Sharenet Blog

Local markets

Industrial and basic materials had inched up by noon, while gold mining and oil and gas stocks slipped, leaving the JSE All Share up slightly by 0.2%. Investors awaited key US data to be published later this afternoon.

The rand was trading at R7.42 to the US dollar, remaining range bound but keeping alert for movements of the euro.

Oil had fallen 0.36% to $79.71 a barrel at 12:00, as investors expect OPEC to pump above quotas in the second quarter, and Chinese economic data reawakened worry over tighter monetary policy.

International markets

The Dow Jones closed up fractionally by 0.03%, while the Nasdaq lifted 0.78%. Bank and technology shares rose on hopes of better corporate profits on increased business demand.

Japan's Nikkei ended 0.96% higher this morning, as gains in machinery stocks came after better-than-expected machinery orders, serving to offset a loss in Toyota Motor Corp shares.

Asian markets closed flat as the Shanghai index inched up 0.08% and the Hang Seng finished 0.02% higher, as the latest Chinese economic data showed an inflation hike, worrying investors.

Losses in commodity and financial stocks sent the FTSE 100 down 0.1% by noon, as China’s economic data revived investor worry about the effects of tighter monetary policy.

Share price news

In the retail sector, Foschini Limited (share code: FOS) rose 2.58% to R66.68 at midday, after investors exchanged 411 388 shares.

In the clothing and footwear sector, Compagnie Fin Richemont (CFR) gained 1.78% to sell at R28 a share, after 2 756 249 shares were traded by midday.

Gold miners Simmer and Jack Mines Limited (SIM) fell to R1.22 a share, a loss of 2.40% as investors traded 889 526 shares in 45 deals.

Electronic equipment company Digicore Holdings Limited (DGC) saw the trade of 2 011 140 shares in 39 deals, sending the share price down 1.56% to R3.15.

Local markets

On Wednesday at noon, the gold mining and basic materials sectors were leading the JSE All Share into the black. The local bourse had edged up 0.57% at the time, despite a small dip in oil and gas shares.

The rand was trading within a range at midday, selling at R7.42 to the US dollar, and tracking the movements of the euro.

Gold had risen 0.26% to sell at $1124.94 an ounce, stabilizing somewhat, though traders expect that lower oil prices could spur selling.

International markets

The Dow Jones finished 0.11% higher while the Nasdaq gained 0.36% yesterday on US markets, as gains in telecommunications and industrial stocks offset losses in resources.

Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.04% this morning, following flat US markets, as losses in Toyota Motor Corp weighed on the index.

The Hang Seng finished flat, only just in positive territory as investors took profits after three straight days of gains.

Britain's FTSE 100 had inched up 0.2% by midday, tracking US and Asian markets, as gains in mining and oil shares overcoming losses in defensive shares.

Share price news

Paladin Capital Limited (share code: PLD) gained 11.11% to trade at R2 a share, as investors bought and sold 353 188 shares in 19 deals.

317 252 shares of Mondi PLC PRE (MNP) were exchanged in 195 deals, sending the share price up 6.26% to R51 at midday.

Losing ground was 1time Holdings Limited (1TM), whose shares fell 4.55% to R1.05 a share, after 14 deals traded 445 800 shares.

In the farming and fishing sector, Sovereign Food Investments Limited (SOV) fell to R8.50 a share, a loss of 3.41% after 182 840 shares were exchanges in 12 deals.

To all Sharenet users:

We have taken into account the many calls for 12 month high and low information to be re-instituted.

As a result we have develeoped a page that now gives that same information and more, adding 7 days, 14 days, 21 days, 1,2,3,6 months and 1,2,3,5 year intervals.

If there is any other information you would like to see added to this section, please don't hesitate to suggest improvements.

Find this page by clicking "Share Performance" in the left navigation menu when on any Quickshare page. "Share Performance" can be found under the heading, "Data" and is the third item down.

Yours sincerely
The Sharenet team

Dear Client

Every year, the JSE reviews their pricing and as of 1 January 2010, they will be instituting an increase. Due to these and other rising costs, Sharenet wishes to announce that with effect from 1 January 2010 all our rates will be increasing by 8%.

At Sharenet, we continually strive to maintain excellence in our service and to enhance our product offerings, adding more data and features where we can. We welcome any and all suggestions which could help us improve our service to our clients. These suggestions can be sent to support@sharenet.co.za

Thank you for your continued support and business.

The Sharenet team

For those that would like to access some of our more popular pages on your mobile phone, we have made sharenet.mobi available.

The sharenet.mobi service has the latest sens news, spot prices and Quickshare available.

Simple type sharenet.mobi into the browser on your cell phone.

If this does not work, then your phone is possibly not able to display HTML pages, in which case you can use our SMS service.

For more details please see http://www.sharenet.co.za/v3/mobile.php

Due to an increase in royalty charges from the JSE and other cost increases, Sharenet wishes to announce that with effect from 1 Jan 2009 all our rates will be increasing by 12%.

The rates that we have now were last changed in January 2007, when we were able to give private investors some decreased rates due reductions in JSE royalties for private users.

We continue to enhance our product offerings, adding more data and features. We welcome any suggetions which can be sent to support@sharenet.co.za

The Java Chart facility, available to all subscribers, has recently been upgraded. We are also currently upgrading the “Intra-day” version and once completed, we will notify all our members.

Once logged in, simply click the “Graphs & Charts” link situated in the side menu, to the left of your browser or, in your address bar enter in the following URL address: www.sharenet.co.za/charts
A page should then load up with a heading that reads, “Java Technical Analysis Charts Plus”.

I am pleased to report that the following improvements have now been made to this link:

1- When using the “Find a Share Code” option, simply clicking on a name that was found will load it up in your chart. Of course this new feature makes finding and loading shares so much easier. On dial up connections (56K modems), this may take a few seconds.

2- Please note, that an option has been made available which allows the user to save the chart image as a “png” file. To do this simply scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the “Save as Image” button. The graph currently under view will then be saved. This file can then be emailed or even used in an office document.

3- Furthermore, printing of the chart can now also be done immediately by simply selecting the print icon which is the last icon on the bottom left.

4- In respect to “Preferences” and “Studies”, the option to both save and load has now been added to Studies as well. Remember, “Preferences” relate to the system as a whole, while “Studies” relate to individual shares.

So, for example, you can now set different moving averages for each share, save your studies and then on your next visit simply load your settings and the program will remember the different moving averages for each and every share as you saved them.

5- You may also have noticed that the default indicators are now set to RSI and MACD, this change was made due to the fact that these indicators are the most widely used.

6- Also included in the list of improvements is a drop down menu situated next to the scrolling buttons on the top of the toolbar that allows the user to alter the period from which the data is taken. The default is set to 6 months, but by simply clicking one of the options in the drop down menu, data for 1 month (1m), 3 months (3m), 1 year (1y), 2years (2y), 3 years (3y), 5 years (5y), 10 years (10y) and a final option of “All” can now be selected.

Extra enhancements include:
• New indicators: Elder-ray Bear Power, Elder-ray Bull Power, Pivot Points and DMA (Displaced Moving Average)
• Support for multiple exponential average lines
• Extended Fibonacci Retracements
• Easy drawing of trend channels and parallel lines

Finally, please note that by right clicking on the chart itself, a menu pops up which also displays several options worth familiarizing oneself with.

I hope that all these improvements enhance your Sharenet experience and if there are any other tools you would like to see added, please do not hesitate to let us know.

Are you new to trading and don't have a clue where to start? We've come to your aid with our handy guide to online trading with Sharenet and the JSE!

From signing up with a broker to explaining the ins-and-outs of trading online, we've got all your questions covered...

Click HERE for more!

A new year signals a new beginning! Last year's market conditions can best be described as tumultuous but investors were still able to make a reasonable return. What does 2008 hold for us? Most analysts predict a tougher year ahead but if you make smart choices based on the quality of the company you're investing in, you can't go wrong!

Here are my stock picks for 2008 (some already form a part of my online portfolio which I will continue discussing next week):

1. African Bank Investments Limited - ABIL
2. Stefanutti & Bressan - S&B
3. Famous Brands - Fambrands
4. Vox Telecom - VOX
5. SABMiller - SAB

Let me know what you think of my choices and submit your own top 5 stock picks for 2008. We'll publish them on this blog and at the end of the year we'll review our readers' choices and see who performed the best in 2008!

Email your stock picks to editor@marketviews.co.za.

Company Profile: Stefanutti & Bressan

BACKGROUND

Stefanutti & Bressan have been operating in the civil engineering and building construction sector for 36 years.

Their spectrum of work ranges from "construction of industrial and petrochemical plants, cooling towers for power stations, mine infrastructure, dams, roads, bridges, water and effluent treatment plants, township infrastructure and industrial and commercial works to piling and geotechnical services."

As you can see, the company has a broad range of interests and this is primarily what attracted me to the company in the first place.

They listed on the JSE on 3 August 2007 and after opening at R15.20, the groups' shares are now trading around R21.45 (at time of press)- an increase of about 40%.

PROSPECTS

The demand for roads and railways, ports and reliable energy and telecommunication services is on the up and up. Stefanutti & Bressan have seen a niche in this sector and continue to thrive from their involvement in it.

The company's order book stands at around R2.3 billion for the 2008 financial year.

As mentioned in the groups' prospectus, the listing on the JSE "facilitates Stefanutti & Bressan's continued participation in this growth. It raises the profile of the group, assists in retaining and attracting key staff and provides access to capital with which to fund both organic and acquisitive growth."

ACQUISITIONS

To date, the company has purchased 80.3% of Skelton & Plummer from the company's executive directors, management and shared black empowerment partner Mowana Investments.

They have also purchased 51% of Civil & Coastal. The acquisition agreement provides for the group to increase their shareholding to 100% within three to five years of the effective date.

MANAGEMENT

Chairman: Biagino Stefanutti
CEO: Willem Meyburgh
Financial Director: Dermot Gregory Quinn

Management holds 42.3% in shares, highly indicative of the faith they have in their own company.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

The company expects excellent results in 2008, with earnings per share looking to increase from the 34.2 reported in Feb 2007 to 83.2 in Feb 2008.

In November this year, the company reported headline earnings per share of 42.3 cents, up from 2006's 30.9 cents/share.

Regarding dividends, the company only plans to start paying a final dividend in the financial year ending February 2009. Thereafter the company will pay dividends bi-annually (an interim and final dividend).

To read more about the company click ">HERE.

RESEARCH

A report by Imara Sp Reid had the following to say about the company's prospects: "With an order book of R2.3bn for the 2008 financial year the company is projecting an increase in heps of 35% to 83.2c (2007: 61.7c excluding BEE costs). This would put the company on a 6 month FPE of 26x which is at the upper end of its larger peers' ratings."

The company's CEO, Willie Meyburgh, had the following to say in an article in Engineering News: "The construction industry offers many lucrative opportunities over the next few years, especially in harbour development, commodities, and the energy sector." He also mentions that further acquisitions are on the table for the company in the coming years.

They also plan to establish a training school for their workers by the end of the year (2007). "To start with, the school will take on between 20 and 30 workers who will receive job-specific training for the industry, this includes plastering, bricklaying and form work skills. The training programmes would include basic training, on-site practical training, and refresher courses." (Engineering News, 3 August)

It is refreshing to see a company being pro-active when it comes to their employees and improving their individual skills contributes to the company's growth and good skills.

CONCLUSION

I see a good future for this company and with strong fundamentals backing it up, it's definitely a company I want to invest in.