Welcome to Thursday. Here are the five things I'm looking at today on the Australian sharemarket.
- The S&P/ ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has opened 0.5% higher, following the lead of US markets.The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2%, while the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy NASDAQ rose 0.4%.
- Despite the iron ore price falling 2% overnight and dipping below US$70 per tonne, iron ore miners BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) is up 0.5% to $30.58 in early trading, while Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) has jumped more than 1% to $58.60.But junior miners with higher costs are likely to be forced to continue cutting costs. BC Iron Limited (ASX: BCI) has already announced the departure of some of its directors, including the company founder.
Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) is also reported to have let some of its senior executives go, and has slashed its capital expenditure forecast by around 50% for the 2015 financial year.
- Education provider Vocation Limited (ASX: VET) has seen its share price pummelled, losing 67% to trade at 16.5 cents in early trading. The company announced that it was seeing falling enrolment numbers and expects to report a massive fall in earnings for this financial year.
- Tweet of the Day
Savers hit as banks cut interest on deposits https://t.co/gos5QJJfjT
Business Review (@aus_business) December 3, 2014
Things are getting worse for investors who think they can make a decent gain from bank accounts and term deposits. They might be safe, but after inflation, you're actually losing money. - Stock of the Day – brought to you by Owen Raskiewicz – Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd (ASX: LNG). With oil prices slammed, shares in the junior LNG plant developer are still down by 20% in the past month. Time to take a second look?
