Daily FNArena News - Australia

Citi weighs in on the argument as to whether Coca-Cola Amatil is about to make a big acquisition.

According to Merrill Lynch the 3Q update from Goodman Group was better than the market was expecting, which supports the generally positive view most brokers have on the stock.

A new CEO at Insurance Australia Group leads analysts to predict a re-basing of earnings and cuts to what are seen as unsustainably high dividends.

According to Credit Suisse there is a growing chance QBE Insurance falls short of guidance for gross written permiums this year, meaning downside risk to consensus earnings forecasts in the market.

A refinancing update revealed a further $300m would be required and brokers see this as putting both management and distributions under pressure at Babcock & Brown Power.

Resource companies again lead the way on the Australian market in market capitalisation terms, a trend CommSec suggests could see increased interest from global fund managers.

If the Aussie is really heading to parity, get ready for some significant profit downgrades from exporters and companies deriving a large percentage of profits in the US.

AWB’s half-yearly profit result was in line with guidance but a number of issues mean brokers continue to have difficulty forecasting the group’s outlook.

Emerging gold producers Sino Gold has announced a $204m capital raising to close out its hedging and brokers have been generally positive on the move.

Labour’s first federal Budget has had a positive impact on consumer confidence, it would seem, but Westpac economists point out it’s still looking gloomy.