Elders suspended from ASX after failing to lodge results, Manufacturing sector improves: Economy Roundup

Elders shares have been suspended from trading after the company failed to lodge its full-year results for the period ending 30 June.

The services group was placed in a trading halt ahead of its capital raising, after it announced the sale of its timber processing business ITC Timber to Gunns for $100 million, with shares last trading at 39c.

The company announced on 3 August that it intended to release its full year results on 31 August, but no announcement was made.

Meanwhile, the Australian account deficit rose during the June quarter to $13.35 billion, according to new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, representing a seasonally adjusted increase of $7 billion.

The ABS also said net exports could take 0.2 percentage points from the second quarter GDP figures, which are to be released tomorrow.

Public sector and consumption and investment jumped 0.8% to $63.32 billion during the second quarter, with general Government spending also rising 0.8% to $50.16 billion in inflation-adjusted terms.

Manufacturing improves

The Australian Industry Group PriceWaterhouseCoopers Performance of Manufacturing Index jumped 7.2 points to 51.7 in August from July – the highest reading since March 2008 and above the 50 point level separating expansion from contraction.

“Manufacturing activity has been improving month-by-month with the pick-up being driven by a combination of improved demand and the rebuilding of inventories,” AIG chief executive Heather Ridout said in a statement.

“The increasing new orders and stabilising inventories give some hope that growth may be sustained over the coming months.”

Shares flat

The Australian share market has opened flat today after disappointing results overnight on Wall Street where stocks remained weak due to poorer performing equity markets.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 22.5 points or 0.5% to 4501.6 at 12.15 AEST. The Australian dollar gained ground to US84c.

NAB shares gained 1.1% to $28.80, with Commonwealth Bank shares also declining 0.1% to $45.96. Westpac shares rose 0.5% to $24.49 while AMP shares gained 2.8% to $6.54.

Qantas Airways has now hedged 80% of its expected 2010 fuel requirement at the “worst-case crude oil price” of $US89 per barrel, according to a statement to the ASX.

The company also said it has a 78% participation in falling oil prices for the rest of the year, and confirmed its foreign ownership level is at 46.9%.

Coles supermarket owner Wesfarmers is now considering a return to the bond market, according to a report from Reuters.

Citing a “fund manager”, the report says Australia’s four major banks will be involved in the sale, but no other details have been given with Wesfarmers declining to comment on the issue.

Overseas, the Chinese official purchasing managers’ index for August has increased to 54 from 53.3 during July, with the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing saying it is the sixth consecutive reading above 50 points, separating expansion from contraction.

Disney buys Marvel

In the US, entertainment giant Walt Disney Company will buy Marvel Entertainment for $US4 billion in cash and stock, acquiring the rights to over 5,000 popular comic book and film characters.

“The acquisition of Marvel offers us a similar opportunity to advance our strategy,” chief executive Robert Iger said, and “to build a business that is stronger than the sum of its parts”.

Marvel said the deal will allow more global distribution and better relationships with retailers.

But the optimism wasn’t felt on Wall Street, where concerns about global economic conditions were sparked following a Chinese equities sell-off. The Dow Jones Industrial Average 47.92 points or 0.5% to 9496.28.