Daily Highlights: 7.2.10

• Aussie PM Gillard scales back Australian mining tax in boost for election prospects.
• Crude oil fell below $73 a barrel, after slipping 6.8 percent in the previous four days.
• Employment fell in June for the first time this year.
• Gartner cuts 2010 global IT spending view cut on Euro woes.
• Germany, France to press Brussels on transaction tax.
• Greece sealed a deal with the European Investment Bank for €2B in financing.
• Most Asian stocks rose, led by commodity producers, after Australia reached a tax deal with mining companies.
• AIG is reconsidering a sale of 2 Japanese life-insurance companies for roughly $5B.
• AK Steel announces $385 per ton as surcharges for electrical and stainless steels.
• Aluminum Corp. of China shelved plans to invest $2.52B in a bauxite project in Australia.
• Bank of China Ltd. plans to raise as much as $8.9B in a rights offer to replenish capital.
• Blockbuster continues to explore various recapitalization opportunities.
• Boeing bags order from Air China, for 20 Next-Generation 737-800 jetliners.
• CIT Group repays nearly half of first-lien debt, sells assets.
• Constellation Brands' Q1 profit soars to $49.1M on charges; FY 2010 EPS view raised.
• Disney acquires Tapulous, a developer of music games for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch.
• GM's May sales of cars and light trucks rose 11%, while Ford reported a 13% increase.
• GM first-half sales in China surpassed those in the U.S. for the first time.
• Google thrust itself into the online travel industry, to acquire ITA Software for $700M.
• HSBC to buy the Indian retail and commercial banking businesses of RBS.
• Mercedes, BMW sales rise in May as luxury automakers target middle-class shoppers.
• Sanofi-Aventis is preparing a major acquisition in the U.S.
• Toshiba working with Mitsubishi Motors to develop lithium-ion batteries for possible use in the automaker’s electric cars.
• Toyota will recall some 270,000 Lexus luxury-car models in Japan.
• U.K. power firm Chloride Group to accept Emerson Electric's $1.5B offer.
• US Treasury sold a 2nd tranche of Citigroup stock, reducing its stake to about 18%.
• U.S. Trims Citi Stake to 18%.

Economic Calendar: Data on Nonfarm Payrolls, Unemployment Rate, Factory Orders to be released today.

Earnings Calendar: SIX, VITC, VOL.
RECENT RATING ACTIONS
DEL MONTE FOODS CO (DLM)
ALLIS-CHALMERS ENERGY INC (ALY)
EL PASO CORP (EP)
AMERICREDIT CORP (ACF)
NOBLE ENERGY INC (NBL)
PHH CORP (PHH)
ISLE OF CAPRI CASINOS INC (ISLE)
FLEXTRONICS INTERNATIONAL (FLEX)
ISLE OF CAPRI CASINOS INC (ISLE)
DIRECTV (DTV)
MONSANTO CO (MON)
ACUITY BRANDS INC (AYI)

data provided by Egan-Jones Ratings and Analytics

Comments

[doublethink]

Nuke It?

"A nuclear explosion over the leak," he says nonchalantly puffing a cigarette as he sits in a conference room at the Institute of Strategic Stability, where he is a director. "I don't know what BP is waiting for, they are wasting their time. Only about 10 kilotons of nuclear explosion capacity and the problem is solved."

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6611RF20100702

[Kina]

I can give some background to the Australian situation with the mining tax.

The mining industry through a sustained advertising campaign against the current government and dealing with major unions and power brokers had the existing Prime Minister of the country removed and replaced by one they planned to get a better deal from.

The new PM Gillard did state in her first press conference that she would negotiate with the mining industry and that she expected them to stop the attack advertising. [you should not miss the fact that what she was saying is she would negotiate with them if they stopped ruining her election prospects, due soon. A nice little first up corruption of her office].

So with lots of make believe serious meetings designed to give the new PM good PR coverage in the media as a great saviour...an agreement was achieved. The rate was dropped about 10%.

But it is not that simple of course and the agreement turns out to be a little complicated. I have only read a little bit about it so far. But some mines are excluded, substantial write offs are allowed here and there.

I believe the net effect of the change is that mining companies will actually be able to avoid paying much at all. The trumpeted headline figures are to make it seem the new PM has been a heroic success. But actually she has pretty much sold out. And I guess this must be payment by those who grabbed power to the mining industry.

So it is interesting that in Australia too, big business can buy and sell Prime Ministers.

The cost to the Australian taxpayer of Gillards great negotiation, in reality if you ignore the hype, probably about $9bn per annum.

So we now know the cost to replace a Prime Minister in Australia, $9bn. Is that cheap. But at least we can be as corrupt as the next country.

But a good result for the miners who seemed happy, but still protesting that this was only a start.

[herry]

Certainly a lot of details like that to take into consideration. Thanks windows vps | cheap vps | cheap hosting | forex vps