COA

Sharemarket analyst Macquarie Research Equities have provided a 2007/2008 Australian Budget Impact statement. Investors who had been eagerly awaiting the release of the 2007-2008 Budget were last night greeted with a host of initiatives that included a significant boost to household disposable income.

Last week, global markets stumbled following reports that China was looking to impose controls to curb its rapidly growing economy and concerns that a soft landing for the US economy may be more difficult than first thought. In the background, the Australian reporting season continued its final week, here are analyst Macquarie Research Equities (MRE) observations and thoughts. The HY December 2006 aggregate earnings reported for the market printed 1.5 percentage points below analyst expectations versus those held at the start of this reporting season.

The Non-Residential Cycle is churning and at the moment Macquarie Research Equities (MRE) believes that Australia is in the midst of an up-tick in engineering and non-residential construction spending. Wal King, CEO of Leighton has recently said, "With all of this activity and the opportunities still emerging, it really is difficult to recall a more positive environment for the group.

Deutsche Bank have rated the Coates Hire (COA) stock with a Buy Recommendation, all the while increasing their share price target from $5.72 to $6.65. The broker had reexamined their numbers following industry discussions and is now working on better growth in FY08 ahead of a slight downturn in FY09, all on a cyclical basis.

If you wish to use these broker recommendations for trading shares listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, it is highly recommended that you back up your analysis using fundamental or technical analysis or a combination of both before investing in any company.

UBS has a Neutral 2 recommendation for National Australia Bank (NAB) with a target of $35 per share.