Stocks to watch: ARG, HNZ, KMD, NZX, TEL, WBC

July 15 (BusinessDesk) – The following stocks may be active on the New Zealand exchange after developments since the close of trading. All prices are in New Zealand dollars unless specified.

Themes of the day:

With no data scheduled on the local front to drive optimism, the market may follow global markets lower today, with equities and commodities falling in the offshore session after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke dashed hopes that a third round of quantitative easing was in the works.

On Wall Street, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 0.7% to 1,308.85, Europe's Stoxx 600 fell 0.8% to 267.68, and the 19-commodity Thompson Reuters Jefferies CRB Index fell 1.3% to 344.73.

Argosy Property Trust (ARG): The trust's independent directors, Trevor Scott and Peter Brook, have reached an agreement with OnePath NZ Ltd. to buy out the trust's management contract for $20 million. The announcement comes as DNZ Property Fund Ltd. takes the manager to court for not convening a meeting, where they were to call for OnePath to be dumped without payment. ARG shares were unchanged yesterday at 82 cents.

Heartland New Zealand Ltd. (HNZ): The financial service company, formed by the merger of Marac and the Canterbury and Southern Cross building society, says profitability may be hurt if it is does not get its banking licence, according to the ShareChat website. The company, which originally said it expected to be granted approval in the second half of this year, now says there is "no certainty" on when a decision will be reached. HNZ shares fell 3% yesterday to 64 cents.

Kathmandu Holdings (KMD): The outdoor clothing and equipment retailer fell 3.1% yesterday to $2.21 after the latest data showed shoppers kept a tight grip on their purses in July, with spending caution outstripping the urge to splurge seen in the previous month. The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence survey fell 3.1 points to 109.4 in July.

NZX Ltd. (NZX): The securities market operator is being investigated by the Financial Markets Authority for breaching its own disclosure rules, according to a report by the National Business Review. The matter relates to the legal stoush between NZX and Grant Thomas over the Clear grain exchange, which was revealed through the press rather than on the securities operator's website, as required by its listing rules. NZX shares rose 0.4% yesterday to $2.35.

Telecom Corp. (TEL): The phone company's Chorus unit has released the draft terms of its fibre products to meet requirements under the Chorus Wholesale Services Agreement as part of the industry consultation process for the government’s $1.35 billion ultrafast broadband plan. The network operator said it will cut standard pricing on its high speed network service to $380 a month from Aug. 24. Telecom shares 1% yesterday to $2.44.

Westpac Banking Corp. (WBC): The Australian lender is wearing the cost of a premium interest rate on its five-year bond that will donate a portion of investors’ returns to rebuilding Christchurch. The 5.8% annual return, of which 0.5% will go to the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust, was at a premium to similar bank bonds and is almost 1.5 percentage points above the five-year swap rate of 4.37%. WBC shares fell 3.7% yesterday to a one year low of $26.40.

(BusinessDesk)

BUDGET 2012:
Parliament Debate Live - Video Of Budget 2011
Keith Ng Interactive Graphic: How the Budget Breaks Down
BUDGET 2012 - FULL COVERAGE: Reports / Analysis - Press Kit - Reaction (from everybody) - Previews (from everybody) - Pre-Budget Announcements

Gordon Campbell: On the Budget’s Spreadsheet Victories

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Pattrick Smellie Comment: Doddling along the best we can hope forCriticising Budgets for lacking vision or imagination is like shooting fish in a barrel, but even so, this year's Budget again feels like a missed opportunity. Perhaps it's the intrusion of real world needs that means the government couldn't make better political use of the $558.8 million it expects to gather in its first partial asset sale. More >>