| RP provide individual
specialists to full managed teams on a short to
medium term basis to meet specific objective based
outcomes for the client.
These can range from
short peer reviews, audits, data rooms, opportunity
screening and Joint Venture representation up
to the full definition of field development plans.
Our
teams can be made available within 30 days.
On behalf
of RP, we are pleased to provide a regular monthly
newsletter on the stockmarket, courtesy of Sentinel
Financial Group
General Market Review
November has seen a flurry of trading
activity resulting in the Australian share market
reaching a record high early in the month, building
on October's stellar run. The benchmark S&P/ASX
200 Index traded as high as 5496.3 early in the
month, but was quickly sold off on the back of
declines in energy, materials and financial stocks.
Crude oil prices have seen continued
declines. Swelling stockpiles and forecasts of
a mild winter in the northern hemisphere pushed
prices down to 12 month lows despite the announcement
by OPEC of their intention to cut production by
just over 1%. Many market observers are skeptical
regarding the resolve of OPEC to follow through
with such cuts, due to the negative effect it
would have on revenues. Crude does however seem
to continue to be supported at around the $55.00/bbl
level - remarkably close to the 12 month low of
almost exactly a year ago (US$55.40/bbl on the
18 Nov 05). Traders will also be keeping a close
eye on the developing US winter, to
see whether a cold snap could potentially end
crude's recent slump.
With the notable exception of nickel,
base metal prices continue to retreat with copper
leading the falls. Rising LME inventories have
been blamed for the declines. Precious metals
on the other hand seem to be enjoying renewed
strength, with both gold and silver pushing higher.
Interesting chart patterns in all of these contracts
suggest that recent volatility might continue
in the short term.
Global
Indices
| |
Price |
Monthly
Change (%) |
| S&P
ASX200 (Australia) |
5,453 |
1.8 |
| Dow
Jones (US) |
12,222 |
1.6 |
| S&P
500 (US) |
1,400 |
2.4 |
| FSTE 100 (UK) |
6,049 |
-1.6 |
Sources: IRESS. Data as of 30/11/2006. Commodities
| |
Price |
Monthly
Change (%) |
| Gold |
$648
USD/oz |
5.0 |
| Oil
(West Texas) |
$63
USD/bbl |
7.4 |
| Copper |
$6,902
USD/t |
-5.4 |
| Nickel |
$33,050
USD/t |
1.4 |
Sources: IRESS. Data as of 30/11/2006.
Energy Focus
Movers and Shakers
S&P/ASX
300 Energy Index - The Month's Best
| Company |
ASX
Code |
Gain |
Last
Price |
Comment |
| Paladin Resources |
PDN |
+26% |
$6.91 |
Uranium price surges past US $60/lb. |
| Energy Res Aust |
ERA |
+26% |
$19.50 |
Increase in Ranger mine reserves. Uranium price. |
| Felix Resources |
FLX |
+25% |
$3.90 |
Sells 49% of Yarrabee coal
mine, Qld, for
A$68million. |
Source:
Sentinel Financial Group & IRESS. Last prices
and returns as at 24 November 2006.
S&P/ASX
300 Energy Index - The Month's Worst
| Company |
ASX
Code |
Gain |
Last
Price |
Comment |
| Centennial Coal |
CEY |
-28% |
$2.82 |
Profit downgrade and announces mine closures. |
| Straits Resources |
SRL |
-15% |
$3.61 |
Copper offtake dispute with Sempra Metals. |
| Cue Energy Resources |
CUE |
-10% |
$0.13 |
Jeruk reserves downgrade. |
Source:
Sentinel Financial Group & IRESS. Last prices
and returns as at 24 November 2006.
Who's Making
News
A selection of significant recent oil and gas
headlines.
Source:
Sentinel Financial Group & ASX.
Tin Rattlers
Recent
ASX Capital Raisings
| Company |
ASX
Code |
Date |
Details |
| Sundance Energy |
SAE |
24 Nov |
$14m placement for US gas drill programs. |
| NZ Oil & Gas |
NZO |
15 Nov |
$17.5m placement to progress oil and gas developments. |
| Alto Energy |
AOI |
14 Nov |
$2.5m placement for US seismic and 5 well drill program. |
| Energy Investments |
EIV |
13 Nov |
$5.6m placement
for Cooper Basin and Qld
CBM interests. |
| Scimitar Resources |
SIM |
10 Nov |
$2.5m placement
for uranium exploration drill programs. |
| Pancon Oil & Gas |
PCL |
8 Nov |
$0.8m placement
for working capital purposes. |
| Entek Energy |
ETE |
2 Nov |
Proposed
$2.2m placement for Gulf of Mexico interests. |
Source:
Sentinel Financial Group & ASX.
Float Hopefuls
Source:
Sentinel Financial Group & ASX.
Australian Stock Market News
It
was busy trading on the local bourse this month,
as the market powered on to record highs led by
the Industrials, Information Technology and Property
Trust sectors. Takeover speculation continued
as well, with the big talk around town surrounding
the Macquarie Bank led consortiums' takeover bid
for our national carrier, Qantas.
The
main sector weighing on the market over the month
was Telecommunications, as Telstra stock fell
back heavily from the $4 level seen around late
October as the size of the Government fire sale
continued to skyrocket from the initial $8bn estimation
to a final figure of $15.5bn. The T3 installments
traded extremely strongly however, rising from
the retail purchase price of $2 to as high as
$2.35 at the time of writing, a handy 17.5% profit
for retail traders, and a still handy 12.5% for
the institutions who had to pay the higher $2.10
bookbuild price. This
strength and renewed confidence in the stock saw
Telstra stock bounce late in the month from its
lows around $3.58, closing at $3.77 at the time
of writing.
A
selection of significant company news:
| Company |
ASX
Code |
Details |
| Westpac |
WBC |
Announces double digit profit growth, despite increasing
cost and margin pressures. |
| Worley Parsons |
WOR |
Awarded 2nd phase of significant Belene Nuclear Power Plant project. |
| CSR Ltd. |
CSR |
Announce appointment of Jerry Maycock as new CEO, replacing Alex Brennan
from March 2007. |
| Burns Philip |
BPC |
Rank announces acquisition of >90% of BPC stock clearing
way for removal of BPC quotation. |
| Harvey Norman |
HVN |
Private equity deal announced, selling Rebel Sport at
$4.60 vs previous
price of $4.35. |
| Macquarie Bank |
MBL |
Announces 1st half profit growth of 51% YOY
with $730 million result. |
| Qantas |
QAN |
MBL and Texas Pacific led consortium announce private
equity takeover bid for Qantas. |
| Australian Wheat Board |
AWB |
Release of Cole Enquiry - recommending eleven staff be
investigated for possible criminal and
corporate offences over Iraq kickback
scandal. |
| Tabcorp |
TAH |
Issues AGM profit warning. |
|
