The market is down 67. The SFE Futures were down 48 this morning.

Wall St. closed down 125 on Friday. Worst percentage fall in two months after the SEC brought a lawsuit for fraud against Goldman Sachs which fell 13%. Investment banks fell 9.4%. Financials the worst sector.  The US$ rallied. Metals mostly down in London. Oil price fell $2.09 to $84.42 and the Gold price tumbled $23 to $1137. The Aussie dollar fell to 92.20c from 93.35c.

In the news today…

  • S&P/ASX 200 achieved its 10th consecutive weekly rise last week. The index is now up 10.6% in the past 10 weeks.
  • Macarthur Coal (MCC) announced Friday afternoon that they will start talks with bidder Peabody Energy and postponed their EGM after Peabody improved their takeover offer to $16 a share. MCC was going to hold their EGM today to vote on the Gloucester-Noble Group merger but have postponed it because the offer is conditional and will lapse if shareholders vote in favour of the GCL deal. MCC up 3c to 1657c.
  • AWE Ltd (AWE) down 5c to 258c after saying their Hoki-1 well in New Zealand will be plugged and abandoned after failing to intersect any significant hydrocarbons at a depth of 3700 metres.
  • OneSteel (OST) announced their Whyalla blast furnace will be stopped again and that it would not be operating at normal levels for around one week. OST down 6c to 392c.
  • UGL Ltd (UGL) said their rail division has secured new freight rolling stock and wagon orders with QLD Ltd, valued at $100m. UGL down 26c to 1460c.
  • Karoon Gas (KAR) — Trading Halt — will cease trading while they complete their Kronos-1 drilling update. One broker suggested last week that the results will either make or break the share price. KAR last traded at 754c. Merrills says it could hit $12 or $4.50.
  • Newmont Mining (NEM) is apparently engaging in preliminary discussions with Lihir Gold (LGL) about a rival bid. Some analysts believe their interest isn’t genuine and that it is instead a good opportunity to look through LGL’s books. LGL up 1c to 399c.
  • Flight Centre (FLT) doesn’t expect the temporary airport closures in Europe to materially impact their earnings. FLT down 2.57% to 2085c.
  • Nexus Energy (NXS) has appointed former QLD Gas MD Director Richard Cottee as their new CEO. NXS down 0.5c to 30c
  • Companies hitting fresh yearly highs: Andean Resources (AND), Sphere Minerals (SPH) and While Energy Coal (WEC).

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