| Resource
Personnel 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
The Australian market raced ahead
to new highs in December, continuing its incredible
performance since breaking back above 5150 in
late September. The market was helped along by
solid leads from offshore, with the DOW also breaking
new highs, and Germany's DAX and UK's FTSE trading
at their highest levels in over 3 years.
Commodities however continued their recent slide,
with all major categories recording falls for
the month. The worst hit was Copper, which continued
to slide on fears of a reduction in global demand
- fears which were exacerbated by reports that
Copper inventories as measured by Comex have almost
quadrupled since July.
Global
Indices
| |
Price |
Monthly
Change (%) |
| S&P
ASX200 (Australia) |
5,670
|
3.4
|
| Dow
Jones (US) |
12,463 |
2.0 |
| S&P
500 (US) |
1,418 |
1.3
|
| FSTE 100 (UK) |
6,221
|
2.8
|
Commodities
| |
Price |
Monthly
Change (%) |
| Gold |
$636
USD/oz
|
-1.8
|
| Oil
(West Texas) |
$60.85
USD/bbl
|
-3.4
|
| Copper |
$6,290
USD/t
|
-9.3
|
| Nickel |
$34,205
USD/t
|
-1.4 |
Sources: IRESS. Data as of 31/12/2006.
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% |
$8.90 |
Uranium price surges past US $70/lb.
|
| Sydney Gas
|
SGL |
+14% |
$0.40 |
Renewed interest in coal bed methane companies. |
| Worley Parsons
|
WOR |
+11% |
$21.28 |
Broker upgrades following recent contract awards. |
Source:
Sentinel Financial Group & IRESS. Last prices
and returns as at 31/12/2006.
S&P/ASX
300 Energy Index - The Month's Worst
| Company |
ASX
Code |
Gain |
Last
Price |
Comment |
| Arc
Energy
|
ARQ |
-10% |
$1.325 |
Unsuccessful
Lyginia-1 oil exploration well. |
| Roc
Oil |
ROC |
-6% |
$3.09 |
Fallout
from $219m rioghts issues @ $2.70.
|
| Amadeus
Energy |
AMU |
-5% |
$0.955 |
Australian Renewable Fuels investment declines.
|
Source:
Sentinel Financial Group & IRESS. Last prices
and returns as at 31/12/2006.
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 |
| Aurora Oil & Gas
|
AUT
|
Dec 2006
|
$8.2m placement for US drill program.
|
| Golden Gate Petroleum
|
GGP
|
Dec 2006
|
$5.7m placement
for US gas projects.
|
| Impress Ventures
|
ITC |
Dec 2006
|
$4.6m placement
for Cooper Basin drill program. |
| Petsec Energy |
PSA |
Dec 2006
|
$39.6m placement/SPP
for US & China projects. |
| West Australian Metals
|
WME
|
Dec 2006
|
$1.9m placement
for Namibia uranium exploration.
|
Source:
Sentinel Financial Group & ASX.
Float Hopefuls
|
Company |
Amount
Sought |
Summary
|
Further
Information |
| Bowen Energy
|
$5m |
Qld coal and uranium focus.
|
www.bowenenergy.com.au
|
| Energy One |
$10m
|
East coast electricity supplier.
|
n/a |
| L&M Petroleum
|
$20m
|
NZ oil and gas explorer. |
www.Impetroleum.net.nz |
Source:
Sentinel Financial Group & ASX.
Australian Stock Market News
The domestic stockmarket showed broad based strength
in December, with all of the major sectors advancing
with the exception of Materials, which were held
lower by softer commodity prices. Despite being
the only major sector unable to record a positive
month, Materials did still show resilience, falling
only 0.27% - substantially less than the declines
recorded in most of the major commodities their
prices tend to move so closely in line with.
Global diversified mining heavyweights BHP and
Rio Tinto continued to lag behind the pure metal
plays such as Zinifex in the past month. The diversified
miners appear to be plagued by continuing concerns
regarding the macro economic outlook in both the
US and Europe, with worries about the strength
of the US housing market particularly concerning.
The standout performer for the month was the
Insurance sector, surging 9.25%. Confirmation
of a quieter than expected hurricane season in
the US aided those stocks with significant offshore
earnings (particularly QBE which issued a profit
upgrade), whilst domestically, continued merger
and acquisition speculation ensured a healthy
takeover premium for many, and strong equity markets
helped keep investment earnings strong as well.
A
selection of significant company news:
| Company |
ASX
Code |
Details |
| BHP |
BHP |
Ravensthorpe Nickel project budget has been increased
by 64%to $2.2 billion.
|
| Zinifex |
ZFX |
Added to S&P/ASX 50 Index. |
| Publishing and Broadcasting |
PBL |
S&P downgrades PBL credit rating to BBB+, following
the creation of the PBL Media entity.
|
| Coles Group |
CGJ |
KKR continues to watch Coles' woes closely, with potential
for second bid in 2007. |
| ANZ Bank |
ANZ |
ANZ CEO John McFarlane announces resignation plans for
end of December 2007. |
| Australian Securities Exchange |
ASX |
ASX changes name to Australian Securities Exchange, after
merger with SFE. |
| Sigma Pharmaceuticals |
SIP |
SIP revises down takeover offer for Australian Pharmaceuticals
(API) from $2.50 to $2.20. |
| Zinifex |
ZFX |
ZFX and Umicore to combine to form the world's leading
producer of zinc. |
| CSL
Limited
|
CSL |
Upgrades
FY07 profit forecast by 10%. |
|
