Sydney, Aug 24, 2007 (ABN Newswire) -
Australian shares fell in early trade. Worries that the U.S. could slip into a recession pressured U.S.-exposed firms such as Westfield. US market sentiment was shaken after the chief executive of Countrywide Financial, the biggest U.S. mortgage company, said the housing market was not improving and could push the U.S. economy into a recession.
At Midday the S&P/ASX200 index has slipped 62 points to 6098 and on the futures market the SPI 200's down 88.
In company news this hour, Minara Resources has enjoyed a bumper half year doubling its net profit. The six month result was a record with the company posting earnings of $246.5 million, up from just under $101 million a year ago. The result is due in the main to volatile nickel prices which soared up to $50,000 a tonne on London Metal Exchange in May before tumbling back to around $25,000 a tonne in mid-August. Minara owns 60 percent of the Murrin Murrin mining and refining complex, with the remainder held by majority shareholder Glencore International. Minara last month downgraded its full-year production forecast to 31,000 to 33,000 tonnes, from an earlier 32,000 to 35,000 tonnes, due to operational problems. Shares in Minara have shed 5.84% to $6.13 this morning
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