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Western Areas NL (WSA) has said that, with Finnish joint venture partner Magnus Minerals, it was looking to find a partner for six nickel, zinc and copper exploration projects located in central Finland. The two companies believe that believe the 180km long Kainuu Schist Belt, which hosts Talvivaara, has the potential to develop into a major metal province with multiple mines. The new partner would have the opportunity to fund exploration and drilling, as well as secure the rights to off-take contracts.

Chalice Gold Mines limited (CHN) said it has acquired an option to purchase the remaining 20% interest in the Zara Gold Project in Eritrea, East Africa from Dragon Mining Limited (DRA). The company said it could exercise the option at any time until 30 June 2010 by paying Dragon $8 million and issuing it two million Chalice shares. Chalice said it has agreed to pay Dragon a further $4 million on delineation of a 1 million ounce economically mineable gold ore reserve at the Zara Project within the currently held joint venture licences. The company said the option is subject to the necessary regulatory approvals with the Chalice shares issued to Dragon to be placed in escrow for 12 months.

Shaw River Resources Limited (SRR) announced the expansion of its Dingo Creek Project in the West Pilbara region. The company said it has secured an exclusive six-month option to enter into a joint venture with De Grey Mining Limited (DEG) over its “Bangemall Manganese Project” which lies adjacent to the Dingo Creek Project. Shaw river said De Grey Mining completed reconnaissance sampling over the area in 2009, and reported rock chip samples grading up to 36.8% Mn. The company said drilling is targeted to commence in late 2010.

Platinum Australia Limited (PLA) said the majority of the employees of the mining contractor, Redpath Mining (South Africa) (Pty) Limited, at Platinum's Smokey Hills Mine have engaged in industrial action and refused to go underground since March 1. The company said the action has resulted in the stoppage of almost all operations at the mine, while scheduled maintenance work in the plant has been brought forward to assist in minimising the impact of the stoppage. Platinum Australia said the employees have been advised by the contractor to return to work or face dismissal for participating in unprotected industrial action. The company expects normal operations to recommence by the end of this week or the beginning of next week, although admitted it was unsure how long the action would impact on operations.

Midas Resources Limited (MDS) said it has been granted a further key iron ore tenement (E47/1958) in the renowned Yandicoogina area. It is a further expansion of the Company’s Pilbara holdings, following the recent grant of the E08/1997 tenement in the West Pilbara region. The company said, it also concludes the grant of all key iron ore tenements that were subject to the Mulga Minerals acquisition last year. Midas said it now has four separate iron ore projects in the Pilbara, and will conduct an exploration and drilling program in 2010.

The Exxon Mobil led PNG LNG Project announced the award of two long-term charters and the signing of a Heads of Agreement for the construction and long-term charter of two new LNG vessels with Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (“MOL”). MOL said the charters are for its two existing 177,000 cubic meter capacity LNG carriers. The company has entered the Heads of Agreements, one with the PNG LNG Project and one with an ExxonMobil affiliated company in the Gorgon Project, with the intention for MOL to construct and long term charter a total of four LNG vessels to the project. MOL said deliveries would commence in the 2014-2016 timeframe.

Ausenco Limited (AAX) said it has been awarded a $9.6 million Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) contract for the magnetite extraction plant at Xstrata Copper’s Ernest Henry Mining (“EHM”) operation located in north west Queensland. The diversified engineering services and project management group said the plant forms part of Xstrata’s $589 million development of the underground mine and magnetite processing operation.

Ausenco said construction of the plant would be undertaken during 2010 with commissioning expected in early 2011.

CEO, Zimi Meka, said the company’s relationship with Xstrata started with the Copper Concentrator Expansion project at Mt Isa in 2002.

The company said EHM currently has an annual production capacity of 90,000 metric tonnes of copper in concentrate and 110,000 ounces of gold in concentrate, while the magnetite processing operation would produce approximately 1.2 million tonnes of magnetite per annum.

As at 1007 AEDT, Ausenco shares were up 4c to $3.95.

Coffey International Limited (COF) announced the acquisition of Global Justice Systems (“GJS”) and Libra Advisory Group Limited for a total of $8.32 million. The company said both have been funded from existing cash reserves and have earn-outs based on performance over the next two years.

Coffey said it paid $4.9 million for 100 per cent share capital in Australian and UK based consulting and project management business GJS, and paid $0.42 million in cash and $3 million in shares for UK-based firm Libra Advisory.

The company said GJS has annual revenue of approximately $9 million and Libra has annual revenue of approximately $3.3 million.

Managing director, Roger Olds, said the addition of the businesses represents an opportunity to address changes occurring in the international development services market.

“The UK Government has been the world leader in bringing together development, defence, and diplomacy (the 3Ds), and Libra has led the UK market in providing specialist consulting services for the 3Ds,” Mr Olds said.

”GJS has been a key supplier in Justice Sector Reform and Rule of Law across many nations.”

Mr Olds added that both companies have been key sub-contractors to Coffey and prime contractors in their own right, while they would create market leading capability globally which would further enhance Coffey’s capability to deliver major projects.

“These projects are being created and delivered by our traditional aid clients, but there is also a new segment of government clients that are charged with stabilising communities using these new skill sets as opposed to conflict,” he said.

”Coffey is very keen to be playing a growing role in this new approach to global stabilisation,” he said.

At the close of trade Tuesday, Coffey shares were trading at $1.85.

TOWER Insurance Australia has warned that Australians will suffer higher product margins and limited products if the life insurance industry continues to consolidate.

"In terms of increased life market consolidation, we see major consumer concern impacts around consolidation and believe the ACCC and Government should look at this closely. We do not believe this is in the best interests of Australians as consumers." said Mr Minto, Tower's Managing Director.

"The transformation of the market to fewer, larger players creates a concern that Australians will lose choice amongst life insurance providers as well as see a loss of independent companies and innovative solutions. We will potentially see Australians being offered higher margin products as a result. Life insurance is not a price and value sensitive consumer commodity product and large players with power can create reduced choice and higher prices."

"Life insurance is not well understood by the wider community but many have benefited from it in a difficult time in a person's or family's life. Life insurance can help give people dignity and choices in times of illness and bereavement."

Mr Minto said that life insurance delivered a large social benefit and that the company was proud of its purpose and the value it delivered.

"We believe the life market which has grown at over 10% per annum for 15 years will continue to grow strongly driven by the tremendous purpose and value life insurance delivers and the large underinsurance levels of Australians.

"TOWER Australia's broad distribution footprint has helped us to sustainably grow at or in excess of market rates. It is the strength of the strategy and overall positioning coupled with execution that has stood us in good stead competitively."

He said the company was very positive about the year ahead with writing sustainable business and improving the company's return on capital as some of the key priorities.

TOWER Australia Group Limited has continued to grow strongly in 2009 and this momentum has continued into 2010.

For more information on Life Insurance Consolidation Will Affect Aussies please refer to www.xLife.com.au

Over the past 2.5 years, the life insurance industry has seen an increase in term life insurance (death benefits) being written within superannuation. Due to the elimination of reasonable benefit limits (RBLs) on 1 July 2007, more people have recognised the attractiveness of funding life insurance premiums via superannuation.

Premium affordability is often the key motivator that attracts individuals to place their term life insurance via superannuation. Premiums can be paid from existing superannuation savings, non-concessional (undeducted) contributions, salary sacrifice arrangements in the case of employees, or tax-deductible contributions by the self-employed (concessional contributions). This allows term insurance to be put in place with little if any impact on a member’s cash flow. In particular circumstances, the government can also assist with the payment of premiums through various concessions, such as government co-contributions for low-income earners, along with spouse contributions. These incentives are not available when purchasing insurance outside of the superannuation environment. Superannuation fund trustees may claim a tax deduction when they pay life insurance premiums that provide death benefits (ss 295-460 and 295-465 ITAA 1997).

It should be noted that with concessional contributions being cut in half from 1 July 2009, term insurance inside superannuation is far less attractive. For individuals who are under age 50, the concessional contribution limits are $25,000 per annum, while those individuals aged 50 and over have concessional contribution limits of $50,000.

With the impact of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) still being felt, many clients are focusing their attentions on using their superannuation contributions to rebuild their nest egg. Every dollar that is used to pay for term insurance inside superannuation is one less dollar that can be used to invest in a concessionally taxed investment environment (taxed at a maximum rate of 15% inside super, versus a maximum rate of 46.5% outside super).

Affordability is just one part of the term insurance inside super puzzle. Two other issues involve who is entitled to receive the death benefit, and how much of the benefit is eroded due to taxation.

The following individuals are entitled to receive the benefit under the SIS Act: members may nominate in any proportion they deem appropriate their legal personal representative, spouse (legal, de-facto, same-sex), child (stepchild, adopted, ex-nuptial child of any age), part of an interdependency relationship, or any person who is financially dependent at time of death.

The only problem is that if the nomination is not correct, then the trustee of the super fund determines who receives the death benefit. There are three types of nominations. With a non-binding nomination, a trustee may consider a member’s nomination, but the trustee still has ultimate discretion. A binding nomination remains in force for three years from date of signing, but it must be witnessed by two independent witnesses and the percentage of benefits paid to the beneficiaries must be clearly specified, if the nomination does not comply, then any payments are subject to trustee discretion. Non-lapsing death benefit nomination is a binding death benefit nomination that does not lapse, remains in force until amended or revoked, but needs to be diligently monitored.

For more information on Term Life Insurance Inside Superannuation please refer to www.xLife.com.au

US markets traded higher for most of Tuesday before a late sell-off saw the major indices close to where they started. Much of the enthusiasm stemmed from a commitment by Greece to cut its budget and pay down debt, while ongoing M&A action also helped.

Investors were also cautious ahead of a raft of economic data expected out later this week, including the important jobs data on Friday.

The Dow Jones rose 2.19 points, or 0.02%, to 10,405.98, the S&P 500 gained 2.60 points, or 0.23%, to 1,118.31 and the NASDAQ picked up 7.22 points, or 0.32%, to 2,280.79.

Banks tended higher but were mixed overall. Citigroup edged 0.3% higher, while Wells Fargo added 1.9%.

Goldman Sachs gained 1.4%, although Bank of America gave up 1.5%

Tech stocks were mixed, with sector heavyweights Hewlett Packard and Microsoft down 0.8% and 1.9% respectively.

Search engine Google gained 1.6%, while rival Yahoo! lost 0.4%.

Qualcomm rallied 6.7% after boosting its dividend by 12% and saying it would buy back $3 billion of its own shares.

Sara Lee added 1.2% after saying it would buy back $500 million in stock.

Domino’s Pizza, which is also listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, rallied 5.1% after beating earnings estimates.

Ford shares slid 1.5% on weak auto sales. This came despite news that February sales surged 43% for the company, pushing it into first place among the carmakers after Toyota sales weakened 9% on its well-publicised problems.

NYMEX light crude oil for April delivery rose US98c to settle at US$79.68 a barrel.

Exxon Mobil added just 0.1%, while Chevron tacked on 0.7%.

COMEX gold for April delivery gained US$19.10 to settle at US$1,137.40 per ounce.

European Markets

All eyes were on Europe with Greece promising to cut US$6.5 billion in expenditure sending markets there, and globally, higher. Some European markets hit six-week highs, led by mining stocks as commodity prices firmed.

The UK benchmark FTSE 100 advanced 78.12, or 1.45% to 5,484.06, while the French CAC40 added 42.38, or 1.12% to 3,811.92. The German DAX gained 63.05, or 1.10% to 5,776.56.

The financial institutions across Europe also got a shot in the arm. National Bank of Greece SA, the nation’s biggest lender, gained 3.5%.

UK banks Barclays, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland advanced 3.1%, 2.7% and 2.9% respectively.

In France, BNP Paribas and Societe Generale put on 0.7% and 1.8% respectively.

Deutsche Bank gained 1.1%.   

It wasn’t all good news, with Prudential slumping 8% following its decision to buy AIA Group for US$35.5 billion in cash and stock. Its shares lost 12% the day before.

Alliance & Leicester shed 7.7%.

Among the autos, Peugeot put on 3.4% after its CEO said the start of the year had been better than expected. Rival Renault added 2.6%.

Carmakers were the biggest gaining sector overall, with Volkswagen and Daimler up 2.1% and 1.3%.

Among the miners, Aussie companies BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto added 2.2% and 2.4%. Base metal prices on the London Metals Exchange extended gains from the previous session.

Anglo American was 2.8% stronger.

Elsewhere Luxottica Group lost 4.5%. The owner of Ray-Ban and Oakley sunglasses said net income fell 17% last year.

Japanese Markets

Japan’s Nikkei rose as tech stocks were boosted by an increase in chip sales. The market moved into the red early in the session as mixed data out of the US concerned investors.

The Nikkei 225 added 49.78, or 0.49% to 10,221.84.

Sumco led gains among chip-related stocks, climbing 4.6%. Elpida Memory, Advantest Corp and Tokyo Electron gained between 2% and 2.3%.

Sony put on 1.3%, while Canon and Panasonic added 0.8% each.

Nintendo rallied 3.1% on reports the company has sold over 10 million Wii consoles in Japan since being released just over three years ago.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Toshiba Corp advanced 1.8% and 2% on media reports the Japanese government is considering providing financial support for the consortium that is aiming to win a US$19.1 billion project for a Brazilian high-speed railway.

Other partners Mitsui & Co and Hitachi gained 1.1% and 0.7%.

Astellas Pharma fell 2.1% after launching a takeover bid for U.S.-based OSI Pharmaceuticals.

Homebuilder Sekisui House jumped 3.3% after forecasting a return to profit.

Hong Kong Markets

The Hang Seng was just about the only major global index to lose ground Tuesday. The loss was largely due to HSBC, which makes up one-sixth of the market, slumping 6.9% after missing estimates, despite posting a 1.9% rise in profit last year.

The Hang Seng shed 150.82, or 0.72% to 20,906.11.

Meanwhile Hang Seng Bank, majority owned by HSBC, shed 4.8%.

Bank of China rallied 1.3%, while heavyweight lender ICBC added 1.6%.

Li & Fung, which supplies clothes to Wal-Mart in the US, surged 3.8%. Consumer spending in the US rose for the fourth straight month.

Off-shore oil producer Cnooc fell 1% as crude prices eased in New York.

Jiangxi Copper slipped 1.6% after investors booked gains from yesterday.

Despite a jump at the start of trade, the local market spent most of the day trading in a narrow range between 4,686 and 4,709 points. It was mixed across all sectors, despite a strong lead from Wall Street, with around 20 stocks going ex-dividend today which held the market back.

The news that the Reserve Bank of Australia had raised the official cash rate by 25 basis points to 4% saw the market drop 20 points immediately after the mid-afternoon announcement, however the rise was widely expected and the market soon recovered much of those losses.

In other economic news, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics retail sales rose more than expected in Australia during January. Retail trade increased 1.2%, higher than the anticipated 0.5% rise.

However, building approvals unexpectedly declined. Approvals dropped 7% in January, well down on the expected 1% increase.

At the close, the All Ords was up 15.0 to 4,709.9, while the ASX/200 edged 15.4 higher to 4701.9. Over 2.1 billion shares worth around $4.8 billion had changed hands.

An expected rebound in Australian commodity exports by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics did little to boost resource stocks.

BHP Billiton edged 11c higher to $41.09. The Big Australian said yesterday that production at its Pyrenees project off the coast of Western Australia had started.

Rival Rio Tinto added 62c to $72.02 as the Materials and Resources sector rose 0.5%.

The price of copper continued to climb in London as a result of the earthquake in the world’s largest producer of the metal Chile.

Gold miners Newcrest and Lihir added 1.2% and 1.5% to $32.51 and $2.78 despite the price of the precious metal weakening in New York as a result of pressure from the greenback.

Nufarm sank 2.9% to $9.47 after the agrichemical company forecast a second half profit of between $120 million and $140 million.

Amcor retreated 13c, or 2.2% to $5.81. It was one of the stocks going ex-dividend today.

Steel maker BlueScope gained 11c, or 4.5% to $2.58.

Energy heavyweight Woodside put on 61c, or 1.4% to $44.08 despite the price of crude dipping below US$79 a barrel overnight. 

The sector climbed 0.5%, with strong gains in most stocks, including Oil Search and Santos, both up 2.3%, outweighing a 33c loss to $16.66 from Origin after also going ex-dividend.

Elsewhere, the Bank and Financials sector was up 0.5%.

Of the big four banks only ANZ managed to add 1% by the close. Its shares put on 24c to $23.83.
 
Insurer QBE shed 32c, or 1.5% to $21.10 before going ex-div tomorrow.

In the Industrials sector, Leighton announced that it has signed a $125 million contract to recommence works at the Toka Tindung gold mine in Indonesia. The company’s shares were trading 1.7% higher at $38.60.

The sector was up 0.4%.

The appointment of John Borghetti as the new CEO of Virgin Blue had little impact on the airliners share price, which was up only 1c to 64c.

At lunchtime Qantas shares were trading at $2.56 before rallying to close up 3.1% to $2.70.

Tatts Group slumped 7.3% to $2.30 to lead the Consumer Discretionary sector 0.3% lower. The gamer announced that it had agreed to purchase NSW Lotteries from the state government for $850 million. The company also went ex-div today.

Media stocks were also lower with West Australian News dropping 2.6% to $7.25 as it went ex-div, while Fairfax slid 2.5c, or 1.5% to $1.64.

Retailers David Jones, JB Hi-Fi and Billabong were between 0.2% and 0.5% higher. 

Wesfarmers shed 50c to $32.10 as the Consumer Staples sector dipped 0.5%.

Telstra slid 3c to an all time low of $2.90 in morning trade as the telco said it was concerned by the draft NBN legislation in a letter to shareholders.  By the close the company’s shares had recovered to be only 1c down to $2.93.

The broader Telecommunications sector was 0.4% lower.

A 15c, or 1.2% gain to $12.26 from heavyweight Westfield led the Property Trusts sector 1.1% into the black.

Around the region, the Nikkei 225 added 17.1 to 10,189.2, while the NZSE50 rose 19.1 to 3,183.2. The Straits Times Index advanced 7.3 to 2,781.4. The Hang Seng lost 173.9 to 20,883.0

Spot gold was trading at US$1,116.27 per ounce, while the Aussie was buying US$0.8991.

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Interest rates, up they go again!
The Reserve Bank of Australia has decided to raise the official cash rate by 25 basis points, or 0.25%, to 4%. In commenting on the decision, RBA Governor Glenn Stevens said the global economy was growing and GDP growth would match trend pace in 2010 and 2011.

PNG LNG sales deal with CPC finalised
Oil Search announced the finalisation of a Sale and Purchase Agreement with CPC Corporation of Taiwan for a long-term supply of approximately 1.2 million tonnes per annum of Liquefied Natural Gas from the PNG LNG Project. Operator of the project, Exxon Mobil, said under the agreement, the PNG LNG Project would supply LNG to CPC for a period of 20 years.

At the bell, Oil Search shares were up 12c to $5.36, while Santos shares were up 30c to $13.40.

Qantas CFO calls it quits
Qantas Airways announced that chief financial officer, Colin Storrie, intends stepping down and resigning from the board. The company said Mr Storrie resigned in order to spend time with his family for personal and health reasons.

At the close, Qantas shares were UP 8c to $2.70.

Leighton recommences work on $125m contract
Leighton Holdings announced that subsidiary Leighton Asia Limited has signed an addendum lifting the four-year suspension of the Toka Tindung gold project in Indonesia. The company said the agreement allows PT Leighton Contractors Indonesia, a division of Leighton Asia, to recommence works on the $125 million contract for the provision of mining services for PT Meares Soputan Mining / PT Tambang Tondano Nusajaya.

At the end of the day, Leighton shares were up 65c to $38.60.

Nufarm profit expected to be $120m to $140m in 2H
Nufarm said it was forecasting an ‘acceptable’ profit for the second half of the financial year.

At the finish, Nufarm shares were down 28c to $9.47.

Tatts snaps up NSW Lotteries for $850m
NSW Government announced this morning that Tatts Group was the successful bidder for NSW Lotteries for a price of $850 million. The Government reportedly received almost $417 million from NSW Lotteries last year alone, including $306 million in royalties, almost $56 million in profit, and another $56 million in dividends.

At the end of the session, Tatts Group shares were down 18c to $2.30.

Telstra concerned about NBN legislation
Telstra Corporation said, in an update on National Broadband Network (“NBN”) and Government Legislation to shareholders, that there are several complex issues about which it awaits clarification from the Government and NBN Co. The nation’s largest telco said such commercial discussions couldn’t be divorced from the current legislative risks the company faces.

At the bell, Telstra shares were trading down 1c to $2.90.

BOQ now has a COO
Bank of Queensland this morning announced the appointment of current Chief Financial Officer Ram Kangatharan to the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer to oversee the day-to-day operations of the Bank, effective 1 March 2010.

At the close, Bank of Queensland shares were down 8c to $11.10.

Times still tough for Corporate Express
Corporate Express Australia reported a 9.4% drop in profit for the year to 21 January 2010 to $57.2 million. The courier added that trading conditions were still difficult in the current year. 

At the end of the day, Corporate Express shares were down 1c to $4.29.

Rio's divestment programme passes US$10bn
Rio Tinto said its divestment programme has passed the US$10 billion mark with the completion of the sale of its Alcan Packaging Food Americas division to Bemis Company, Inc for a total all cash consideration of US$1.2 billion. The miner said it has completed divestments of over US$7 billion since the beginning of 2009 alone.

At the finish, Rio Tinto shares were trading up 62c to $72.02.

The Reserve Bank of Australia ("RBA”) has decided to raise the official cash rate by 25 basis points, or 0.25%, to 4%.

In commenting on the decision, RBA Governor Glenn Stevens said the global economy was growing and GDP growth would match trend pace in 2010 and 2011.

This was especially in Australia’s region, with some Asian countries even seeking to unwind stimulus packages.

Mr Stevens acknowledged that credit conditions remained difficult with banks in some countries still unwilling to loan.

Turning his focus to Australia, Mr Stevens said economic conditions last year were stronger than expected, as evidenced by unemployment peaking considerably lower than expected.

Other economic indicators including housing approvals had also been growing strongly, while business confidence surveys also pointed to improved conditions.

Commenting on inflation, Mr Stevens said CPI inflation had risen somewhat recently as temporary factors that had been holding it to unusually low rates are now abating.

”Inflation is expected to be consistent with the target in 2010,” Mr Stevens said.

He went on to say that, despite banks generally passing on more than the official rate, interest rates to most borrowers nonetheless remained lower than average.

”The Board judges that with growth likely to be close to trend and inflation close to target over the coming year, it is appropriate for interest rates to be closer to average,” Mr Stevens said.

Oil Search Limited (OSH) announced the finalisation of a Sale and Purchase Agreement with CPC Corporation of Taiwan for a long-term supply of approximately 1.2 million tonnes per annum of Liquefied Natural Gas (“LNG”) from the PNG LNG Project. Operator of the project, Exxon Mobil, said under the agreement, the PNG LNG Project would supply LNG to CPC for a period of 20 years.

Oil Search’s managing director, Peter Botten, said the project is now fully contracted for the full plant capacity, and the way is clear to move forward to financial close.

Vice president, LNG, ExxonMobil Gas and Power Marketing, Ron Billings, said the agreement would deliver a reliable supply of cleaner-burning natural gas to meet Taiwan’s growing energy demand.

”With this SPA, all of the project’s production capacity has been committed on a long-term basis,” Mr Billings said.

”We are now looking forward to the finalisation of the financing arrangements with lenders which is expected in the first quarter of 2010.”

Oil Search has a 29% participating interest in the project, while Santos Limited (STO) has a 13.5% interest.

As at 1452 AEDT, Oil Search shares were up 8c to $5.32, while Santos shares were up 27c to $13.37.

Qantas Airways Limited (QAN) announced that chief financial officer, Colin Storrie, intends stepping down and resigning from the board. The company said Mr Storrie resigned in order to spend time with his family for personal and health reasons.

Qantas chairman Leigh Clifford said Mr Storrie’s resignation would take final effect from March 5 and that the board had agreed to succession arrangements proposed by CEO Alan Joyce.

The company said it would consider internal and external candidates to replace Mr Storrie.

Mr Joyce said Qantas has appointed current CFO of Qantas airline Gareth Evans as acting group executive finance for the Qantas Group until a permanent replacement for Mr Storrie is selected.

“Colin Storrie has contributed greatly to Qantas maintaining a strong financial position during his time as CFO and before that as Deputy CFO,” Mr Clifford said.

”During his time as CFO, Qantas was able to remain in profit as it weathered the global financial crisis.”

As at 1347 AEDT, Qantas shares were down 3c to $2.59.