Welcome to Wednesday Fools. 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 0.2% lower after Wall Street fell on Friday.The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7%, the broader S&P 500 dropped 0.3% and the tech-heavy NASDAQ managed a small rise of 0.2%.Brent crude oil fell, losing 2.3% to US$53.44 per barrel but it was the news that WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crashed to US$42.43 per barrel that has market commentators flustered. It's not hard to envision US$30-something oil in the US in the very near future.Iron ore crashed as well, losing 3.3% to slide to US$5.95 per tonne.The Australian dollar is steady and is currently buying 76.2 US cents.
- Explosives giant Orica Ltd (ASX: ORI) says it is seeking a new management style as managing director and CEO Ian Smith agrees to step down. Orica shares have dropped 3% to $18.62 in early trading, and have fallen 18% in the past year. Earlier this week, we highlighted some of the headwinds the company is facing.
- Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) has abandoned plans to refinance US$2.5 billion of its current debt with a US$2.5 billion bond issue. The company has blamed volatile US credit markets "resulting in terms and conditions that did not meet the company's objectives."It seems that investors want higher rates than the company was prepared to pay, to take on the risk of default by Fortescue as iron ore prices continue to plunge.
- Tweet of the Day
Iron ore hit a new six-year low today and Macquarie Bank lowered its forecast to $US54 a tonne https://t.co/SE3IRfIImY pic.twitter.com/BGkIua5xjf
Business Review (@aus_business) March 17, 2015
Iron ore might head even lower from here, given the huge supply that is coming on stream, and that's bad news for higher cost producers. - Stock of the Day–brought to you by Owen Raskiewicz – is actually the big four banks. Owen shares a chart that illustrates exactly why he's not buying the banks at these prices.
