Flat Day Ahead

December 10th, 2008  by Lawrence Grasso

Closing Data

	current	change	%
Dow Jones	8691.33	-242.85	-2.7%
NASDAQ	1547.34	-24.4	-1.6%
S P 500	888.67	-21.03	-2.3%
FTSE 100	4381.26	81.2	1.9%
Nikkei 225	8395.87	66.82	0.8%
SPI Futures	3617	-26	-0.7%
All Ords	3,534.00	-20.1	-0.6%
Oil	42	-1.69	-3.9%
Gold	774.2	4.9	0.6%
Silver	9.85	-0.125	-1.3%
Aluminium	1466	20	1.4%
Copper	3141	90.5	3.0%
Lead	936	21	2.3%
Nickel	9150	70	0.8%
Tin	11505	-80	-0.7%
Zinc	1080	-16.5	-1.5%

Flat Day Ahead

Wall Street turned cautious Tuesday after a two day rally and as downbeat corporate news reminded investors that the economy's troubles won't soon ease. Stocks tumbled while demand for the safety of government debt spiked.  The Dow Jones fell 242 points, while broader indices showed more moderate declines. Wall Street's uneven pullback illustrated the fragmented nature of the markets. Some investors snapped up hard-hit technology names on the NASDAQ, while a bleak forecast from FedEx Corp was among the reasons for a fall in the Dow.
On the local front the Australian market should open fairly flat.
BSL
To help repay debt, BlueScope Steel Ltd is seeking to raise A$300 million by selling shares to investors at a 23 percent discount to its last traded share price.  The company (which entered a trading halt yesterday) wants to pay down A$400 million of borrowings due in February 2009. The shares will be offered at A$3.10 per share, compared with BlueScope’s last traded share price of A$4.03.

ANZ
ANZ, Australia’s fourth-largest lender, plans to sell $1.75 billion of US dollar-denominated bonds guaranteed by the Australian federal government. ANZ plans to sell $500 million of two-year, floating-rate notes priced to yield 70 basis points more than the three-month London interbank offered rate. ANZ also may sell $1.25 billion of three-year, fixed-rate bonds at a spread of 100 basis points more than the benchmark midswaps rate.

WBC
Westpac, Australia's second-largest bank, said it raised A$2.5 billion in a share sale to bolster tier 1 capital. The shares were sold at A$16 per share, 11 percent lower than their closing price yesterday of $17.88. The sale to institutional investors will boost Westpac's tier 1 capital ratio, a key measure of financial strength, by as much as 157 basis points to about 8.32 percent.

OZL
OZ Minerals shareholders plan to launch legal claims against the miner over allegations of misleading and deceptive conduct, IMF Australia (IMF), which plans to fund the legal claims, said the proceedings relate to the alleged failure by OZ Minerals to disclose details of debt refinancing obligations it entered into three days before it announced plans to merge with Zinifex. IMF said all shareholders (past and present) who purchased OZ Minerals securities in the relevant period or who swapped their Zinifex shares for OZ Minerals shares are eligible to participate in the claim. OZL remained suspended from trade.  Please call your Adviser if you think you are in this position. 

OIL
Oil prices dipped to near $42 a barrel Tuesday amid new reports the global economy will lead to an even sharper falloff in energy consumption through 2009.

JPMorgan ASX20+
We have been able to secure an extension of time for the JPMorgan ASX20+ investment.  Complete your application and return it by COB tomorrow and you could still access this opportunity.
ASX20+ will invest in the growth potential of the ASX 20 companies and aims to generate up to 10% p.a. income along the way. It also pays you a minimum 2% p.a. income over the first 5 years.
To find out more about ASX20+, ask questions and see if it could be suitable for you, contact one of our Advisers on FREECALL 1800 000 369 today.

Contact your Freeman Fox Stockbroker on 07 3031 9960 or 1800 003 369 Ext 7.

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