What is of Interest in the Market today

The following is an extract from Money Morning (First Prudential Markets)

What happened in the market yesterday? ( (Source: First Prudential Markets)

A licence approval for its Malaysian rare earths refinery has seen mining company Lynas Corporation post a 19 percent gain on the sharemarket yesterday. Lynas closed at A$1.59 after the Malaysian Atomic Energy Licensing Board granted a temporary operating licence to the rare earths hopeful who will now be able to ship concentrates from its Mount Weld mine in Western Australia. Opposition member of Parliament for the Pahang state, where the refinery will be built, Fuziah Salleh, was unhappy with the ruling and said she was "disappointed but expected this from the Malaysian government".

Paul O'Sullivan, chief executive of telecommunications giant SingTel Optus , praised the decision by the Federal Court that will allow Optus to continue with its TV Now service. The court found that Optus was not in breach of copyright by allowing users to record free-to-air broadcasts to watch, sometimes only minutes later. Optus used the "time-shifting" provisions in the Copyright Act to argue its case but the ruling has placed a question mark over the value of internet broadcast rights.

Digital media company Yahoo!7 have appointed former E*Trade boss Stuart Sayers as their new chief operating officer, ending a search of nearly a year. The Yahoo! And Seven West Media joint online venture began leadership succession plans nearly 12 months ago and the appointment of Mr Sayers puts him into the mix as a potential candidate to replace chief executive Rohan Lund if he were to move on. "Part of what makes Yahoo!7 so attractive is that is the best bits of E*Trade on steroids," Mr Sayers said.

Swiss miner Xstrata has been approached with a merger proposal by commodities trader Glencore. If accepted, the move would result in a giant A$76.4bn resources company. Glencore, already a 34 percent owner of Xstrata, had been required to announce any move by march 1, but an extension may be granted. "Any merger would clearly greatly strengthen Glencore's presence in commodity markets - particularly thermal coal, copper and ferroalloys - but also raise conflict of interest concerns due to the size of the combined entity and likely influence on prices," Numis Securities equity analyst Cailey Barker said.

For the 10th straight quarter, Wesfarmers-owned Coles has outperformed rival Woolworths in sales from existing stores as the company renewed its vow to continue with discounting prices in spite of falling returns. "To fix the business you have to fix the customer offer, and customers would not be forgiving of us if, having done a lot of work to regain and rebuild their trust on value, we then changed our strategies," chief executive of Wesfarmers, Richard Goyder, said.

There is speculation building that billionaire Gina Rinehart will seize control of Fairfax Media with the aim to combine it with good friend John Singleton's Macquarie Radio Network . The pair have known each other for many years and even teamed up in 2010 against the mining tax proposed by the Labor government. "We have been able to overtly and covertly attack governments  Because we have people employed by us like Andrew Bolt and Alan Jones and Ray Hadley who agree with her thinking about the development of our resources, we act in concert that way," Mr Singleton said recently.

Chief executive of Australia's fastest-growing internet service company iiNet , Michael Malone, is a step closer to his goal of a billion-dollar organisation after the recent acquisition of the Canberra-based TransACT. The move will give the company a sizeable boost to its footprint and bring aboard fellow internet entrepreneur Simon Hackett, who Malone believes will strengthen the organisation. "I have the strangely optimistic feeling that this one will turn out to be the best deal we have done in the last decade," Mr Malone said of the TransACT purchase.

In the strongest sign yet that goldminer Newcrest was looking at its West African assets for future development, chief executive Greg Robinson has announced in an address to the Melbourne Mining Club that Newcrest would spend up to A$30 million exploring the region inherited with its Lihir Gold takeover in 2010. Mr Robinson said there was "every chance to build a substantial business there," and also predicted that gold could reach US$2500 an ounce in the next five years.

Commodities (Source: First Prudential Markets)

London Metal Exchange

Base metals closed lower on the London Metals Exchange Thursday, following a quiet day of trading that saw markets follow macro newsflow ahead of Friday's key economic data.

At the PM kerb close, LME three-month copper was 1.1% lower at $8,344 a metric ton. Tin performed the best of the complex, closing down just 0.02% at $24,145/ton.

"It's been an extremely quiet session, with copper prices still stuck in range," said one London-based trader.

While dovish comments by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke provided a little encouragement for markets later in the day, his bearish view on the U.S. economy saw enthusiasm soon lag. All eyes are now on U.S. nonfarm payroll data, due for release Friday.

"While declining LME stocks are supportive, especially with regard to copper, the picture out of China could not be more different," said Edward Meir of INTL FCStone.

"Here we note that the arbitrage is now heavily against further imports, as stockpiles at local bonded warehouses have surged--up some 100,000 tons over the last month," he added.

News that Anglo-Swiss mining giant Xstrata PLC and commodities titan Glencore
International are in talks for a merger had little impact on metal prices.

US Commodities

U.S. crude oil futures traded at six-week lows Thursday, weighed down by weak demand and rising inventories.

Meantime, globally traded North Sea Brent crude advanced for a fourth day, as analysts said refiners were lining up alternatives to Iranian oil ahead of tightening sanctions which include a European Union embargo.

Light, sweet crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled 1.3% lower at $96.36 a barrel, a six-week low. Crude has shed 3.4% over five days.

Gold futures gained for the sixth time in seven sessions, settling at the highest level in 11 weeks as the Federal Reserve chief urged Congress to tackle the fiscal challenges facing the U.S.

Gold for April delivery, the most actively traded contract, rose $9.80, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,759.30 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement price since Nov. 16.

Raw sugar prices will likely continue to trade above 23c/lb near term as dry weather in Brazil has cast doubt over the country's upcoming crop, says Sao Paulo-based ICAP Futures analyst Juliano Ferreira. Raw sugar for March delivery on ICE settles 0.5% lower at 23.48c/lb.

ICE cotton futures settled higher after export shipments of U.S. cotton jumped 83% on the week. Cotton for March delivery settled 0.9% higher at 94.21c/lb.

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