Who’s Done What?

From some recent feedback we are going to include each week this section called “who’s done what”, this will include some company announcements that we find of interest. This week:

• The Reserve Bank held interest rates steady at 4.75 per cent on Tuesday, as expected, but it surprised many by opening the door for a possible easing as early as next month if coming inflation data proves to be benign.
• Australian shares rose strongly today, breaking through the key 4000 point threshold after European and US stocks gained overnight on news that the EU is considering a new round of stress tests for its embattled banking sector. The purpose of the stress test is to determine how much money they might need, recognizing that the first two tests were (euphemistically) “not severe enough”.