Welcome to Friday 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 0.3% higher, despite Wall Street falling overnight.In the US, the Dow Jones slipped 0.2%, as did the broader S&P 500, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ posted a 0.3% fall.Oil prices continued their topsy-turvy ride, with Brent Crude Oil gaining 4.6% to US$59.07 per barrel, and WTI Crude also rose, gaining 4.0% to US$51.20 per barrel. (WTI stands for West Texas Intermediate and is the benchmark oil price in the US while the Brent crude oil price is more widely used in Europe.)
The Australian dollar is down slightly against the US dollar and is currently buying 78.3 US cents.
- Spot iron ore prices dipped again overnight, losing 0.8% to US$55.36 per tonne. That's taken its toll on some of the juniors in early trade, with Arrium Limited (ASX: ARI) and Atlas Iron Limited (ASX: AGO) dropping 6.8% and 5.3%, while Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) and joint-venture partner BC Iron Limited (ASX: BCI) were down 3.8% and 3.3%.
- Telcos, including Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS), TPG Telecom Limited (ASX: TPM) and iiNet Limited (ASX: IIN), will now have to prepare for mandatory data-retention, after legislation passed through parliament yesterday.They have 18 months now to develop systems to store customer call records, IP addresses, billing information, location data and other personal information for up to two years – which is for use by law enforcement and other Australian agencies.
- Tweet of the Day
Every CEO and investor in Australia should take note of Warren Buffett's move on Kraft https://t.co/jwtZDoWn6o pic.twitter.com/thXdWPkpxL
Business Review (@aus_business) March 26, 2015If you haven't heard, Buffett and his partners are adding Kraft to their existing holding in Heinz, bringing two global food giants together.
- Stock of the Day– brought to you by Joshua Anderson – Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR). Is the department store retailer a dinosaur past its use-by date or can it turn its business around?
