraged investors.

The Hang Seng lost 132.68, or 0.61% to 21,620.19.

Bank of China dipped 1.3%, while China’s number one lender ICBC tacked on 0.2%.

HSBC shed 1%.

Clothes manufacturer for Wal-Mart and Pacific Brands, Li & Fung shed 3.7% following poor consumer data out of the US on Friday.

Oil stocks paced a decline in the price of crude with offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC down 1.2%. Top refiner PetroChina was 1.3% below the line.

Property developers lost ground with State-owned Sino Land down 2.4%.

Brilliance China Automotive Holdings, a partner of German’s BMW, jumped 25%.

The stock market recorded one of its worst days in recent months, as Myer became a listed company. A negative lead from Wall Street saw the ASX/200 slump 2.2%, while Myer has set its investors back more 8.5% on its first day, closing at $3.75.

Investors also locked in profits ahead of the Reserve Bank’s interest rate decision tomorrow, where rates are widely expected to rise around 25 basis points.

The government offered a more upbeat outlook on the economy with Treasurer Wayne Swan saying the economy was expected to grow by 1.5% in 2009/10 against a decline of 0.5% forecast only six months ago.

Meanwhile, unemployment was now forecast to hit a maximum of 6.75% in the current financial year against the 8.5% in 2010/11 previously forecast.

In other economic news, the Australian Industry Group/PricewaterhouseCoopers Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index dipped by a seasonally adjusted 0.3 point in October to 51.7. It was the third consecutive month above the 50 point level that separates expansion from contraction.

By the close, the All Ords had fallen 100.6 to 4,546.3, while the ASX/200 lost 102.8 to 4,540.4. Over 2.4 billion shares worth around $4.7 billion had changed hands.

Materials and Resources shed 2%.

Rio Tinto dropped 99c, or 1.6% to $62.79 and BHP Billiton shed 74c, or 2% to $36.71

Gold miner Newcrest slid 18c to $32.12, while Lihir was off 1c to $3.04 following a broker upgrade.

Orica slumped $1.31 to $22.69. 

Metal recycler Sims Metal Management bucked the trend with a 61c gain to $20.43 following two broker upgrades.

The Energy sector weakened 0.9% as the price of crude fell more than 3% to $77 a barrel.  It was revealed this morning that Origin has entered an agreement with sector heavyweight Woodside that will see Origin acquire Woodside’s 51.55% interest in the Otway Gas Project for $712.5 million.

Origin shares were down 11c to $15.96, while Woodside shares gained strongly in afternoon trade to close 54c in the black at $48.24.

A broker upgrade from UBS couldn’t stop Arrow Energy from weakening 2.4% to $4.01.

Uranium miner Paladin dropped 17c to $3.99, while Aquila rallied 32c or 4.5% to $7.50 after the Foreign Investment Review Board approved China’s Baosteel’s proposed $285 million investment in the coal and iron ore explorer.

Banks and Financials shed 2.5%. Of the big four NAB lost the most ground with a 90c, or 3.2% drop to $28.90.

Westpac was 78c lower at $25.59.

Investment bank Macquarie Group fell $2.45, or 4.9% to $47.55. The bank featured heavily in broker reports out this morning

Suncorp-Metway was the worst performer among the insurers, shedding 44c to $8.42. QBE lost 62c, or 2.7% to 22.15.

Stockland added 1c to $3.76 following a broker upgrade. The company also announced the appointment of ex-Colonial First State CFO, Tim Foster, as the new chief financial officer.

The Property Trust sector fell 0.5% with Westfield 7c higher at $12.34.

Consumer Staples dipped 2% with Wesfarmers down 89c, or 3.2% to $27.20.

Coca-Cola Amatil dipped 2.5% to $10.37 as the beverage maker’s managing director Terry Davis’s entered into a new employment agreement.

AAco was unchanged at $1.455 despite downgrading its guidance for the six months to the end of December. The beef cattle producer also appointed David Farley as the new managing director and CEO.

Falls of over 3% from a number of influential Consumer Discretionary stocks sent the sector 2.5% lower.

Retailers Billabong and Harvey Norman dropped 3.4% and 2.3% to $10.05 and $3.90 respectively.

Myer initially listed at $4.10 at midday and was down to $3.88 soon after before settling lower at $3.75.

Gamer Aristocrat fell 15c, or 3.3% to $4.37 and Fairfax dropped 6c to $1.55.

Industrials lost 3.2% with Leightons $1.65 cheaper at $34.35.

A number of other larger capped stocks in the sector remained more than 3% in the red throughout the day.

An 8c drop to $3.24 from Telstra sent the Telecommunications sector down by 2.2%.

Around the region, the Nikkei 225 shed 231.6 to 9,803.2, while the Straits Times Index weakened 8.3 to 2,642.8. Across the Tasman, the NZSE50 fell 31.9 to 3,183.7. The Hang Seng lost 374.7 to 21,378.2

Spot gold was trading at US$1044.70 per ounce, and the Aussie was buying US$0.9034. 

 

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MAp Sydney EBITDA up 6.6% in 3Q
Map Group reported a 6.6% jump in EBITDA for the third quarter of 2009 of $171 million, from the previous corresponding period. In a report released on Friday, the company said positive growth from Sydney airport offset a decline in EBITDA from MAp’s European operations.

At the end of the day, MAp shares were down 15c to $2.72.

Origin to buy Woodside's Otway stake
Origin Energy said it has entered an agreement to acquire Woodside Energy Limited’s (WPL) 51.55% interest in the Otway Gas Project for $712.5 million. Origin said the transaction includes production licenses, which contain the Thylacine and Geographe fields, and all of Woodside’s Otway Basin offshore and onshore facilities and permits.

At the close, Origin shares were down 11c to $15.96, while Woodside shares were up 54c to $48.24.

AAco downgrades guidance, appoints CEO
Australian Agricultural Company downgraded its guidance for the second half of the financial year ending 31 December 2009 due to the strengthening Australian / US dollar position. The beef cattle producer also announced the appointment of David Farley as managing director and chief executive officer.

At the end of the day, AAco shares were trading unchanged at $1.455.