The market is down 3 after being up 63 in early trading. The SFE Futures predicted a 63 point rise in the market this morning. Financials were up 1.3% early on the confidence gained from the likely safe passage of the bailout bill through the Senate. Financials down 0.1% however at midday. Resources up 0.8% early but down 0.9% at midday. Property down 1.9%.
There are some very nervous bankers and others in the financial world awaiting the approval of the $US700 billion bailout from the US Congress and Government.
Brickworks Ltd is anticipating that 2009 will be another tough year.
Nufarm yesterday confirmed previous guidance that suggested the company had enjoyed a very profitable 2008.
Australian banks have been stress tested both by regulators (AirDaily yesterday's report) and by the stockmarket since the credit crunch started.
The last week or so has seen an extraordinary set of events which saw shares first plunge following the failure of Lehman Brothers and the "rescue" of AIG only to surge on the back of plans by the US Government to buy bad and illiquid debt from financial companies along with bans on short selling.
Yesterday the Australian share market closed higher with most of the upside in the financial sector, after news that American billionaire Warren Buffet would buy a $US5 billion slice of investment bank Goldman Sachs. As Buffet is a long term investor with a good record of investing at the right time, people speculate that potentially it's the bottom of financial stocks.
