News

February 27, 2010

That Was The Week That Was ... In Australia

By Our Man in Oz

Minews. Good morning Australia. How was your week?

Oz. In a word, flat. In fact, it was so flat that we probably set some sort of record for the number of stocks which opened the week and then closed at the same price, or at best which shuffled A1 cent either way. A handful of stocks managed to shake off the inertia by presenting better-than-expected profit results or a hint a deal in the wings, but nothing could shake the fact that the metals and mining index slid half a per cent lower, or that the all ordinaries lost one-tenth of a percentage point. If the market was on life support equipment you could barely measure the pulse.

Minews. That bad?

Oz. Well, let’s put it in cricketing terms for any sporting minded readers. Last week’s Australian stock market was about as exciting as watching Geoff Boycott bat for England, or Bill Lawrie for Australia. In fact, if you could picture those two batting together, with nothing happening as they dropped dead bats on even the loosest of deliveries, you will understand how dull things were.

Minews. We get the picture. So, let’s start with the few stocks that did excite, before...