Daily FNArena News - Australia

While an extended shutdown at Appin has led to forecast downgrades, broker valuations are little changed and Buy ratings have been maintained.

Flight Centre delivered a welcome surprise, upwardly revising guidance for FY17 towards the top end of its prior range. Nevertheless, brokers consider the valuation is stretched.

The retail sector has avoided further gloomy news for now, with sales data revealing a welcome rebound in May.

Two indicative proposals from private equity have not resulted in a formal bid for Fairfax and the company is pursuing its agenda of de-merging Domain. Brokers explore the path forward.

Macro prudential measures appear to be the way forward in targeting housing credit, although brokers observe there are few signs as yet that housing loan growth has slowed.

Outdoor advertising is eclipsing TV these days and with the digitising of billboards, companies in this sector are increasingly attracting broker scrutiny.

OceanaGold has hit a few bumps at its Haile project and reduced production estimates for 2017. Brokers are not overly concerned as prospects elsewhere should mitigate the downgrade.

REA Group has expanded its real estate financial services to include mortgage products via a traditional broking channel. Brokers suggest accretion is minimal at this stage.

Link Administration will acquire Capita Asset Services in the UK. A large equity raising is involved but brokers suggest the accretion to earnings justifies the risk.

Supermarket and hardware business Metcash delivered cash flow and cost reductions ahead of expectations in FY17. Nevertheless, brokers suggest structural challenges remain daunting.