The market is down 68 as the Greek bailout is threatened with delays and the Greek government tries ever stricter and unpopular austerity measures to ensure they get the October instalment. The SFE Futures were up 8 this morning.

The Dow closed up 76 on Friday. Dow up 99 at best and down 26 at worst. The Dow closed higher for a 5th straight day to end the week up 5.4%. It was the best weekly performance since June but only the 2nd weekly gain in the past 8 weeks. President Obama will announce at least $2 trillion in deficit reduction measures tonight, although he is not expected to offer all the compromises he reached with House Speaker John Boehner in July. Moody’s left Italy’s Aa2 credit rating unchanged but reiterated that it remained on review for a possible downgrade and bailout funds to Greece have been delayed after weekend discussions were described as mixed. The oil price fell $1.44 to $87.96 and Gold put on $33.30 at $1814.70. The Aussie dollar fell to 102.98c from 103.27c.

Today’s main stories … struggling for stock specific news:

  • Origin Energy (ORG) has released an operational review and presentation. Along with their joint venture partner ConocoPhillips, they will ship LNG to 2 terminals in China. ORG down 2.6% to 1307c.
  • Minara Resources (MRE) has recommended a takeover offer from Glencore International to their shareholders. The offer values MRE at $1.02bn, a report by KPMG found fair value was between 70c-97c, compared to 87c offered by Glencore. Glencore already controls 73.4% of MRE shares and 40% of their key project. MRE down 0.5c to 87c.
  • Qantas (QAN) says 6,100 passengers will be affected by flight cancellations and delays associated with a four-hour strike planned by their employees. QAN down 2% to 156c.
  • Premier Investments (PMV) has announced a 50% fall in net profit in line with recent guidance. They declared a final dividend of 18c. PMV up 10c to 545c.
  • Gunns (GNS) has released a Market Update. They will sell down non-core assets and restructure their business as part of their exit from logging native forest in Tasmania. Their main debt facility will mature in January 2012, meaning that $340m of debt will need to be retired. GNS up 2c to 22.5c.
  • Ivanhoe Australia (IVA) has completed their institutional placement. They raised $88m from the issue of 63m shares at $1.39 each. IVA is no longer in a trading halt and up 1% to 150.5c.
  • Lend Lease (LLC) has been included in the Dow Jones’ Sustainability Index and achieved the highest possible score. LLC down 3% to 735c.
  • Billabong down 8.2% having gone ex dividend today.
  • Australian merchandise imports increased by 4% to $20.52bn in August from $19.72bn in July in seasonally adjusted terms.
  • ALTERNATIVE STOP LOSSES — In the Newsletter today are some less than technical stop losses you might employ…from the INSOMNIA STOP LOSS to the ANXIOUS STOP LOSS … it’s all about valuing your state of mind over trying to make money. With the school holidays coming up I would normally employ the HOLIDAY STOP LOSS this week, if we weren’t in 100% cash already. Marcus Today … a little bit of Education every day.

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