News round-up

Tower to raise $81.3m, fund of hedge funds rated by S&P; Mint goes metallic; Equity market making a comeback

Monday, August 31st 2009, 5:19AM

Tower to raise $81.3m, fund of hedge funds rated by S&P
Tower is set to raise $81.3 million from existing shareholders through a pro rata renounceable rights issue.

Under the rights issue, eligible Tower shareholders will be entitled to acquire five new shares for every 16 shares held. The new shares will be offered at $1.34 per share and will rank equally with existing Tower shares.

The offer is being underwritten by Goldman Sachs JBWere and the offer for the shares opens on September 7, closing on September 23.

The company's alternative investments hedge fund allocation, GAM Trading II fund, has been rated AAA by Standard & Poor's (S&P); the only fund of hedge funds to date to be upgraded by S&P in the past 12 months.

Mint goes metallic
NZ Mint has opened the country's first gold and silver trading exchange.

The Bullion Exchange has a team of full-time traders and has been developed with the aim of making it easier and more convenient for investors in bullion and precious metals to trade, and create a professional environment.

The exchange comes as the popularity of investing in precious metals increases in New Zealand as a way to diversify portfolios.

Equity market making a comeback
Boutique investment manager PIE Funds believes the equity market is providing good opportunities for investors to generate positive returns, with the market likely to continue its upward bias for the remainder of the year.

Managing director Mike Taylor believes indicators such as the recovery in corporate bonds, the firming of commodity prices, particularly copper, the trough in interest rates, a recovery in auto sales and a peak in monthly net job losses, show the direction of the market is up and that now is a good time to be investing in equities.

"Although we only expect modest growth in equities for the remainder of the year, this upward trending market offers investors the opportunity to generate good returns quickly by picking the right stocks," he says.

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