The market is up 119. The SFE Futures were up 105 this morning.

The Dow Jones closed up 272 overnight. Dow was up 286 at best. Volatility remains: since the first week of August, the Dow has closed up or down more than 200 points 16 times, while in the first 7 months of 2011 there were only 4 swings of 200 points or more. There was talk overnight that a program similar to the US Troubles Asset Relief Program (TARP) may be adopted by the EU to solve the current crisis. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway’s Class B shares put on 8.6% after announcing a share buyback, its first ever since Buffett took control in 1965. The gold price fell an additional $45 after falling $102 a day earlier and metals fell over again overnight. The oil price put on 39c to $80.24 and the Aussie dollar increased slightly to 98.20c from 97.77c.

Today’s main stories…

  • Goodman Fielder (GFF) plans to raise $259m through an entitlement offer. They announced a fully-underwritten 5-for-12 pro-rata renounceable entitlement offer of new ordinary shares at an offer price of 45c a share. GFF last traded at 59c a share.
  • Lynas Corp (LYC) up 20% today to 104c after falling over 48% in the past month.
  • Woolworths (WOW) and Lowes spent $429m on development properties and infrastructure throughout FY 2011 as they prepare to enter the Australian hardware market through the Masters brand. WOW also said they still expect to lift net profit in the current year but admits the retail sector faces significant challenges due to “unprecedented macro economic circumstances”. WOW up 10c to 2487c.
  • Bow Energy (BOW) has agreed to an increased takeover offer from Arrow Energy. Bow Energy shareholders now need to vote on the takeover. BOW up 1c to 147.5c.
  • Rio Tinto (RIO) spent around $75m lifting their stake in Ivanhoe Australia (IVA) to 49%. RIO up 4% to 6276c. IVA unchanged at 113c.
  • Linc Energy (LNC) announced they have discovered a significant oil shale deposit in Arckaringa. LNC up 9% to 183.5c.
  • One broker has upgraded Leighton Holdings (LEI) this morning to Buy from Hold saying the risks are now factored into the share price. The broker believes the company faces risks associated with two major Australian infrastructure projects and headwinds in the Middle East. LEI up 4% to 1845c.
  • Mesoblast (MSB) has entered into a strategic alliance for clinical and long term commercial production of MSB’s off-the-shelf adult stem cell products. MSB up 2.7% to 781c.
  • Aston Resources (AZT) has set plans to raise its coal exports to as much as 14m metric tons a year. AZT up 1c to 976c.
  • Stocks are going ex-dividend today: Amcom Telecomm (AMM – 3c), Austbrokers Holdings (AUB – 17c)

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