The market is up 7. The SFE Futures were up 8 this morning.

Wall St. fell 37 on Friday. Dow broke an 8 day winning streak. Dow up 39 at best and down 86 at worst. Nine out of ten sector finished in the red. Metals struggled, as did the oil price — down $1.48 to $80.90 — and the Gold price — down $19.90 to $1107.06. The Aussie was slightly to 91.46c compared to Friday morning.

In the news today…

  • Arrow Energy (AOE) ACCEPTS TAKOVER OFFER — AOE says yes to a revised$3.44bn bid from Shell and PetroChina. AOE shareholders have been offered 470c a share cash, up from the original bid of 445c and will also hold onto $45m worth of cash. Regulatory approval is required. The board unanimously recommends the offer. AOE down 19c to 510c.
  • ANZ Bank (ANZ) has completed the acquisition of Royal Bank of Scotland’s retail and commercial businesses in Hong Kong and will launch a new service for wealth retail customers in the Asian-Pacific region. ANZ down 23c to 2488c
  • OneSteel (OST) had agreed to purchase Metals Trading, an Australian scrap metals dealer, for an undisclosed sum. Metals Trading operates in NSW and VIC and collects around 120,000 metric tons of iron-containing scrap. OST up 2c to 394c.
  • AXA Asia Pacific (AXA) has extended the deadline for finalizing transaction documents with the National Australia Bank until March 29. AXA says discussions are at an advanced stage and the board continues to recommend the offer. AXA up 2c to 631c.
  • Premier Investments (PMV) – slightly below expectations – Announced a 1H net profit of $42.4m, down 14%. Declared an interim dividend of 38c, up from 37c last year. PMV down 4% to 865c.
  • According to the AFR, Moly Mines (MOL) is on the verge of securing $546m in debt finance for their Spinifex Ridge molybdenum project in WA. The report says either China Development Bank or the Export-Import Bank of China will begin due diligence on the project. MOL down 1.5c to 85.5c
  • Woodside Petroleum (WPL) will switch to reporting their profit numbers in US$ from Fy10. Dividends will also be declared in US$ but paid in A$. They believe the change will provide a more accurate reflection of performance. WPL up 3c to 4676c.
  • New Hope (NHC) says they will make a statement on their plans for their 16.6% stake in AOE. NHC down 3.3% to 497c.
  • Mesa Minerals (MAS) receives takeover offer from Mineral Resources (MIN) valuing them at 10.25c a share. MAS up 22.5% to 9.8c. MIN down 8c to 716c.
  • Ausdrill Ltd (ASL) in a trading halt. Last traded at 227c.

Dow Futures down 53 at midday.

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