WEEKLY AUSTRALIAN STOCK EXCHANGE (ASX)
ANALYSIS & SUMMARY - SATURDAY EDITION

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MARKET SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY APRIL 12TH. 2002

AORD: 3307.70 = -12.10

S&P/ASX200: 3354.50 = -12.90

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The Australian market closed lower on Friday. Over the week, the AORD lost 32.5 points, and the S&P/ASX200 lost 35.5 points. Gainers Included: ABC Learning Centres, Abigroup Ltd, Adelaide Brighton Ltd, AdultShop.Com, Agenix, Ainsworth Game technology, Ambri Ltd, Amcil Ltd, Anglogold Ltd, Aquarius Platinum, Argosy, Auspine Ltd, Australian Oil & Gas Ltd, Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Australian Stock Exchange Ltd, Bankwest Ltd, Bass Strait Oil Ltd, Beach Petroleum, Boral Ltd, Brickworks Ltd, Bristile Ltd, Burswood, Catuity Ltd, Cellnet Telecommunications Ltd, Central Equity Ltd, Coca Cola Amatil Ltd, Commander Communications Ltd, CSL Ltd, Evans Tate Ltd, FKP Ltd, Foodland Ltd, Goodman Fielder Ltd, Hunter Hall International, Hpal Ltd, Infomedia Ltd, James Fielding Ltd, Lend Lease Ltd, McPhersons Ltd, Metcash Trading Ltd, Miller's Retail Ltd, Mirvac Group Ltd, MTM Entertainment Ltd, National Foods Ltd, National Telecom, OPSM Group Ltd, Oronto International, Pacific Dunlop Ltd, Pacifica Group Ltd, PBL Ltd, Peptech Ltd, Perpetual Trustees Australia Ltd, Portman Ltd, Prime Television, Quadtel, Queensland Cotton Holdings Ltd, Resmed, Santos Ltd, Select Harvest Ltd, St. George Bank Ltd, Sydney Gas Co. Ltd, Toll Holdings Ltd, United Group Ltd, Vecommerce Ltd, Westfield Trust Ltd, Westpac Banking Ltd, Woolworths Ltd, and Zimbabwe Platinum Mines.

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• Australia's Unemployment Rate declined to 6.5% in March.

• News Corp lost 1.73% as Mr. Murdock's team continue to negotiate with bankers about troubled German pay-TV giant, Kirch Gruppe.

• Pacific Dunlop gained 1.59% after the troubled company announced that it is changing its name to Ansell Ltd., and concentrate on making oil condoms and gloves.

• Reserve Bank of Australia governor made known that they are waiting on strong data confirmation before raising interest rates.

• Anglogold gained 1.45% after announcing Wednesday that it has "substantially" reduced its gold hedge. Mining shares were weak on Friday.

• Platinum shares gained after a labour problem at Anglo American Platinum in South Africa sent Platinum shares to their highest levels in 9 months.

• Banking shares were generally lower as the strong employment data fuel speculation of a looming interest rate hike in the near future.

• NRG Energy announced that it has maintained ABN AMRO to help explore the possible sale of its A$2 billion Asian-Pacific power assets.

• The Australian Dollar gained against the US Dollar on Friday.

• The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed higher on Friday due to.............Visit our BusinessJeeves UK & Ireland portal to read our summary and analysis of the London Stock Exchange.

• Oil shares closed lower as crude oil prices declined after the coup in Venezuela.

• Western Metals lost 5.56% despite announcing that for the first quarter ending March, its Zinc production rose 20% to 36,858 tonnes. Copper Cathode sales rose 6% to 11,041 tonnes, and lead concentrate declined 39% to 12,599 tonnes.

• Singapore Telecommunications closed unchanged after its Australian unit announced a new mobile phone pricing scheme designed to take market share from Telstra. Telstra lost 0.76%.

• Casino operator Jupiters lost 0.79% after BI Gaming flooded the market with 24.5 million shares of Jupiters its Park Place Entertainment unit owned.

• MIM Holdings, which was also a bidder for Rio Tinto's Moura Coal Mine, closed lower after Japan's Mitsui & Co. made known that it is confident the government of Australia will approve its bid for Moura. Rio Tinto lost 2.38%.

• Wheat exporter AWB lost 0.25% despite announcing the sale of 75,000 tonnes of Australian wheat to Middle Eastern buyers.

• ANOTHER ADDITION: We now have services for Australia, Canada, South Africa, UK & Ireland, and United States. We will continue our qualitative, informative, and useful content policies at all our portals. Thank you for your support.

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MARKET SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY APRIL 5TH. 2002

AORD: 3340.20 = +17.30

S&P/ASX200: 3390.00 = +17.40

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The Australian market closed higher on Friday. Over the week, the AORD lost 23.1 points, and the S&P/ASX200 lost 24.8 points. Gainers Included: Adacel Technology, Adcorp Australia Ltd, Adelaide Bank, Amrad Corp, Anaconda Steel Ltd, ANZ Banking, Australian Gas Light Ltd, Autogen Ltd, Bank of Queensland, Bligh Oil & Minerals Ltd, Breakwater Ltd, Cape Range, Casinos Australia Ltd, CBD Online, Cellnet Telecommunications Ltd, Circadian Technology, Coca Cola Amatil Ltd, Commonwealth Bank, Eagers Ltd, Ecorp Ltd, Global Doctor, Goldstream Ltd, Great Southern Plantations Ltd, Hotham Wines Ltd, Kanowna Gold, Lihir Gold, LookSmart Ltd, Mayne Group Ltd, National Australia Bank, National Foods Ltd, Nautronics Ltd, News Corp, Novogen Ltd, Onesteel Ltd, PBL Ltd, Prana Biotechnology, Q-VIS Ltd, Smorgon Steel Ltd, Southern Star Group, Striker Resources Ltd, Telstra, Village Roadshow Ltd, Wattyl Ltd, Wesfarmers Ltd, Westpac Banking, WMC Ltd, and Zimbabwe Platinum Mines.

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• Prana Biotechnology gained 71.63% after announcing late Thursday that its Alzheimer trial drug was successful in trials.

• News Corp gained as investors quickly forgot its massive Gemstar-TV Guide writedown of last week.

• Banking and media shares rebounded.

• Australian Gas Light gained after making the short list for the US$3.5 billion Papua New Guinea to Australia Townsville Gas Pipeline project. Origin Energy, another publicly traded company that made the 5 company short list, closed flat.

• Qantas Airways lost 0.23% despite stating that the strong forward bookings for the group shows a strong demand for its October launch of its low cost carrier, Australian Airlines.

• The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed higher on Friday due to.............Visit our BusinessJeeves UK & Ireland portal to read our summary and analysis of the London Stock Exchange.

• Oil, gold, and base metals closed lower due to the escalating Middle East violence.

• Telstra gained after settling network access disputes with its smaller rivals.

• Movies development company, Southern Star Group gained after selling its Duplitek™ Video and Optical disc duplication business to California USA based giant, Technicolor®.

• Steel shares gained after the Australian government made known that it will watch out for steel dumping in Australia, especially now that the US have taken actions to curtail the practice in its country.

• AFTER CLOSE: US markets closed higher on Friday after the US President George W. Bush issued his strongest condemnation yet of the Middle East violence.

• ANOTHER ADDITION: We now have services for Australia, Canada, South Africa, UK & Ireland, and United States. We will continue our qualitative, informative, and useful content policies at all our portals. Thank you for your support.

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MARKET SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY MARCH 28TH. 2002

AORD: 3363.30 = +2.90

S&P/ASX200: 3414.80 = +3.30

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The Australian market closed higher in this short trading week on Thursday. Over the week, the AORD lost 18.3 points, and the S&P/ASX200 lost 19.0 points. Gainers Included: Aberdeen Leaders Ltd, Abigroup Ltd, Advantage Telecom, Agenix Ltd, Alpha Technology Corp, Amalgamated Holdings Ltd, Anglogold Ltd, Aquarius Platinum Ltd, Aristocrat Leisure Ltd, Auiron Energy, Aurion Gold, Auspine Ltd, Austminex NL, Australian Foundation Investment Group Ltd, Baycorp Advantage Ltd, Bendigo Mining NL, Brambles Industries Ltd, Bresagen Ltd, Boral Ltd, Cabonne Ltd, Charter Pacific Corp, Cellnet Telecom, Coates Hire Ltd, Coles Myer Ltd, Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd, DCS Technologies Ltd, Johnson's Well Ltd, Lend Lease Corp, Lihir Gold Ltd, LookSmart Ltd, Matrix Oil Ltd, Metal Storm Ltd, Monteray Group Ltd, Newcrest Mining, North Gold Ltd, Pi2 Ltd, Qantas Airways, Ranger Minerals Ltd, Reef Casino Trust Ltd, Rib Loc Group Ltd, RP Data Ltd, Sino Securities International Ltd, Sons of Gwalia, Southern Cross Ltd, Southpointe Ltd, Telco Australia Ltd, Telstra, UECOMM Ltd, Villa World Ltd, Vita Life Sciences Ltd, Wesfarmers Ltd, Westfield Holdings, Woodside Petroleum, Woolworths Ltd, and Yates Ltd.

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• News Corp lost 0.23% after Deutsche Bank made known that it expects the media giant to see about A$5 billion to A$9 billion in 2001/2002 due to a Gemstar writedown.

• Banking shares were weak, and media shares were also affected negatively by News Corp.

• The S&P/ASX-200 rallied as option contracts expired in the last trading day of the quarter.

• Coles Myer gained 0.82% on Thursday after releasing its 5-year plan that called for the elimination of its popular discount card scheme.

• The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed higher on Thursday due to.............Visit our BusinessJeeves UK & Ireland portal to read our summary and analysis of the London Stock Exchange.

• Gold prices rallied to close above the A$300/ounce mark, thus pushing gold shares higher. Analysts are optimistic that the Japanese, who have been buying gold a lot lately, will continue to do so as western markets close for the long weekend.

• Woodside Petroleum gained 0.75% as oil prices rose to their 6-month high.

• AFTER CLOSE: US markets closed mixed on Thursday as the Dow lost on a surprise rise in jobless claims for the week ending March 23rd. The NASDAQ gained as investors found comfort in the stronger revised Q4 2001 GDP, and even stronger Consumer Sentiment Survey and Chicago PMI data.

• ANOTHER ADDITION: We now have services for Australia, Canada, South Africa, UK & Ireland, and United States. We will continue our qualitative, informative, and useful content policies at all our portals. Thank you for your support.

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MARKET SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY MARCH 22ND. 2002

AORD: 3381.60 = -2.30

S&P/ASX200: 3433.80 = -2.30

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The Australian market closed lower on Friday. Over the week, the AORD gained 24.9 points, and the S&P/ASX200 gained 26.1 points. Gainers Included: Advantage Telecom, Amity Oil, AMP Industries, Anaconda Nickel Ltd, ANZ Banking, APN News & Media Ltd, Ariadne Australia, Austral Ltd, Australia Infrastructure Group, Australia Magnesium, Australia Pipeline, Banksia Wines, Bendigo Bank, Beyond International, Brambles Industries, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Commonwealth Property Office Fund, Easycall International, Equatorial Mining, ERG Ltd, E*Trade Australia Ltd, Freedom Group, Genetic Technology, George Weston Foods Ltd, Great Southern Plant, Gribbles Group, Hardman Resources, Harvey Norman, Hutchison Telecom, Incitec, Joe White Ltd, John Fairfax Holdings, Kaz Computer Services, Lihir Gold, Macquarie Banking Ltd, Macquarie Infrastructure Investment, Magellan Petroleum, Matrix Oil, Mount Gibson Iron Ltd, Murchison United NL, MYOB, National Australian Bank, Nautronix, Newcrest Mining, Oil Search Ltd, Open Telecom, Oronto International, Oxiana Resources, Pacific Dunlop Ltd, Pan Pharmaceuticals, QBE Insurance, Ranger Minerals, Renewable Energy, Roc Oil Company, Select Harvest, Seven Network, Stadium Australia Group, Star Mining Corp, Starpharma, St. George Bank, Sun Consolidated Enterprises, Sydney Gas Co, UECOMM, Voicenet, Westfield Holdings, Westfield Trust, Westpac Banking, Woodside Petroleum, Yates Ltd, and Zimbabwe Platinum Mines.

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• Macquarie Infrastructure Investment gained 0.29% after announcing plans to raise A$577.6 million to pay for its interest in a Canadian toll road.

• National Australia Bank gained 0.23%, and helped the banking sector also to gain after reiterating its 7% to 10% cash earnings per share target.

• Oil Search gained 2.50% after its merger with Papua New Guinea based Orogen Minerals was approved by the government of Papua New Guinea. Orogen Minerals lost 2.97%.

• Santos, which has previously expressed interest in Orogen Minerals, lost 2.68% after announcing that it will not challenge the Oil Search/Orogen Minerals merger.

• News Corp. lost 0.44% after the Financial Times reported that the planned media ownership scheme in the UK will affect News Corp's expansion plans.

• The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed lower on Friday due to.............Visit our BusinessJeeves UK & Ireland portal to read our summary and analysis of the London Stock Exchange.

• Banking shares recovered today, while the major resources shares closed lower.

• National Foods lost 1.97% after regulators in New Zealand ruled against its bid for New Zealand Dairy Foods.

• Hill 50 Gold was unchanged despite a sweetened takeover deal from South Africa's Harmony Gold mining. Harmony raised its offer by 5 cents to A$1.40/share and the offer stands till April 2nd.

• Amrad Ltd. lost 25.21% after phase II trials of its Emfilermin™ couldn't reduce nerve damage caused by Chemotherapy.

• Goodman Fielder lost 1.27% after Cargill made known its interest in Goodman's milling and mixing business.

• AFTER CLOSE: US markets closed lower on earnings concerns.

• ANOTHER ADDITION: We now have services for Australia, Canada, South Africa, UK & Ireland, and United States. We will continue our qualitative, informative, and useful content policies at all our portals. Thank you for your support.

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MARKET SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY MARCH 15TH. 2002

AORD: 3356.70 = -41.30

S&P/ASX200: 3407.70 = -44.20

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The Australian market closed lower on Friday. Over the week, the AORD lost 71.4 points, and the S&P/ASX200 lost 77.6 points. Gainers Included: Alamain Investments Ltd, Alpha Technologies Corp, Beach Petroleum NL, Canbet, Foodland Associated Ltd, Foundation Healthcare Ltd, Futuris Corp, Global Doctor Ltd, Harvey Norman Ltd, HJ & B Group, James Hardie Industries NL, John Fairfax Holdings Ltd, Macquarie Corporate Telecommunications, My Casino Ltd, Re Insurance Australia Corp, Seven Network Ltd, Solution 6 Holdings Ltd, Qantas Airways Ltd, WMC Ltd, and Xenolith Gold Ltd.

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• Australia's Unemployment Rate declined to 6.7% in February, as employment increased for the period.

• Patrick Corp. lost 2.69% on Friday after raising A$260 million on Wednesday so as to buy half of Richard Branson's Virgin Blue Airline. Virgin Blue is predicting a tough competition against Qantas Airways. Qantas gained 0.21% on Friday.

• News Corp lost 3.04% and pulled the market lower most of the week after French media giant Canal Plus filed a US$1 billion lawsuit against NDS Group, a unit of News Corp, for piracy. Canal Plus claims NDS used engineers from Israel to break its Digital TV service code and made the code available on the web so as to undermine its pay-TV business. Canal Plus claims NDS violated the US R.I.C.O racketeering and California unfair competition laws.

• Seven Network gained 0.13% on Friday and was strong most of the week after reporting on Wednesday first half net profits that rose from A$13.13 million last year to an eye popping A$54.4 million  - considering the tough advertising market worldwide.

• Telstra lost 1.08% after its TelstraClear sold some of its 3G mobile spectrum management rights to Vodafone NZ Ltd. as required by the New Zealand government.

• Macquarie Corporate Telecommunications gained 25% on Friday after reporting on Thursday that its first half losses rose A$8.26 million to A$11.06 million, but expects 2002 EBITDA to improve about 10% over 2001.

• The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed higher on Friday due to.............Visit our BusinessJeeves UK & Ireland portal to read our summary and analysis of the London Stock Exchange.

• Banks and other interest rate sensitive shares closed lower as analysts worry the strong economic recovery might cause the Reserve Bank of Australia to start tightening sooner than expected.

• Computer and Furniture retailer Harvey Norman gained 5.90% on Friday after reporting first half net profit of A$67.9 million, which was above analysts' estimates.

• Westfarmer lost 5.45% after CS First Boston and Morgan Stanley sold a big chunk of their holdings on Friday.

• Coles Myers lost 0.16% on Friday after reporting on Thursday first half net profit that declined 9.5% to A$212.5 million.

• Foodland Associated gained 5.10% on Friday after reporting on Thursday first half net profit of A$47.3 million as sales rose 20% to A$2.16 billion - thanks to the acquisition of 40 Franklin Stores.

• James Hardie added another 1.71% on Friday after selling its US Gypsum operations to UK's BPB Plc. for US$345 million cash on Wednesday.

• US markets rallied to a strong close on Friday due to good economic data.

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MARKET SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY MARCH 8TH. 2002

AORD: 3428.10 = -16.90

S&P/ASX200: 3485.30 = -12.30

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The Australian market closed lower on Friday. Over the week, the AORD gained 66 points, while the S&P/ASX200 gained 68 points. Gainers Included: Adelaide Bank, BRL Hardy Ltd, Burns Philp & Co. Ltd, DayTraderHQ Ltd, Equitilink eLink Ltd, ERG Ltd, Fraser Range Holdings, Gateway Mining NL, Gold & Resource Development NL, Gold Mines of Australia Ltd, Goldfields Ltd, Goodman Fielder Ltd, Gribbles Group, John Fairfax Holdings Ltd, LookSmart Ltd, Maxe-Tec Australia Ltd, MIM Holdings Ltd, PBL Ltd, Perilya Ltd, Portman Ltd, Q-Vis Ltd, Rural & Industries Bank of Western Australia, Ruralco Holdings Ltd, Southcorp Ltd, Travel.Com.Au Ltd, Village Roadshow Ltd, WMC Ltd, Woodside Petroleum, and Woolworths Ltd.

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Australia for Q4 2001 grew 1.2%.

• Southcorp gained 2.14% after selling its Rouge Homme winery in Coonawarra, South Australia.

• BHP Billiton lost 0.75% on concerns about the US steel import tariffs. BHP Billiton also announced a major oil field discovery in the south Caribbean island of Trinidad.

• Telstra lost 0.53% on Friday, despite the actions of brokerage houses, Merrill Lynch and Salomon Smith Barney, who raised their full year earnings outlook on the telecommunications giant. On Wednesday, Telstra reported second half net profit of A$2.2 billion, a 6% increase over the year.

• Goodman Fielder gained 4.08% on Friday, after reporting first half pretax profit that rose 18.5% to A$68.4 million. Goodman Fielder also reiterated its full year pretax profit of A$132 million.

• The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed higher on Friday due to.............Visit our BusinessJeeves UK & Ireland portal to read our summary and analysis of the London Stock Exchange.

• Publisher John Fairfax gained 1.26% after announcing on Thursday that it is reviewing its 3 operating divisions for further cost cutting.

• Westfield Holdings lost 0.54% on Friday, despite reporting first half after tax profit of A$88.47 million, a 15% increase over the year. Westfield Holdings is forecasting that its full year after tax profits will rise 36% to A$230 million.

• BRL Hardy gained 3.49% after investors digested the winemaker's announcement on Thursday that its 2001 net profit rose 14% to A$71.2 million.

• National Foods lost 4.56% after its rival, Dairy Farmers, acquired 8% of its stake.

• Perilya Ltd. gained 6.0% after paying A$60 million to acquire Broken Hill mine from troubled Pasminco.

• US markets rallied to a strong close on Friday due to good employment data.

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MARKET SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY MARCH 1ST. 2002

AORD: 3362.10 = +3.50

S&P/ASX200: 3417.30 = +3.00

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The Australian market closed higher on Friday. Over the week, the AORD declined 4.6 points, while the S&P/ASX200 declined 4.8 points. Gainers Included: Adelaide Bank, Anglo Australian Resources NL, Brambles Industries, Deepgreen Minerals, Durban Roodepoort Deep, Eqitx, E-Shares, Fosters Group Ltd, Gateway Mining, General Property Trust, Gold & Resources Development NL, Home Building Society Ltd, Insurance Australia Group, John Fairfax Holdings Ltd, Lend Lease Corp, Macquarie Infrastructure Group, Macquarie Office Ltd, Mayne Group, MBIA Insurance, MIM Holdings, News Corp, Oxiana Resources, Qantas Airways, Quiktrak Network, Seven Network Ltd, Telstra, Ten Network Holdings, Village Roadshow Ltd, Westpac Banking, Woolworths Ltd, and XL Capital Assurance.

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• Insurance Australia Group gained 4.32% after reporting a strong fiscal Q1 results, and expects even more improved profits.

• Resources shares lost on fears that Japanese iron ore prices will decline next year.

• National Foods lost 6.25% after reporting a first half loss on Thursday.

• Anaconda Nickel lost 27.54% after reporting Thursday a first half loss of A$57.5 million, and announced plans to raise A$807 million through a bond issue.

• Oxiana Resources gained 3.85% after the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a unit of the world bank, approved a US$30 million debt deal to allow Oxiana to develop a gold mine in Laos, and the IFC will also take a stake in the Laosian mine.

• The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed higher on Friday due to.............Visit our BusinessJeeves UK & Ireland portal to read our summary and analysis of the London Stock Exchange.

• GasNet lost 0.99% after reporting second half profits of A$9.5 million, on revenue of A$50.3 million. GasNet also plans to raise A$300 million in a 7-year bond issue.

• Qantas Airways gained 0.89% after the Sale of Ansett Australia, collapsed.

• Home Building Society closed about 3 times the value of its offering price in its first trading day on Friday.

• Telstra gained 0.78% despite analysts concerns that its first half earnings will decline about 19% to A$2.1 billion when it reports earnings next week.

• Australian Dollar denominated bonds issued by offshore corporations (Kangaroo Issuers), rose this week, as US accounting fears subsided.

• US markets rallied to a strong close on Friday.

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MARKET SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY FEBRUARY 22ND. 2002

AORD: 3366.70 = -13.00

S&P/ASX200: 3422.10 = -12.20

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The Australian market closed lower on Friday. Over the week, the AORD declined 53.7 points, while the S&P/ASX200 declined 56.80 points. Gainers Included: Agenix Ltd, AMP Ltd, AngloGold Ltd, ANZ Banking Group, Aurion Gold Ltd, Burswood Ltd, Caltex, Coles Myer Ltd, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Durban Roodepoort Deep, Fosters Group Ltd, Golden Valley Mines NL, John Fairfax Holdings, Lihir Gold Ltd, Normandy Mining Ltd, Qantas, Santos Ltd, St George Bank Ltd, Tabcorp Holdings Ltd, Westfield America Trust, Westfield Holdings Ltd, Westpac Banking, Woodside Petroleum Ltd, and Woolworths Ltd.

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• News Corp lost 5.66% and took media shares lower after announcing late Thursday that it will issue US$680 million in preferred ordinary shares and US$250 million in cash to Worldom Group of the US for the folding of their AskyB joint venture.

• Lend Lease lost 4.26% due to its less than stellar first half report on Thursday.

• Gold mining shares gained as Gold prices closed at around US$292.70 per ounce.

• Investment banking giant Macquarie Bank closed 0.06% lower after agreeing to acquire broadcaster NTL Australia from NTL for A$850 million.

• Caltex gained after reporting fiscal 2001 net loss of only A$186.1 million on turnover of A$3.9 billion.

• Westfield Holdings gained 2.41% after unitholders of its Westfield America Trust approved a A$1.44 billion capital raising plan. Westfield America Trust gained 1.67%.

• The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed lower on Friday due to.............Visit our BusinessJeeves UK & Ireland portal to read our summary and analysis of the London Stock Exchange.

• Austar United lost 4.62% despite news that it is about to close on its debt refinancing with banks.

• eCorp, which is 80% owned by PBL, lost 1.37% after reporting on Wednesday second half net losses of A$16.3 million, A$3.7 million less than a year ago.

• BHP Billiton lost 1.72% after announcing on Wednesday that it plans to spend A$193.1 million to build 2 pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico, and acquire a 25% stake in Caesar Oil, and a 22% stake in Cleopatra Gas Pipeline.

• Brambles Industries lost 2.34% ahead of its earnings report on Wednesday.

• US markets rallied in the last 2 hours to close in strong territory on Friday.

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MARKET SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY FEBRUARY 15TH. 2002

AORD: 3420.40 = -4.0

S&P/ASX200: 3478.90 = -8.10

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The Australian market closed lower on Friday. Over the week, the AORD gained 26.5 points, while the S&P/ASX200 gained 28.5 points. Gainers Included: Adelaide Bank Ltd, AGD Mining Ltd, Aircruising Australia Ltd, Alcastan Mining NL, Amcor Ltd, AngloGold Ltd, ANZ Banking Ltd, Bendigo Mining NL, Cape Range, Cochlers Ltd, Coles Myer Ltd, Conquest Mining, Croesus Mining Ltd, Dominion Mining, Durban Roodepoort Deep, General Properties Trust, Harrington Group Ltd, John Fairfax Holdings Ltd, Micromedical Industries Ltd, Mirvac Group, New Holland Mining Ltd, News Corp Ltd, Normandy Mining Ltd, PBL Ltd, Rural Press Ltd, Seven Network Ltd, Stratrch International Ltd, Tennyson Network Ltd, and Village Roadshow Ltd.

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• Australian Employment increased by 101,800 jobs in January, the first monthly increase in over a year. The Unemployment Rate in January rose to 7.0%, due mostly to increases in labour force participation rate.

• News Corp gained 3.65% on Friday after 3 days of losses on future earnings concerns. Media shares weren't bad either.

• Mining shares gained as Gold prices closed the week strong. Banking shares weren't so hot.

• Qantas lost 4.85% after Sydney Airport officials made known that they will hand over the domestic gates lease of Ansett to their new buyers.

• Cochlear gained 10.10% after announcing that its first half net profit rose 8% to A$17.2 million. Cochlear expects second half sales to top first half levels.

• BHP Billiton lost 4.20% despite reporting late Thursday first half net profit that met estimates at A$1.198 billion. BHP Billiton expects a rough second half, but expects to see about A$270 million in savings due to its merger.

• The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed lower on Friday due to.............Visit our BusinessJeeves UK & Ireland portal to read our summary and analysis of the London Stock Exchange.

• Micromedical Industries gained 3.70% after announcing Thursday that it is about to try a new artificial heart on critically ill patients.

• eCorp lost 2.60% after announcing that its portal partnership with Microsoft's MSN™, NineMSN™, will not be profitable until 2001/2004.

• Futuris lost 1.67% despite reporting late Thursday that its first half net profit rose 56% to A$54.6 million, as sales rose to A$3.63 billion. Futuris realized A$23.7 million in the sale of its stake in Bristile.

• Rural Press gained 1.08% on Friday, after reporting on Wednesday that, its first half profit rose 10% to A$27.54 million.

• Foodland Associated lost 0.07% on Friday due to profit taking, after reporting strong earnings on Monday.

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MARKET SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY FEBRUARY 8TH. 2002

AORD: 3393.90 = +35.10

S&P/ASX200: 3450.40 = +35.90

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The Australian market closed higher on Friday. Over the week, the AORD gained 7.9 points, while the S&P/ASX200 gained 4.9 points. Gainers Included: AGD Mining Ltd, AMP Ltd, Anaconda Nickel Ltd, Anglo Australian Resources Ltd, AngloGold Ltd, ANZ Banking Ltd, Bank of Western Australia Ltd, Chalmers Ltd, Coca Cola Amatil Ltd, Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd, Croesus Mining Ltd, Deutsche Diversified Trust, Durban Roodepoort Deep, Garratt's Ltd, Harrington Group Ltd, Insurance Australia Group Ltd, John Fairfax Holdings Ltd, Lihir Gold Ltd, LookSmart Ltd, Macquarie Bank, Metex Resources Ltd, National Australia Bank, News Corp Ltd, Normandy Mining Ltd, PBL Ltd, Pineapplehead Ltd, Qantas Airways Ltd, QBE Insurance Ltd, Reinsurance Australia Corp, Renewable Energy Ltd, Seven Network Ltd, SMS Management & Technology Ltd, Southern Titanium NL, Sun Consolidated Enterprises Ltd, Suncorp-Metway Ltd, Telstra Ltd, Ten Network Holdings Ltd, Tennyson Network Ltd, Western Areas NL, Westfield Holdings Ltd, Westpac Banking Ltd, and Woolworths Ltd.

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• The Reserve Bank of Australia held the Cash (Interest) Rates unchanged at 4.25% this week.

• Anaconda Nickel gained 8.25% after announcing that it produced 24,991 tonnes of Nickel in 2001, but it sees a poor Cobalt market.

• News Corp gained and took media shares higher after its satellite unit, BskyB, reported earnings and restructuring plans in the UK that were better than analysts expected.

• Gold shares were strong all week after AngloGold announced that it will reduce its hedge by 6 million ounces to 10 million ounces. Gold prices closed around US$305.45/ounce on Friday.

• AMP gained 0.75% after announcing that it is considering selling its investment management operations business to Cogent.

• Insurance shares gained after the Australian Prudential & Regulation Authority introduced new standards that will avoid the collapse of HIH Insurance last year.

• The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed lower on Friday due to.............Visit our BusinessJeeves UK & Ireland portal to read our summary and analysis of the London Stock Exchange.

• Western Australia Newspaper lost 0.97% on Friday after reporting dismal results on Thursday.

• Qantas Airways gained 1.31% after announcing that starting march, it will introduce 39 X-ray machines and 69 walk-through metal detectors at 20 of its International and Domestic gates it is in charge of security at. The whole scheme is to cost A$10 million.

• Property developer Australand Holdings lost 4% announcing that it raised A$60 million by placing 36.37 million shares at A$1.65/share

• Banking shares recovered today as the "fuzzy" accounting witch hunt from the US subsided for the first time in the week.

• ANOTHER ADDITION: We now have services for Australia, Canada, South Africa, UK & Ireland, and United States. We will continue our qualitative, informative, and useful content policies at all our portals. Thank you for your support.

PICKS FOR THE NEXT MARKET DAY

REASONS BEHIND THE PICKS