Daily FNArena News - Australia

While the proposed resource tax is nothing but bad from an industry point of view, confusion over details has led to varying analyst interpretations before we even consider whether this legislation will pass.

Morgan Stanley continues to expand its smaller cap company coverage, initiating with Overweight ratings on Campbell Brothers, Imdex, CSG Limited and SAI Global.

Macquarie Group’s earnings were a little on the soft side but post-GFC it’s all about opportunities in a new frontier funded by plenty of capital on the balance sheet.

ResMed beat market expectations with its March quarter result and brokers continue to see share price upside from a solid earnings outlook.

The TD Securities-MI inflation gauge for April recorded a gain of 0.4% for the month.

Australian wealth levels have rebounded quickly from the Global Financial Crisis and will give the RBA confidence to act as it sees necessary on interest rates.

A snapshot of economist responses to today’s CPI. The annual headline CPI rose from 2.1% to 2.9% in March but the underlying rate dropped from 3.3% to a 30-month low of 3.0%. Where does that leave the RBA?

CSL has been slammed since the Baxter result but for Baxter it was lost market share rather than a weak industry. Should investors exploit CSL share price weakness?

National Australia Bank’s Quarterly Business Survey showed while both business confidence and conditions declined slightly in the March quarter both remain at solid levels.

Leading nickel producer Mincor likes to focus on steady shareholder returns through the cycles, frustrating analysts who expect all companies to maximise leverage, but pleasing long term shareholders.