US sharemarkets rose on Thursday, but gains were kept in check by mixed earnings results. Shares of Netflix fell 10.3% as the company missed targets for new subscribers overseas. IBM shares rose 4.6% as its quarterly profit beat on strong growth in its high-margin cloud business. Morgan Stanley lifted by 1.5% after posting a better-than-expected profit. Tobacco company Philip Morris climbed 8.2% after raising its full-year profit outlook. The Dow Jones closed up by 3 points or 0.01%. The S&P500 rose 0.4% and the Nasdaq lifted by 22 points or 0.3%. 

Global oil prices fell on Thursday on US-China trade concerns. The resumption of Russian pipeline flows by operator Transneft and the return to service of US Gulf of Mexico oil platforms fed concerns about a supply glut. The Brent crude price fell by US$1.73 or 2.7% to US$61.93 a barrel. The US Nymex price fell by US$1.48 or 2.6% to US$55.30 a barrel. 

Base metal prices were mixed on the London Metal Exchange (LME) on Thursday. Nickel (+2.8%) continued to gain, fuelled by tight supply which is showing up in forward contracts. Lead was up 2.5%, but zinc (-0.8%) and tin (-0.4%) both lagged.

The gold futures price rose by US$4.80 an ounce or 0.3% to US$1,428.10 an ounce. The spot gold price was trading near US$1,444 an ounce in late US trade. Iron ore fell by US$1.25 or 1.0% to US$119.50 a tonne as Dalian Commodity Exchange trading fees in China were hiked and supply lifted in Australia.

Thursday 18 July - close. The Australian share market has fallen for the fourth time in five days, with losses from construction giant CIMIC Group and mining titan BHP dragging the market. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed down 24.2 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 6,649.1 points on Thursday, while the broader All Ordinaries was down 28.6 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 6,735.4.

AuMake International Ltd (AU8.ASX, 15cps, m.cap A$47.3m with 312.1m SOI, Cash c$12.5m (Consumer Discretionary)

• This morning AuMake released an update with relation to their strengthening relationship with JD.com (the global e-commerce giant)

• AuMake streamlines ANZ brand access to JD.com's primary online platform

  • AuMake to select and provide brands (including their own) to JD.com at wholesale prices (higher margin product to attractive to both parties). 
  • JD.com then promotes these brands across the online stores (marketing, search optimisation etc)
  • These brands receive improved delivery and logistics times to customers (less than 5 days).
• 9 own branded products have been selected as the first items to be bought by JD.com. This should significantly increase own branded sales as this plays out.

• AuMake features in new JD cross border concept stores

  • AuMake is the only Australian retailer to feature in JD.com’s cross-border store and the only smaller brand represented in store (alongside a2, Swisse etc).

  • The offline JD stores are frequently visited (+2,000 customer per day and +200,000 customers visiting during promotional events). This sort of access to mainland China is invaluable for Australian and NZ brands. 

  • JD.com are planning to expand their off-line stores throughout China’s major cities in the coming months.

• AuMake to create new brands with JD.com

  • As has been flagged previously, AuMake and JD.com are looking to incubate and promote new brands through online + offline stores in Australia and China. Intention to create co owned brands with one of the worlds largest e-commerce operators is an exciting opportunity.

  • AuMake June Quarterly is due to be released by Wednesday the 31/7.

     

Bye Aerospace - eFlyer 2 Prototype Begins New Flight Test Program with Siemens Production Motor

• Bye Aerospace’s two-seat all-electric eFlyer 2 prototype began an important next flight test phase this week with the new 90 kW Siemens SP70D production motor.

• Following successful flight tests earlier this spring, Bye Aerospace completed the pre-production lower-power prototype motor test program and installed the fully capable, higher-power production motor.  “During the prototype eFlyer 2 flight tests that began on July 17, the new Siemens production motor met or exceeded expectations in all performance indicator areas,” said George E. Bye, CEO of Bye Aerospace. “These important tests are validating the eFlyer’s incredible operating economy, efficiency, and performance while producing no CO2.”

• The eFlyer family of aircraft, beginning with the 2-seat eFlyer 2 aims to be the first FAA-certified, practical, all-electric airplanes to serve the flight training and general aviation markets. Siemens is providing the electric propulsion system for the eFlyer 2 airplane—the 57 lb. electric motor with a 90kW peak rating (120 HP), and a continuous power setting of 70kW (94 HP).

• In addition to the new Siemens production motor, other modifications to the eFlyer 2 prototype included an additional battery pack, a new three-blade developmental propeller from Hartzell among the propellers being evaluated, plus an updated cowling, a new spinner, and a charger plug-in port. The return to flight begins a period of extensive flight test that will provide important flight performance data for the new Siemens motor that will also help determine other suppliers for the conforming production aircraft.

• Bye Aerospace (“Bye”) is conducting a capital raising by way of a Series A2 Preferred Stock Offering to raise US$5m. Please reach out should you want a copy of the term sheet.