daytrades april 8th morning

Thanks HLL,




Not sure about the below heading but you know what journo's are like! No offence HLL you tell it straight! :))

Wall St dips on Japan aftershock
Published 11:07 PM, 7 Apr 2011 Last update 6:21 AM, 8 Apr 2011

Reuters

NEW YORK - Wall Street slipped on Thursday after a major aftershock in Japan reignited fears about nuclear crisis, but greater faith in the US economy's steady path held losses in check.

A rise in retail stocks after better-than-expected March chain-store sales limited broader market losses as the data underpinned evidence of a sustained economic recovery.

Investors sought protection against further market declines following news of the magnitude 7.4 aftershock in Japan, but a move to safer assets did not materialize.

"It made people think that this is an ongoing crisis that could further hurt stocks, but one thing we didn't see is the flight to safety," said John Canally, economist at LPL Financial in Boston, Massachusetts.

The CBOE Volatility Index VIX, Wall Street's so-called fear gauge, closed up 1.1 per cent at 17.08, after rising more than 2 per cent earlier.

Chris McKhann, analyst at stock and options website optionMonster.com in Chicago, said the VIX had little reaction to the earthquake news, "further supporting the fact that nothing seems to shake this market."

Stocks had been mostly flat prior to the news of the quake. The S&P 500 encountered strong technical resistance that stymied gains after a larger-than-expected drop in weekly US jobless claims and the data o the surprisingly strong March retail sales.

Among retailers, Costco Wholesale Corp beat expectations, and its shares gained 3.8 per cent to $77.82. Macy's Inc rose 0.8 per cent to $25.40 while Target Corp fell 2.6 per cent to $49.62.

Volume was 7.02 billion on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq, compared with last year's estimated daily average of 8.47 billion.

The aftershock in Japan did not cause a tsunami or any detectable damage at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

US Treasuries, the traditional safe haven asset, rose only marginally after the earthquake.

The iShares MSCI Japan Index ETF dropped 0.8 per cent, rebounding off earlier lows, while dollar-denominated Nikkei futures slid 1.6 per cent.

Bed Bath and Beyond Inc surged 10.5 per cent to $54.55 a day after it forecast full-year earnings growth that would beat Wall Street expectations.

US-listed shares of Japanese stocks fell, but some strategists said they might buy on the weakness.

"I'm looking at auto manufacturers, and I'm definitely looking to buy Honda if it gets cheap enough," said Tim Hartzell, chief investment officer for Houston-based Sequent Asset Management.

New York-traded shares of Honda Motor Corp rose 0.1 per cent to $34.20.

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Economic recovery uncertain: Treasury
Published 6:27 AM, 8 Apr 2011

Preliminary budget estimates from Treasury's joint economic forecasting group have found the mining boom is masking problems with the economy, which could dip into negative territory for Q1 2011, according to a report in The Australian.

The report said while the jobless rate fell yesterday, it did little for the overall health of the economy and the government's chance of returning the budget to surplus in two years remains uncertain.

It said any delay in recovery would force the government to slash spending to achieve the promised surplus.

It quoted Deloitte Access Economics director Chris Richardson, who said the key question was timing.

"Do the slings and arrows of the moment pass, or do they linger into 2012-13?"

Employment figures released by the ABS yesterday found a much larger number of jobs created in March than expected, and pushed the jobless rate below five per cent.

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Mr KR.....

Swan rejects ASX-SGX merger
Published 8:47 AM, 8 Apr 2011

By a staff reporter, with AAP/Reuters

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has formally knocked back the ASX-SGX merger on national interest grounds.

Speaking at a press conference in Canberra, Mr Swan said the proposed $8.4 billion deal would not enhance Australia's links into global capital markets.

"This is not the right deal to grow our role as a financial services hub in Asia," Mr Swan told reporters. He added that the deal could "only be justified if there were very substantial benefits to our nation".

"This deal does not meet this very important test."

"My decision to disallow the proposal was based on clear, unambiguous and unanimous advice from the Foreign Investment Review Board that this takeover would be contrary to out national interest."

Investors had considered the deal dead after the government said earlier in the week it was inclined to reject the bid.

The FIRB told the SGX that Mr Swan would reject the merger unless it was radically changed, as he was concerned about the long-term future of the ASX as the primary equities and derivatives exchange.

However, Mr Swan said Australia remained a country that was friendly to foreign investment, and that it was "rare to object an application of this nature".

He said he was surprised by the strength of the FIRB recommendation to reject the deal, adding that its advice reflected a view "widely held" in markets.

Deal would not provide Asia link

Mr Swan said the deal would have been unlikely to have given Australian-listed companies better access to Asian capital markets.

"Let's be clear here: this is not a merger. It's a takeover that would see Australia's financial sector become a subsidiary to a competitor in Asia," the treasurer said.

"It was a no-brainer that this deal is not in Australia's national interest."

Mr Swan said the SGX was a relatively smaller regional exchange based on the number of companies listed and the value of those listings.

"The deal would not provide a gateway to Asian capital flows as SGX has limited flows to the rest of Asia," he said.

Mr Swan also said he had been concerned about the possible shift of Australian jobs and capital to Singapore.

Working group to consider regulatory change

The Treasurer also indicated the government would consider reforms to protect the nation's financial stability "should the ASX find a deal that is right for Australia".

To this end, Mr Swan has requested the Council of Financial Regulators to set up a working group to consider measures to protect Australian issuers, investors and market participants.

He said FIRB � relying on advice from ASIC, the RBA and Treasury � believed that not having "full regulatory sovereignty" over the ASX would pose material risks and supervisory issues, particularly in relation to clearing and settlement functions.

"Australia�s financial regulators have advised me that reforms to strengthen our regulatory framework should be a condition of any foreign ownership of the ASX to remove these risks," Mr Swan added in a statement.

He said the ASX was the sole operator of clearance and settlement systems here, which was not the case with other exchanges around the world, and this was a key difference.

Regulatory opposition significant

Mr Swan said he could not approve a deal that was advised against by "every single regulator that I am responsible for".

"I have been advised that many of the claimed benefits of this transaction are likely to be overstated," he said.

Asked if he believed the ASX could survive in the long term without some form of merger, Mr Swan acknowledged there was "a lot of activity in the area" of exchange takeovers.

He said he had an open mind in regard to the future, but reiterated this deal was not the right one for Australia.

"I can't speculate about a future application from the SGX or anybody else and I don't intend to do that," he said.

Mr Swan said there was a large contingent of the Australian business community who shared the government's concerns.

"I was indeed surprised at the strength of the opposition to this deal."