The market is down 21. The SFE Futures were up 5 this morning.

The Dow Jones closed up 38 on Friday and was up 81 at best and down 5 at worst. US and UK Equity markets closed tonight and the U.S. bond market will close at 2pm in observance of Memorial Day and the UK Spring Bank holiday. Oil up 36c to $100.59, Gold up $13.50 and metals also closed higher.

Quiet day today…

  • Suncorp Group (SUN) provided an investor update this morning. They say the cost of the Christchurch earthquake, net of reinsurance, is around $NZ120m. SUN down 2c to 837c.
  • AJ Lucas (AJL) put out a statement after hours on Friday – They have cut their FY earnings guidance and said they will sell assets to reduce their debt which they say is “unsustainable”. They now expect EBITDA of $32-$36m and continue their discussions with banks to restructure debt. AJL still in a trading halt – last traded at 135c down from 275c in December and 522c in Sept 2009.
  • Talk of Reliance Industries, along with other Indian and Chinese companies, making an offer of $500m for Wesfarmers’ coal business, Premier Coal. WES did say in March they would consider selling their 4mt a year coal asset if the right price came along. WES down 24c to 3283c.
  • Platinum Australia (PLA) went into a trading halt late Friday afternoon. They have announced a fatal incident involving current employees. A mini bus carrying employees at the end of their shift was attacked by a crowd of people. PLA down 8% to 40c.
  • Hot Chili (HCH) has announced a $3.65m capital raising to be completed via a private placement book build. HCH up 1c to 60c.
  • Zambia’s regulator has granted conditional approval for Barrick Gold’s takeover offer for Equinox Minerals (EQN). EQN down 20c to 753c.
  • Cedar Woods (CWP) has signed 20 year lease agreements with Woolworths (WOW) for three anchor stores at Williams Landing, Victoria. CWP up 9c to 415c, WOW up 10c to 2738c.
  • MYER Ltd (MYR) looks like extending CEO Bernie Brooke’s contract within months, despite the share price hitting all time lows and being down 30% since the IPO. MYR down 1c to 286c.
  • Berkeley Resources (BKY) in a trading halt this morning. Last traded at 48.5c.
  • Azumah Resources (AZM) has built an 11% stake in Castle Minerals (CDT). CDT and AZM have gold project next to each in Ghana. AZM up 3% to 59c. CDT up 13% or 4c to 34c

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