The Aussie sharemarket’s expected to open flat today after Wall Street fell in a shortened day of trading on Friday. Eurozone leaders are talking up potential debt bailout strategies: reports in Britain say its banks are drawing up plans for the possible dismantling of the eurozone; and Italian media reports the IMF could bail out Italy with up to 600 billion euros.
US
Shoppers were out in force over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend – record sales figures were up 6.6 per cent compared to last year, to $US11.4 billion. That’s the biggest dollar amount ever spent on Black Friday, the unofficial start of the Christmas shopping season, according to research firm ShopperTrak.
Figures
On Friday, The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 26 points to close at 11,232, the S&P500 lost 3 points to close at 1,159 and the Nasdaq lost 19 points to close at 2,442.
European stocks closed higher on Friday: London’s FTSE was up 37 points, Paris was up 35 points and Frankfurt was up 65 points.
To Asian markets, stocks were lower: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 246 points, Tokyo Nikkei was down five and China’s Shanghai Composite was down 17.
At the end of last week, the Australian share market closed lower: The S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 60 points to close at 3,984. On the futures market the SPI is five points higher.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar at 8:25am was buying 98.22 US cents, 63.45 Pence Sterling, 76.21 Yen and 73.71 Euro cents.
Company news
At the end of last week shares in Qantas Limited (ASX:QAN) closed 2.68 per cent lower at $1.46. The airline’s allegedly pulled the handbrake on plans to launch a premium airline in Asia, according to Fairfax Media reports. Rather, it’s reported to be focusing on an alliance with Malaysia Airlines.
The planned multi-billion dollar investment in a subsidiary airline in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur outraged unions when it was announced, who said local jobs would be lost as part of the proposal.
Qantas Limited (ASX:QAN) reported a net profit of $249 million for the 2011 financial year.
On Friday shares in Seven West Media Limited (ASX:SWM) lost 2.52 per cent to finish at $3.09. Chief executive David Leckie’s heading into the new year full of confidence: he told Fairfax newspapers Seven’s ratings are going to be ahead of the other networks every week of the year except for the two that Nine will be covering the London Olympics. He says “you can forget about Ten; it will take them years to rebuild their ratings.”
Seven West Media Limited (ASX:SWM) reported a profit of $115 million for the six months to June.
Ex-dividends
Today: Anglogold with an unfranked dividend just more than two cents; BT Investment Management with a fully franked 10 cents; Fisher & Paykel Healthcare with an unfranked dividend just more than four cents; HGL with a fully franked six cents; Infratil with an unfranked two cents; Ruralco with a fully franked nine cents; and Technology One with a fully franked five cents.
Commodities
Gold is down $12.20 at $US1,685 an ounce for the December contract on Comex. Silver is up 32 cents to $31.01. Copper is up one cent at $3.27 a pound. Oil is up 60 cents to $96.77 a barrel for January light crude in New York.
