ASB Securities Morning Brief for Thursday, 02 September 2010

A notoriously shrewd businessman has emerged as the frontrunner to buy South Canterbury Finance after the failed finance company's chief executive, Sandy Maier, was spotted on an Air New Zealand flight leafing through a sale and purchase agreement... Read more

While debenture investors in South Canterbury Finance will be breathing a sigh of relief with both their principal and interest guaranteed the shareholders of the failed company are likely to lose everything.... Read more

The $1.8 billion government bailout going back to South Canterbury Finance depositors is the "talk of the market" and will be a big boost for the economy.... Read more

Retail banks could be the winners as $1.6 billion in South Canterbury Finance funds flow back to debenture investors... Read more

South Canterbury Finance's "bad bank" was in a desperate last-ditch race for cash, tumbling a string of property and business empires as it entered its death throes... Read more

The Auditor-General moved quickly to close down suggestions that the Hutt City Council has gone easy on Wellington property developer Terry Serepisos’s rate and development levy payments.... Read more

The Commerce Commission’s failed bid to rap Telecom over its 0867 dial-up internet fees in 1999 has been called “unsatisfactory” and “speculative” by the Supreme Court... Read more

Any restructuring of Guinness Peat Group must take adequate account of the position of the company's capital noteholders, says John Hawkins, chairman of the New Zealand Shareholders' Association... Read more

The Auditor-General's Office was about to start a probe into Queenstown Airport's partial sale to Auckland International Airport when a High Court challenge to the deal was launched... Read more

The Accident Compensation Corporation has taken advantage of a seven-year-low price for shares in NZX to lift its holding in the securities market operator... Read more

Overseas shareholders in 2Degrees Mobile have ponied up more cash to help fund the nation’s third, and newest, mobile phone network operator’s investment in infrastructure... Read more

One of Auckland's top hotels, the Westin Lighter Quay, is in chaos as unit titleholders and receivers square off over access to and revenue from 114 of its 172 rooms and its bar, restaurant and retail areas... Read more

Misery for failed finance company investors – paradise for bargain hunters.A big part of Wellington's trouble-plagued Brooklyn Rise housing development, on which Lombard Finance is owed more than $40 million, has been sold by Lombard's receiver for just $2.25m.... Read more

Kiwibank’s next phase of development will be led by an existing member of the state-owned bank’s senior management team, Paul Brock, to replace founder chief executive Sam Knowles... Read more

Children's clothing company Just Kids has been ordered to pay competitor Pumpkin Patch $20,000 after a spat over a retail spot and alleged misuse of confidential information ended at the High Court at Auckland yesterday... Read more

National grid operator Transpower is embarking on a project to produce a 21st century version of the “ripple control” system that’s currently used to take pressure off the electricity network during periods of peak demand... Read more

Hastings Building Society members have signed off on a bid to merge with SBS Bank that will give the mutual more security as tough rules for non-bank draw closer... Read more

Professional bodies representing accountants in New Zealand and Australia are set to strengthen ties.... Read more

Tasmanian corporate farmer Tasman Farms has announced a 107% lift in profit to $567,000 for the year ended May 31 in the face of severe weather conditions which trimmed milk production and lower payout prices... Read more

The New Zealand Venture Investment Fund says $50 million has become available to establish new funds targeting innovative local companies needing cash injections in the $2 million to $4 million range... Read more

Daily Sharechat. Casino operator Sky City showed good 12% growth in net profit in the year ended June but its outlook is uncertain, says Nachiket Moghe, an analyst at Aegis Equities Research... Read more

NZ Market Report. New Zealand stocks rose for the second time in four sessions, after Australia reported hearty economic growth, lifting lenders ANZ and Westpac... Read more

Australian Market Report. Local shares put on a stunning performance today, rising more than 2 per cent, as investors shifted their focus from a wobbly US economy to yet more signs of a remarkably robust local economy... Read more

Australia's comeback on the global stage as one of the world's best-performing economies sent the sharemarket and dollar surging yesterday.... Read more

Investors cheer a surprise increase in household spending, after national accounts show consumers and miners driving a return to boom conditions... Read more

The government claims vindication after jump in economic growth delivers one of the strongest growth rates in developed world.... Read more

Just three companies had their shares suspended from trade yesterday for failing to lodge financial accounts with the ASX in time... Read more

James Hardie has lost an appeal against the Australian Tax Office, meaning it could be forced to pay about $370 million in tax liabilities.... Read more

Rupert Murdoch's pay packet shrank at the same time the success of the movie Avatar and a rebound in advertising caused News Corp's profits to bulge... Read more

Ailing agribusiness group Nufarm has appointed external advisers to assist with a possible restructure.... Read more

The number of listed Australian mining companies with operations in Africa has tripled to 160 in the past seven years... Read more

Potash Corp's fierce rejection of BHP's takeover bid has been bolstered by reports that Russian potash suppliers are seeking price rises for the crop nutrient... Read more

Several Japanese steelmakers have agreed a lower coking coal price with supplier BHP Billiton amid a slowdown in Chinese steel demand... Read more

Investors in the beleaguered RiverCity Motorway would be wise to cut their losses and run, according to investment advisors... Read more

MFS co-founder Michael King "begged" UBS to release cash locked up in the Stella tourism group to repay inter-company bank loans... Read more

The former MFS boss Michael King has revealed how the pressure to refinance a $250 million debt paralysed him into inaction... Read more

QBE Insurance has quashed speculation that chief executive Frank O'Halloran's 12-year reign is coming to an end... Read more

Tricom managing director Lance Rosenberg was afraid he'd lose institutional investors if they knew of his ban by the corporate regulator... Read more

Shares in Jetset Travelworld have taken off after the competition watchdog said the tour operator could buy Stella Travel Services.... Read more

Australia is likely to surrender its top spot as the most attractive destination for mergers and acquisitions in the mining sector... Read more

Lazard's private equity arm has pocketed $230 million from a surprise sale of Dun & Bradstreet Australia, ditching a planned float for the local credit analysis provider... Read more

A small African-focused phosphate company set to launch a $6 million initial public offering next week may benefit from the timing of BHP Billiton's $US40 billion bid for Potash Corp.... Read more

Campbell Brothers has challenged Ammtec to get a valuation from an independent expert after it rebuffed an increased bid of $136 million... Read more

IT services provider ASG Group has appointed former Foster's Group boss Trevor O'Hoy as a non-executive director... Read more

A global energy company says the Queensland government has mishandled a contamination scare that could result in the demise of Cougar Energy... Read more

MasterChef just keeps delivering, with the announcement yesterday of the six principal sponsors for the pint-sized spinoff of the show... Read more

Adele Ferguson. Fear, nonetheless, of a double-dip recession still stalks the market... Read more

Ian Verrender. Incredibly, the government failed to turn an exceptional performance during the global financial crisis into votes... Read more

Robert Gottliebsen. The stalemate between the major parties and the independents is not due to policy similarities – there are big differences. Had either party showed their true colours during the campaign, we would already have a government... Read more

Matthew Stevens. A vocracious bustle of investment bankers has descended on the uber-carbon-friendly environs of Santos House in Adelaide... Read more

Michael Stutchbury. Wayne Swan is right that many other treasurers would kill for a set of economic numbers such as Australia's, but the RBA doesn't share his enthusiasm... Read more

John Durie. For many industrial company chief executives, the profit season was a matter of being all dressed up but nowhere to go... Read more

David Symons. A glance at the profit result for security technology company Nexbis provides a primer for any executive wondering just how far continuous disclosure obligations can be stretched... Read more

Stephen Bartholomeusz. Senior telco executives are backing a largely wireless-based NBN, with schools, hospitals and businesses prioritised over high-density areas. It's a more cost-effective plan that's a lot closer to the Coalition's broadband policy... Read more

Ian McIlwraith. Credit check agency Dun & Bradstreet Australia's chief executive, Christine Christian, may have missed out on running a listed company for a second time - but there are several million reasons why she will not be too upset... Read more

U.S. Market Report. An updated report of the latest action on Wall Street... Read more

World Market Report. An updated report of the worlds' latest market movements... Read more

General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. reported sales declines that exceeded analysts’ expectations as the U.S. auto industry headed for its worst August in 28 years. Chrysler Group LLC deliveries rose more than expected... Read more

The former head of Lehman Brothers, Dick Fuld, blames regulators for the collapse of the Wall Street investment bank... Read more

Fears that the Chinese economy is running out of steam eased after a survey showed that factory activity accelerated in August. But results from other Asian economies were gloomier due to slackening demand from beyond the region... Read more

UN says international food prices have risen to levels not seen since 2008, partly because of drought in Russia... Read more

A three-year report into currency dealing shows rapid growth in trading, with the majority of trades happening in London... Read more

Amazon.com Inc. has approached media companies including Time Warner Inc. with plans to start an online video subscription service to rival Netflix Inc. , said three people with knowledge of the talks... Read more

Eastman Kodak Co., the 130-year-old company that popularized film photography, is trying to gain ground lost in the digital revolution by using its collection of patents to target Apple Inc. and Research In Motion Ltd... Read more

Luxury carmaker Ferrari recalls all of the 458 Italia cars made this year, following reports of the supercars catching fire.... Read more

The Federal Reserve is the last line of defense against a weakening economy, but there has been sharp disagreement among members over what action the central bank should take.... Read more

Burger King Holdings Inc., the second-largest U.S. hamburger chain, is in talks with 3G Capital about a buyout, said a person familiar with the matter. The shares surged the most in more than four years... Read more

Ping An Insurance (Group) Co., China’s second-largest insurer, will merge its bank unit into Shenzhen Development Bank Co. in a deal valued at about 29.1 billion yuan ($US4.3 billion) to consolidate banking operations and comply with a government regulation... Read more

French media giant Vivendi has improved its outlook for 2010 after reporting a 4% rise in first-half profit... Read more

Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced a revamped Apple TV device, a new iPod line and updates to the operating system for the iPhone, iPod Touch and the iPad at Apple's highly anticipated product launch event on Wednesday.... Read more

Hong Kong bankers are charging the lowest fees on record to arrange initial public offerings as firms vie for deals in a market where IPOs are raising more than in the U.S. and U.K. combined... Read more

The British company behind the Hawk-Eye ball-tracking technology used in tennis and cricket is to be put up for sale.... Read more