Then this from SHAW, just to add fuel to the debate..especially...

Then this from SHAW, just to add fuel to the debate..especially the bit about strong Aussie$

Australian Equity Strategy
Which Stocks Outperform When The A$ Rises?

Currency Exposure Not As It First Appears

The obvious way to measure a stock's currency sensitivity is to look at its EPS sensitivity. However, we note that this ignores what else is going on when the A$ is rising. Given that the A$ generally trades like a cyclical stock, it turns out that cyclicals generally outperform and defensives generally underperform in a rising A$ environment, almost irrespective of their notional currency exposure.

What If This time It's Different?

However, it is suggested that this time, the A$ is only rising because of an increasing possibility of a domestic rate hike versus slowing momentum in the US. However, this ignores the fact that the US is not the sole source of global growth (ex-US is very buoyant). In fact, recent movements have been consistent with our observation.

Best & Worst Performers

The best performers (when the A$ is rising) include (in decreasing order) Lihir Gold, Oxiana, Zinifex, Newcrest Mining, Oilsearch, Fairfax Holdings, Sims Group, Australian Stock Exchange, among others. Worst performers include Lion Nathan, Woolworths, Resmed, Foster’s Group, Westfield Group, Macquarie Infrastructure Group among others.

link is
http://www.egoli.com.au/egoli/egoliWarrantsPage.asp?PageID={9CA20CE0-66A4-4604-A412-F4590549EB98}

Cheers

Commy