1.7m shares left in the buyback tank 9 trading days to go...

1.7m shares left in the buyback tank 9 trading days to go -before B.B M4 is announced. thank god for the B.B !


The Australian share market is heading towards a 12-month low after falling sharply at the open amid ongoing worries about the eurozone's debt troubles.

At 11:20am (AEST) the All Ordinaries Index has dropped 2.1 per cent to 4,120 and the benchmark ASX 200 index is matching that loss at 4,070.

Mining stocks are among the hardest hit, as they are most exposed to any slowdown in global growth.

BHP Billiton has dipped 3.7 per cent to its lowest level this year, Rio Tinto is off more than 4 per cent and Fortescue Metals has slumped more than 8 per cent.

The big four lenders are not faring much better; Westpac is leading the declines, giving up 3.2 per cent and Commonwealth Bank has lost 2.7 per cent.

One of the only bright spot is the gold miner Newcrest, which has risen 4.5 per cent after recent steep falls.

The Australian dollar remains subdued against its US counterpart and was worth 98.5 US cents, 77.7 euro cents, 78.2 Japanese yen, 62.5 British pence and more than $NZ1.29.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil was down to $US92.54 a barrel and Tapis crude oil was down to $US115.75 a barrel.

Spot gold was trading at $US1,574 an ounce.

http://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/shares-set-12-month-low-012758891.html