Daily FNArena News - Australia

Morgan Stanley looks at the RSPT impact on BHP and Rio, Merrill Lynch downgrades Rio, and Macquarie comments on Fortescue.

Of all the negative influences currently impacting on the Australian stock market, none is greater than “Oh God I’ve seen this movie before”.

David Jones delivered a soft March quarter sales result and some brokers are now questioning where earnings growth will come from in coming periods.

Credit Suisse today initiated coverage on Premier Investments with an Outperform rating, while Citi has upgraded to a Buy.

Westpac’s Australian consumer confidence index has tipped over, Germany’s confidence has plunged, and the US consumer is none too enthusiastic either.

Morgan Stanley added two more small caps to its coverage while strategists at DJ Carmichael and BA-ML shifted preferences.

Monetary policy is well placed for the present, says the RBA.

A recent analyst tour and the release of some new products leads BA Merrill Lynch to suggest Ansell is transitioning to a growth opportunity.

By Rudi Filapek-Vandyck FNArena has been contacted by Billabong ((BBG)) this morning, after the company had been contacted by fund…

Downer EDI has just been awarded Australia’s biggest ever mining contract but the market is still reflecting on the worrisome NSW rail contract, despite broker enthusiasm.