Tiger Airways CEO quits, Australia shares jump: Midday Roundup

Tiger Airways has announced Chin Yau Seng will replace Tony Davis as the company’s chief executive, a move that comes just weeks after the airline was grounded from flying in Australia.

The move comes as Tiger attempts to restore confidence in its brand after suffering a number of local setbacks, along with substantial financial hits.

“This was completely expected. When he (Davis) was demoted to Australia, he had one mission, which was to fix issues outstanding at that time,” RBS analyst John Rachmat told Reuters.

“In a sense it was his responsibility as a group CEO, that relationships with authorities should deteriorate to such a poor level that their license got suspended.”

Shares rise 1.5% as market opens

The Australian sharemarket has risen 1.5% this morning, after receiving strong leads from overseas markets before the weekend.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 59 points or 1.49% to 4259.8 at 12.15 AEST, while the Australian dollar rose to $US1.05c.

AMP shares have risen 1.17% to $4.32, while Commonwealth Bank shares rose 1.44% to $48.05. Westpac rose 2.39% to $20.53 as NAB rose 1.94% to $23.60.

QR National posts full year profit

QR National has recorded a profit of $349.5 million for the full year, compared to a loss of $36.8 million recorded in the previous corresponding period.

In a statement, QR National chief executive Lance Hockridge said natural disasters earlier in the year resulted in the company paying $187 million. However, $65 million of EBIT will be recoverable.

Across the entire company, revenue rose by 11% to $3.29 billion.

“Notwithstanding the impact of the floods, the reason that I am pretty happy with the result for the year is I believe that we have delivered at and above every promise that we made in the offer document,” Hockridge said.

“We’ve brought forward maintenance and capital so that as and when the customers are in a position to be able to run and run hard we are going to be in position to keep up with them,” he said in relation to coal supplies.

Details of a company restructure are set to be revealed later in the year.

Bernanke speaks out on US economy

US Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said in a speech late last week that the US economy may avoid a recession and provided no indication that the Fed would change interest rates to accommodate for a downfall in the economy.

He said the Fed was “prepared to employ its tools as appropriate to promote a stronger economic recovery in a context of price stability”.

Analysts have said the comments have dashed hopes for a third round of monetary stimulus.

Bernanke said he expects growth in the second half of the year to improve.