Coles slashes price of milk, sells more

WESFARMERS Ltd says milk sales at its Coles supermarkets have risen by about 15 to 20 per cent since it began a price war on the consumer staple to achieve customer loyalty.

Coles last month slashed the price of its home brand milk to $2 per two-litre bottle.

It was immediately matched by rival Woolworths, drawing the ire of Australian dairy farmers who are already battling with the impact of floods following long years of drought.

Wesfarmers chief executive Richard Goyder today said the move was designed to bolster "price trust" in Coles shoppers and "was never about doing anything of any harm to primary producers".

"This hasn't been in place for long, but the reaction we're getting from our customers is incredibly positive and our milk sales are up very strongly since this was put in place," Mr Goyder told media after the company delivered a 33 per cent increase in first half profit.

"There has been some shift to the Coles brand milk, as you would expect, but overall milk sales are strongly up.

"Our milk sales were up by 15 to 20 per cent since we put this in place.

"The aim is get price trust and I can tell you, customers love it."

Mr Goyder said Coles' price cuts across various products had attracted more shoppers, who were buying more items.

"If you put that (milk price cut) in the context of 5,000 items that we've reduced, then what we're seeing is a lot more customers walking into our stores and we are now starting to see them increase their basket size with us," he said.

"That's all about giving our customers, many of whom are working families, a better deal at the supermarket.

"Milk is all about providing a core staple to our customers at great value.

"We would hope to increase the market for milk as a consequence as this."

Mr Goyder said there had been a move by consumers towards the Coles brand of milk, which accounted for about four per cent of all milk produced in Australia.

"There's been some shift, but in the scheme of things it hasn't been massive."

Mr Goyder said food inflation in Australia had reduced from about four per cent to two per cent in recent years.

"That's saving Australians significant amounts of money, as in a billion dollars a year or thereabouts."

Source http://www.news.com.au/business/breaking-news/coles-slashes-price-of-milk-sells-more/story-e6frfkur-1226007750622

Rio Tinto posts $14.2b profit, announces buyback

Global miner Rio Tinto has more than tripled last year's earnings, posting an annual profit of $14.2 billion, and announced a share buyback plan worth almost $5 billion.

The company benefited from soaring commodity prices such as copper, which jumped 47 per cent in the period, and iron ore which is negotiated on a quarterly basis.

These increases were driven by rising demand for its exports from emerging markets such as China.

Chief executive Tom Albanese says while he expects Rio Tinto to continue to benefit from these conditions, he did so with a degree of caution.

"GDP growth in emerging markets and supply constraints mean the general pricing outlook for commodities remains positive, albeit with elevated risk," he said.

"In particular the timing and speed at which the post-global financial crisis stimulus packages were removed have the potential to generate volatility and substantial swings in commodity prices."

Shareholders are set to benefit from the plan to return $5 billion through a share buyback to be completed by the end of 2012, as well as a 20 per cent increase in the final dividend.

The on-market transaction to take place on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

Rio Tinto says that shareholders will benefit from the fact that there will be less shares in circulation.

Chairman Jan du Plessis says that commitment will still allow Rio Tinto to take advantage of any future growth opportunities that may arise.

The profit figure has come in broadly in line with market expectations, but analysts say there were a few surprises.

"The dividend increase is ahead of expectations, and while people were thinking that a buyback is possible, they thought it wouldn't be announced for another six months," UBS resources analyst Glynn Lawcock said.

"So Rio has come and surprised people on the upside with the dividend and the buyback. The buyback is clearly positive and it's what shareholders were asking for."

On its growth outlook, Rio Tinto says it will continue to make investments to drive organic growth and acquire small to medium assets.

"The commitment to small and mid-size acquisitions is good," Pengana Capital portfolio manager Ric Ronge said.

"That will throw the heat on BHP because BHP's strategy has been about buying large market-leading assets so they run into anti-trust issues. Small and mid-size acquisitions will not run into the same issues."

Rio Tinto is currently vying for smaller coal miner Riversdale.

It says it has extended its $3.9 billion takeover offer for the miner to March 4 after signs that Riversdale's second-biggest shareholder was holding up a deal.

Source http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/10/3135652.htm

Yahoo!7 buys online deal site Spreets

Online media company Yahoo!7 has bought online group buying site Spreets.

Yahoo!7 says it acquired both the Australian and New Zealand operations of Spreets (spreets.com.au and spreets.co.nz), which deliver cost-effective marketing to small businesses through online coupon deals.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Since Spreets was launched in February 2010, it has gained 500,000 members and had more than 274,000 vouchers purchased.

Yahoo!7 chief executive Rohan Lund said Spreets was a leader in what's becoming a highly competitive and fast-growing market for group buying.

Other sites include Jump On It, Scoopon and Cudo, which is owned by PBL Media and marketed through the Nine Network.

Spreets CEO Dean McEvoy said websites such as Spreets were meeting a growing demand from customers for online coupon deals.

"Australians and Kiwis love an amazing deal and Spreets has seen significant growth delivering over $40 million in savings to consumers over the past year," Mr McEvoy said.

Yahoo!7 is a joint partnership between the Australian media company Seven Network Ltd and US-based technology company Yahoo! Inc.

Source http://www.smh.com.au/small-business/yahoo7-buys-online-deal-site-spreets-20110120-19x90.html

Dollar's rise, rate hikes take toll on manufacturing sector

THE soaring value of the dollar and the Reserve Bank's rate rises are forcing manufacturers to slash production and employment.

Greece is the only country in either the industrialised or the emerging world where manufacturing is performing worse, according to the December performance of manufacturing index, which is a survey conducted globally.

JPMorgan senior economist Helen Kevans said that in the rest of the world, the manufacturing industry was gaining momentum with economic recovery.

"In contrast, the Australian manufacturing sector is still contracting, with the currency being the main issue," Ms Kevans said.

"The Australian dollar was an average of 5 per cent higher in the December quarter."

The survey, conducted locally by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Australian Industry Group, shows most manufacturers have now been contracting for the past four months, with December's result the worst in a year and in line with scores recorded during the financial crisis.

The index measure dropped to 46.3 points, below the 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction. Idle capacity in manufacturing has now risen to 27.7 per cent.

Ms Kevans said manufacturing was being squeezed by the mining boom, which was attracting the investment capital and the skilled labour.

The boom continues to gather strength with commodity prices climbing to a new peak, according to the Reserve Bank. Its commodity price index advanced 3.2 per cent in December because of price rises in iron ore, coal, and also wheat.

Commonwealth Bank chief currency strategist Richard Grace said the dollar could be expected to remain strong until economic recovery in the US forced interest rates there higher. He said that could take another three to six months.

"Australian interest rates are high and, more to the point, European and US interest rates are at extreme lows that are not sustainable," Mr Grace said.

The head of PwC's global manufacturing division, Graeme Billings, said conditions were difficult even in industries that were not subject to import competition, such as construction materials. "Building materials are a good barometer of confidence within the economy," Mr Billings said. "Through the second half of 2010, activity flattened."

He said the wind-down of the government's school-building program contributed to weaker conditions.

Australian Industry Group director Innes Willox said the Reserve Bank's rate rises last year had made the competitive position of Australian manufacturers more difficult.

"Concerns about where interest rates will go from here has raised questions about investment in manufacturing," he said.

Source http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/markets/dollars-rise-rate-hikes-take-toll-on-manufacturing-sector/story-e6frg926-1225981976575

DP World sells $1.5bn Australian stake

DP World, the container terminal operator, is to sell a majority stake in its Australian subsidiary to Citi Infrastructure Investors, a private equity company, for A$1.5bn ($1.5bn).

Dubai-listed DP World announced on Wednesday that it was selling the stake to CII and an unnamed partner described as “a major investor”. The company will continue to operate the container terminals at Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Fremantle under a management contract.

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The company said that it expected regulatory approval by the end of the first quarter next year.

DP World said the proceeds of the sale to CII would go towards reducing net debt as part of a strategy “to improve balance sheet flexibility”.

DP World is one of the healthier divisions of Dubai World, the indebted conglomerate, and was excluded from a round of debt restructuring earlier this year. In November last year the Dubai World shocked global markets when it asked for a moratorium on repaying its debts. It has subsequently secured a $25bn restructuring agreement with creditors.

DP World has the widest geographical spread of any of the world’s leading port groups, with operations in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The capacity of the five Australian ports is in excess of 3.5m 20ft-equivalent units a year, a common industry measure, which the company said constituted roughly half the total Australian container market.

The deal values DP World Australia at A$1.817m, the company said. DP World was advised by Deutsche Bank and Citgroup Global Markets while CII was advised by HSBC and UBS.

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Source http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/97a6b220-0daa-11e0-8b53-00144feabdc0.html#axzz18pfuM6kn

Rosy export outlook but business glum

A rosy export outlook has failed to lift the spirits of businesses, while new government forecasts highlight the impact on farmers from this month's storms in Queensland and NSW.

The heavy rainfalls and flooding have wiped $1 billion off the value of wheat production for 2010/11, the federal government's commodity forecaster said on Tuesday.

Releasing its quarterly commodities report for the December quarter, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) now predicts wheat production of $5.7 billion in 2010/11 rather than the $6.7 billion forecast in September.

"In addition to expected lower production and export volumes from Western Australia, these downward revisions reflect the impact on grain quality of untimely rain on the wheat crop in the eastern states," ABARES acting executive director Paul Morris said releasing the report.

However, the bureau still predicts record commodity exports overall of $211 billion, a 23 per cent increase compared to 2009/10, despite a $3.8 billion downgrade because crop damage and slower growth in gold, iron ore and coal exports.

The bureau still expects iron ore and coal will make a large contribution to exports in 2010/11, while mine production is forecast to increase significantly in response to higher world prices.

This still rosy export outlook came as a new survey showed only a modest improvement in business conditions in November, while confidence fell for a third straight month.

"The impending mining investment and export boom should prove a spectacular ride, but the reality is that the train is still yet to leave the platform," National Australian Bank chief economist Alan Oster said releasing the results of his bank's monthly business survey.

Its business conditions index rose two points in November, while its confidence index was down two points - both being below their long term trend.

Mr Oster said the survey shows no sign of a pick-up in economic growth half way through the December quarter, after the disappointing outcome for the September quarter.

He expects the Reserve Bank will be surprised by this weakness, and as such is not predicting a further rise in the cash rate from 4.75 per cent to 5.0 per cent until May next year.

Other data released on Tuesday showed that new home building slumped in the September quarter, even before the last round of interest rate increases in November.

Builders started work on under 40,000 homes in the quarter, a 13.2 per cent drop compared to the June quarter, and much weaker than the five per cent fall predicted by economists.

The decline was led by a 13.5 per cent drop in the more volatile other residential building component in the private sector - such as flats and townhouses - although even private house building fell by 4.3 per cent.

"The conclusion from the September report is that residential building is returning to the sluggish pre-2009 trend as the lagged effects from earlier record low cash rates and subsidy schemes in housing are unwound," JP Morgan economist Ben Jarman said.

Growth in building approvals have been in decline for much of 2010 after interest rates rose six times between October last year and May, and as the government ended its more generous first home buyers grant on January 1.

Source http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/rosy-export-outlook-but-business-glum-20101214-18wlh.html

Proposed ASX merger will serve the national interest

The need for additional scale and regional relevance makes ASX's participation in consolidation mandatory.

Change is rarely easy, or initially easily accepted. When we consider the events that led to the creation of the Australian Securities Exchange as we know it today, such as the amalgamation of six state exchanges, or the closure of trading floors, or demutualisation, or the merger with the Sydney Futures Exchange, we may forget how challenging to various stakeholders they seemed at the time.

ASX understands the public interest in the proposed combination with Singapore Exchange (SGX) to create the first major regional exchange group in the Asian time zone.

In the near future, ASX will release information that outlines how the proposal advances Australia's national interest and informs much of the criticism that emerged after the proposal was announced on October 25.

Let me emphatically dispel concerns about a potential reduction -- or even transfer to Singapore -- of governance and regulatory oversight of ASX's operations.

The proposal is for a merger of exchange groups, akin to that which has been sanctioned in numerous other jurisdictions, not a takeover of Australian law.

ASIC, not ASX, is Australia's financial markets regulator and the Reserve Bank oversees Australia's financial stability standards, enshrined in the Corporations Law.

ASX's capacity to set the content of its listing and operating rules is already subject to a regulatory approval process in which the Australian government has the final say.

The Australian operations of the merged group will remain under Australian law and regulated by Australian authorities.

This maintenance of existing local sovereignty occurred with New York Stock Exchange's combination with the Euronext exchange group in 2006 and with Nasdaq's combination with the OMX group of Nordic exchanges in 2008. There can be no change to ASX rules without the agreement of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian government.

ASX views the proposed combination as a natural competitive and regulatory evolution of Australia's capital markets.

Despite the fact that ASX is already one of the most cost-efficient exchange groups in the world, the need for additional scale and regional relevance makes ASX's participation in exchange consolidation a mandatory -- not an elective -- matter for all its stakeholders, and not just its shareholders.

Financial capital is highly mobile and increasingly free of geographic boundaries.

Governments appear to welcome new types of trading participants with high-performance technology-based trading strategies, while multinational corporations are drawn to listing venues of regional and global scale and efficiency. These trends are driving market structure, irrespective of whether or when competition between market operators is introduced in Australia.

At the same time, the global balance of power has been shifting from developed economies to developing ones, especially those in the Asia-Pacific region.

The global crisis accelerated this trend. It is no coincidence that Australian government policy has oriented towards building support for the concept of an Asia-Pacific community, focused on regional economic and security.

The Johnson report concludes: "Greater integration of financial markets is an important aspect of the concept of an Asia-Pacific community, and can contribute to Australia's broader national economic and security objectives in the region."

The Johnson report also notes that the contribution to GDP of Australia's financial sector ranks comparably with its counterparts in other advanced economies, such as the US, Britain Japan and Canada, but it ranks much lower in financial services exports as a share of financial services value added. Additionally, the report quotes Rainmaker statistics showing that half of the 20 largest fund managers are overseas companies, but that only between 3.5 per cent and 11 per cent of the $1.2 trillion funds under management are from offshore.

This compares unfavourably with the situation in Britain (31 per cent of total FUM sourced from abroad), Hong Kong (64 per cent) and Singapore (80 per cent), which broadly defines the challenge facing Australia's financial services industry to evolve beyond its domestic origins.

The merger presents the opportunity for a larger volume of financial transactions involving offshore parties to flow through Australia -- a key characteristic of leading financial centres.

The increased size, liquidity pool and product diversification of a combined exchange group will enable better matching of the risk and reward preferences of investors and companies, reducing the cost of capital for ASX-listed entities. An outcome unequivocally in the national interest.

This is the context in which the ASX-SGX transaction should be judged. As a nation we are indebted to the strength of Asia's industrialising economies and their appetite for our resources (and government debt) -- factors that helped us avoid the worst effects of the global crisis.

Yet, despite talk of becoming more integrated with the pan-Asian economy, a transaction that seeks to achieve this causes parts of the community to raise the spectre of loss of national sovereignty, without understanding the protection afforded by the existing regulatory framework or the competitive forces that threaten to marginalise ASX if parochialism prevails.

Public policy consistency dictates that encouragement of new foreign-owned competitors for domestic exchange-related services, to use their global scale in Australia, also calls for allowing the incumbent exchange group to be similarly allowed to extend its presence through a regional or global combination beyond local shores. Such action, through the proposed ASX-SGX combination, strengthens the national interest and helps to develop Australia's financial services sector.

Source http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/proposed-asx-merger-will-serve-the-national-interest/story-e6frg8zx-1225965415691