6/25T9:16 Co. in the News

Companies in the News:

HERO, HUN, PDE, RDC targets raised at Jefferies on better Gulf of Mexico jack-up outlook
Jefferies notes in a stark turnaround from six months ago, fundamentals in the Gulf of Mexico jack-up market have improved considerably. As such, they are increasing their price target and adjusting their ests for HERO, HUN, PDE and RDC to reflect higher forecasted rates in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico jack-up market and recent fleet updates. The firm raised their tgt on HERO to $43 from $35, HUN to $15 from $11, PDE to $54 from $50 and RDC to $51 from $44. ESV tgt and ests were also increased; see 9:04 comment.

ESV Ensco target raised to $85 at Jefferies (80.09 )
Jefferies rasied their tgt on ESV to $85 from $74. They say in a stark turnaround from six months ago, fundamentals in the GOM jack-up market have improved considerably. With dayrates in the GOM jack-up market already tracking almost $10-$15K/day above expectations, they are increasing their GOM jack-up dayrate assumptions as well.

Conclusion of iron ore talks between China and Australia may not have the impact on bulk shipping rates that it had in the past - SCMP.com
SCMP.com reports the conclusion of iron ore talks between China and Australia may not have the impact on bulk shipping rates that it had in the past, according to analysts. Previously, once miners and steel mills in China agreed on contracted iron ore prices, bulk shipping rates would increase 15-20%, said Karen Chan, a transport analyst at RCM. That was because mills would stop importing iron ore before the talks concluded and would rush to order after the new prices were fixed. However, Ms Chan said the impact on freight rates might not be as big this time because the nation and Brazil - the other big ore supplier - had concluded their talks on prices four months earlier. That allowed mainland iron ore traders to jump the gun and import huge amounts of ore in the past four months, betting on likely higher prices from Australia, she said.