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Karoon Gas Australia Limited (KAR) shares rallied more than 6% early after the company said it would, with JV partner ConocoPhillips, retest the Poseidon 2 well. Last week the company’s shares fell by nearly 25% after it reported ‘inconclusive’ test results. In announcing the retest the company said it was ‘highly likely’ no connection between the well bore and the reservoir was achieved.

Venture Minerals Limited (VMS) said diamond core drilling at its flagship Mt Lindsay Tin/Tungsten Deposit in North-West Tasmania has intersected up to a 70 metre wide zone at 0.3% of tin equivalent at the Reward Prospect. The company said the discovery is situated within the “Red Rock Member” which already hosts the Renison Bell Tin Mine 12.5 kilometres to the south. Venture said additional drilling has already been planned to follow up on the success, with drill holes both down dip and along strike scheduled for completion over the coming weeks.

Kingsgate Consolidated Limited (KCN) said it had produced 40,224 ounces of gold in the three months to 31 December. Looking ahead, the gold miner said it expected production would come in at the higher end of the 120,000 – 140,000 ounces previously offered as production guidance for the year to 30 June 2010.

Meanwhile Kingsgate Consolidated said the total costs for production were US$388 per ounce.

In exploration development, the company said that positive drilling results meant new and deeper gold zones had been discovered at its Chatree D pit, located around 280 km north of Bangkok.

In milestone news, Kingsgate said its one-millionth ounce of gold was expected to be produced after 8 years of mining at its Chatree. The company said another 1.5 million ounces were anticipated to still be in the gound at the mine.

Taking a look at the financials the miner said it had over $30 million in cash in the bank with almost 10,000 ounces of gold bullion on hand with no debt.

At the open Kingsgate shares were 12c higher at $9.55.

IMX Resources Limited (IXR) said OZ Minerals Limited (OZL) would exercise its anti-dilution rights for the proposed placement to the Hong Kong subsidiary of Sichuan Taifeng Group Co Ltd, Taifeng Yuanchuang International Development Co Ltd. IMX said OZ Minerals has a one-off right to maintain its shareholding interest in IMX for a period of 12 months by participating in future placements on the same terms and conditions.

The company added that the placement to Taifeng is subject to certain regulatory requirements and approvals.

“As a result of the OZ Minerals decision to participate in the placement and maintain its 13% shareholding in IMX, OZ Minerals will subscribe for a further 7,759,000 shares which, at the issue price of 48.4 cents per share, will require a payment of $3,755,356,” IMX said.

“Including this with the proposed Taifeng placement, IMX will issue a total of 59,530,000 fully paid ordinary shares at 48.4 cents per share to raise $28,812,520, subject to the various approvals.”

At the close of trade Monday, IMX shares were trading at 47c, while OZ Minerals shares were trading at $1.185.

RBS – Round Up – 190110

Computershare Limited (CPU) today foreshadowed a 20% climb in earnings per share for the six months to 31 December 2009 when compared to both halves of the prior financial year. The share registry company, however, struck a more cautious tone in its outlook, saying that a number of significant transactions took place that were unlikely to be repeated in second half of FY10.

Collection House Limited (CLH) shares jumped at the open of trade after the receivables manager said reported earnings for the six months to 31 December, 2009 would be significantly higher than for the previous corresponding period (“pcp”). The company said after tax profit was likely to be at least 55 per cent higher than for the pcp, while pre-tax operating profit is anticipated to rise over 30%. Collection house said the key to growth in first half profit has been its discipline and sharp focus on the business. The company said it also elected to reduce bank indebtedness rather than pay too much for purchased debt, while still being able to maintain revenues.

ASG Group (ASZ) said it has secured a three-year contract, with two one-year extension options, to provide additional IT services to the Department of Education in Western Australia with a total contract value in excess of $23 million. The company said it would provide Oracle Applications Management, Database Administration and Server Operations for all critical corporate applications including HR/Payroll and Finance. In addition to this contract announcement, ASG said it has a project pipeline of more than $500 million.

Pacific Energy Limited (PEA) announced that its subsidiary, Pacific Energy Pty Limited has signed a six-year electricity supply contract with Regis Resources Limited (RRL) to build, own and maintain the Duketon Gold Project Power Station in Western Australia. Pacific Energy said the project has a potential mine life of 10 years. The company added that it continues to progress a number of contract negotiations for the supply of electricity to various other mining and other resource projects which are expected to be signed in the coming months.

Brickworks Limited (BKW) announced the settlement of stage two of its Eastwood brickworks site in NSW to AVJBOS Eastwood Developments Proprietary Limited for $17.5 million. The company said the settlement is part of a $70 million sale, which commenced in September 2007 with the sale of stage one for $35 million. Brickworks said the sale of the 14.7 hectare site would be complete on 3 March 2010 following exchange of unconditional contracts, which would provide a further $17.5 million payment. The company said proceeds of the sale would be used to fund expansion of the building products business.

The story below has been prepared by egoli's news staff on an upcoming float for information purposes only. The float has not been reviewed by egoli and its inclusion as a news item on egoli should not be construed as a recommendation to subscribe for shares in the float. Before considering an investment in this, or any other float, you should seek advice from your financial adviser.

Charter Hall Funds Management Limited has invited investor participation in its new 130 Stirling Street Trust. Under this offer, Charter Hall is seeking to raise up to $40.6 million to purchase the recently completed office on the fringe of Perth’s CBD.

The group is offering ordinary units in the unlisted property trust at an issue price of $1.00 per Ordinary Unit with a minimum $10,000 investment per investor.

Charter Hall manages core plus and opportunistic real estate strategies in Australia, with $3.2 billion in assets under management, diversified across five wholesale unlisted property funds, two diversified retail unlisted property funds and six closed-end syndicates.

The group said it selected the Stirling Street Property for its 7th closed-end syndicate specifically due to the tenant covenant profile, 100% leased status, long weighted average lease expiry of 8.9 years and solid fixed rental increases averaging 4.3% per annum.

“Charter Hall considers the 130 Stirling Street Property to be one of the highest quality office buildings constructed outside the Perth CBD core and, importantly, believes an investment in the Trust will give unit holders exposure to Perth’s strong economic growth forecasts,” the group said.

The 130 Stirling Street Property will be purchased for $71.6 million, which is equal to the independent valuation, equating to a capitalisation rate of 8.5% and an 18% discount to the independent valuation as assessed in September 2008.

“The relatively high capitalisation rate and minimal transaction costs give the Trust substantial opportunity to deliver capital growth to Unitholders in addition to a solid distribution yield,” the groups said.

The group said unit holders would also benefit from stable and reliable tax advantaged income returns with strong distribution yield growth.

“The Trust will distribute monthly cash distributions, forecast to reflect an 8.3% yield over the first year and, with the benefit of fixed rental annual increases, growing to a forecast 9.0% yield for the second year,” Charter Hall said.

The offer opens on 12 November 2009 and is slated to close on 18 February or when the maximum offer amount is raised, whichever is earlier.

You can download the prospectus here.

The US markets were closed for the Martin Luther King holiday

European Markets

Most European markets made ground Monday, recovering losses from Friday. The market was buoyed by general economic optimism, stronger M&A activity led by the tussle to buy out Cadbury and higher base metals prices.

The UK benchmark FTSE 100 added 39.02, or 0.72% to 5,494.39. Germany’s DAX climbed 42.58, or 0.72% to 5,918.55, while the French CAC40 climbed 23.08, or 0.58% to 3,977.46.

Looking around the banks, Barclays added 2.1%, while Lloyds and the Royal Bank of Scotland put 3.2% and 1.4%.

Germany’s Deutsche Bank added 0.6%, while French banks bucked the trend. BNP Paribas and Societe Generale dipped 0.3% and 1.15 respectively.

In Greece, which continues to face economic woes, banks were hit by another round of sell-offs.

In that country, Alpha Bank and Bank of Piraeus slumped 2.7% and 7.7%.

Miners benefited from higher prices, with Aussie peers Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton climbing 0.9% and 1.5% for their UK listings.

Kazakhmys rose 2.5% and Xstrata put on 2.4%.

While the takeover continues to swirl around Cadbury, its shares rose another 1.5% in London as investors anticipate Kraft increasing its offer for the chocolate maker.

Among the pharmaceuticals, Novartis added nearly 2% on a broker upgrade, while German cosmetics giant L’Oreal added 1.8% after Deutsche Bank raised it rating on the stock to ‘buy’.

Japanese Markets

The Japanese broad-based Topix retreated for just the second day this year. The falls came on concerns over the banking stocks and a weaker commodity prices.

The Nikkei 225 lost 127.02, or 1.16% to 10,855.08.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and smaller rival Mizhuo both fell 1.6%, prompted by losses posted last week by US giant JPMorgan.

Commodity trading houses, Sumitomo and Mitsubishi Corp shed 1.6% and 2.8% respectively.

Despite gains last Friday, the automakers were once again out of favour with Nissan down 2.6% and Toyota off 0.2%.

Consumer electronic giant Sony was 0.7% above the line, while Panasonic retreated 1.2%.

Hong Kong Markets

Hong Kong stocks tracked Wall Street Monday to close lower for the fifth consecutive session. Investors were concerned after JPMorgan reported a quarterly loss in retail banking for the first time since the first quarter of 2008.

The Hang Seng lost 194.15, or 0.90% to 21,460.01.

Among the banks HSBC and Bank of China slid 1.6% and 1.5%, while China Merchants Bank fell 2.7%.

Cnooc and PetroChina shed 2% and 1.3% as the price of crude weakened.

Lonking Holdings dropped 4.1% after Credit Suisse downgraded its rating on the earthmoving equipment maker’s stock.

China Overseas Land & Investment and Shimao Property lost 1.6% and 2.3%.

Substantial Shareholder Changes 
18 January 10

Symbol	Shareholder	+/-	Prior	Now
KMD	Challenger Financial Services		-	5.28
MOF	Commonwealth Bank of Aust.		-	5.06
QAN	Capital Group Companies, Inc.		10.51	9.36
TOL	Commonwealth Bank of Aust.		5.03	6.16

All movements are percentage changes.

The Australian share market defied a weak lead from Wall Street to overturn a morning deficit and post a 0.2% gain Monday. ANZ lead the banks higher, while the heavyweight miners clawed back losses from brisk early selling.

In economic news, according to the TD Securities/Melbourne Institute monthly inflation gauge prices for goods and services increased by 0.3% in December following a rise of the same amount the previous month.  

Meanwhile, according to a government report Queensland overtook New South Wales as Australia’s second largest exporting state behind Western Australia. The 48% jump in exports from the Sunshine State has been attributed to coal prices and beef exports.

Nationally, exports increased by over 23% to $283.8 billion in FY09, compared with the previous financial year.

At the end of the day, the All Ords was up 6.6 to 4,936.1, while the ASX/200 advanced 11.5 to 4,911.1. About 2.4 billion shares worth around $5 billion had changed hands.

The big four banks added the most points to the index. ANZ put on 74c, or 3.3% to $23.17 as speculation surfaced it is set to make a bid for ING Office Fund for as much as $1.3 billion.

ING Office Fund shares rallied 43c, or 7.1% to $6.45.

Westpac and NAB rose 51c and 20c to $26.01 and $27.50 respectively.

Meanwhile, CBA edged 5c lower to $58.05 as analysts start raising earnings forecasts for the company predominantly due to strength in one-off items. The company featured heavily in broker reports this morning after raising its post-tax profit forecasts for the six months to 31 December 2009 from $2.7 billion to $2.9 billion late on Friday.

Investment bank Macquarie Group climbed $1.09, or 2.2% to $51.70.

AMP was the best of the insurers, up 1.2% to $6.59 following an upbeat assessment of the insurers global property fund.

The broader Banks and Financials sector advanced 1%.

The Materials and Resources halved its morning losses to close 0.4% in the red as most metals prices and gold weakened.

BHP Billiton lost 21c, or 0.5% to $43.44, while Rio Tinto slid 30c to $78.32.

Citigroup downgraded its rating on Rio to a “hold” as it expects a period of consolidation.

Expectations among analysts are for the major miners to bring in billions of dollars extra profit in coming years due to a strong demand in commodities driving prices higher. 

Lihir Gold added 3c to $3.32 as the nation’s second largest gold producer announced the resignation of Arthur Hood as CEO after more than four years at the helm. The company said chief financial officer Phil Baker has been appointed as interim CEO pending a global search for a new chief executive.

Newcrest Mining dipped just 9c to $36.08.

Metals recycler Sims Metals slumped $1.12, or 4.5% to $23.99 after being downgraded to ‘neutral’ by JPMorgan.

Macarthur Coal fell 2.7% to $11.07 following a similar downgrade, this time by UBS.
 
Energy stocks tracked the price of crude lower, with the sector down 0.1%. NYMEX crude closed at US$78.00 a barrel after its fifth consecutive day of falls.

Woodside and Origin lost 0.9% and 0.8% to $47.24 and $17.18, while African focussed uranium explorer Extract Resources slumped 4% to $8.21.

Arrow Energy climbed 14c, or 3.2% to $4.52.

Other gainers included Oil Search, up 3c, or 0.5% to $6.06 and Santos, up 12c, or 0.9% to $13.88.

Industrials gained 0.1% despite heavyweights Leighton and Qantas being down 1.4% and 0.7% respectively.

On the other side of the line, Toll and Macquarie Infrastructure gained 3.5% and 2.4% to $9.23 and $1.495.

Merrill Lynch upgraded its rating on Toll from "neutral" to "buy".

The Consumer Staples sector was 0.7% lower. Woolworths fell 12c, or 0.4% to $27.82 and Wesfarmers shed 32c, or 1% to $30.73.

The Consumer Discretionary sector added 0.2%.

Newscorp gained 4c to $17.24, while Fairfax spiked 8c, or 4.5% to $1.86.

Meanwhile retailers David Jones and Harvey Norman were nearly 2% in the red.

Telstra rallied late to add 4c, or 1.2% to $3.37 as the Telecommunications sector put on 1.1%.

Around the region, the Nikkei 225 fell 162.4 to 10,819.7, while the Straits Times Index gained 9.0 to 2,917.5. Meanwhile, the NZSE50 edged 10.8 lower to 3,247.1. The Hang Seng lost 71.7 to be at 21,582.4.

Spot gold was trading at US$1,133.50 per ounce, and the Aussie was buying US$0.9219.

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Lihir CEO Hood resigns
Lihir Gold announced the resignation of chief executive Arthur Hood today. The company said Mr Hood would step down immediately and chief financial officer Phil Baker has been appointed as interim CEO pending a global search for a new chief executive.

At the close, Lihir Gold shares were up 3c to $3.32.

Djerriwarrh Investments profit halved
Djerriwarrh Investments said its reported profit for the six months to 31 December 2009 had slumped by nearly half to just $15.1 million as companies slashed dividend payouts in the face of the GFC.

At the end of the day, Djerriwarrh Investments shares were up 19c to $4.76.

IRESS enters the Asian market
IRESS Market Technology this morning announced its newly created Singaporean subsidiary IRESS Market Technology (Singapore) Pte Ltd, had purchased SENTRYi as it looks to increase its presence in the Asian wealth management market.

At the bell, IRESS shares were down 8c to $8.70 each.

The Australian share market managed to fend off the significant falls seen in global markets Friday to some extent to be only 0.3% lower by noon Monday. Banks and financials were a standout, being the only sector above the gain line.

In economic news, according to the TD Securities/Melbourne Institute monthly inflation gauge prices for goods and services increased by 0.3% in December following a rise of the same amount the previous month.  

Meanwhile, according to a government report Queensland overtook New South Wales as Australia’s second largest exporting state behind Western Australia. The 48% jump in exports from the Sunshine State has been attributed to coal prices and beef exports.

Nationally, exports increased by over 23% to $283.8 billion in FY09, compared with the previous financial year.

At midday, the All Ords was down 16.0 to 4,913.5, while the ASX/200 retreated 13.1 to 4,886.5. About 880 million shares worth around $1.5 billion had changed hands.

The big four banks added the most points to the index. ANZ put on 41c, or 1.8% to $22.84 as speculation surfaced it is set to acquire ING Office Fund for as much as $1.3 billion.

ING Office Fund shares rallied 4.8% to $6.31.

Westpac and NAB rose 20c and 15c to $25.70 and $27.45 respectively.

Meanwhile, CBA edged 20c higher to $58.30 as analysts start raising earnings forecasts for the company predominantly due to strength in one-off items. The company featured heavily in broker reports this morning after raising its post-tax profit forecasts for the six months to 31 December 2009 from $2.7 billion to $2.9 billion on Friday.

AMP was the best of the insurers, up 1.4% to $6.60. The Banks and Financials sector advanced 0.5%.

The Materials and Resources sector dipped 1% as most base metals prices weakened on the LME Friday due to a strengthening greenback.

BHP Billiton lost 54c, or 1.2% to $43.11, while Rio Tinto slid 64c to $77.98.

Citigroup downgraded its rating on Rio to a “hold” as it expects a period of consolidation.

Expectations among analysts are for the major miners to bring in billions of dollars extra profit in coming years due to a strong demand in commodities driving prices higher. 

Lihir Gold added 2c to $3.31 as the nation’s second largest gold producer announced the resignation of Arthur Hood as CEO after more than four years at the helm. The company said chief financial officer Phil Baker has been appointed as interim CEO pending a global search for a new chief executive.

Gold futures dropped 1.1% in the midst of persistent credit concerns in Europe and concerns of an economic recovery.

Metals recycler Sims Metals dropped $1.06, or 4.2% to $24.05.

Macarthur Coal fell 3.3% to $11.01 as UBS downgraded its rating on the stock to “neutral” due to the delay in first shipments of Middlemount Coal.

Energy stocks tracked the price of crude lower, with the sector down 0.4%. NYMEX crude closed at US$78.00 a barrel after its fifth consecutive day of falls.

Woodside and Origin lost 1% and 1.2% to $47.18 and $17.11, while African focussed uranium explorer Extract Resources slumped 3.3% to $8.27.

Arrow Energy climbed 12c, or 2.7% to $4.50.

Industrials weakened 0.3% with Leighton, Qantas and Brambles down 1.5%, 1.7% and 0.9% respectively.

On the other side of the line, Toll and Macquarie Infrastructure gained 2.9% and 3.1% to $9.18 and $1.505.

Merrill Lynch upgraded its rating on Toll from "neutral" to "buy".

Broad based losses sent the Consumer Staples 1% lower. Woolworths fell 24c, or 0.9% to $27.70 and Wesfarmers shed 36c, or 1.2% to $30.69.

A 2.2% gain to $1.82 from media company Fairfax could not stop the Consumer Discretionary sector from weakening 0.5%.

Newscorp lost 26c to $16.94, while retailers David Jones and Harvey Norman, and gamer Tatts Group were between 1% and 1.4% in the red.

Telstra was flat at $3.33 as the Telecommunications sector dipped 0.1%.

Around the region, the Nikkei 225 fell 187.3 to 10,794.8, while the Straits Times Index slid 9.8 to 2,898.6. Meanwhile, the NZSE50 edged 5.2 lower to 3,252.8.

Spot gold was trading at US$1,130.50 per ounce, and the Aussie was buying US$0.9187.

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Lihir CEO Hood resigns
Lihir Gold announced the resignation of chief executive Arthur Hood today. The company said Mr Hood would step down immediately and chief financial officer Phil Baker has been appointed as interim CEO pending a global search for a new chief executive.

At lunch, Lihir Gold shares were up 2c to $3.31.

Djerriwarrh Investments profit halved
Djerriwarrh Investments said its reported profit for the six months to 31 December 2009 had slumped by nearly half to just $15.1 million as companies slashed dividend payouts in the face of the GFC.

At midday, Djerriwarrh Investments shares were up 6c to $4.63.

IRESS enters the Asian market
IRESS Market Technology this morning announced its newly created Singaporean subsidiary IRESS Market Technology (Singapore) Pte Ltd, had purchased SENTRYi as it looks to increase its presence in the Asian wealth management market.

At lunchtime, IRESS shares were down 12c to $8.66 each.