Chapter 17: Billabong Share Price

Billabong is sweeping back into favor; with the Gold Coast surf wear giant's shares on April 29th closing above $10 for the first time since December. The Burleigh-based company has been riding a wave of renewed optimism that the US market has finally turned the corner, punctuated last weekend by rosy comments from US President Barak Obama's economic adviser Lawrence Summers. Mr Summers said the 'sense of unremitting freefall' evident in the US economy a month ago had disappeared. On Monday August 24th, Billabong's shares temporarily shot to a high of $11.05 thanks to a trading glitch, before sliding back to finish at $9.43. But April 29th, the surge began in earnest with the shares jumping 7.6 per cent to close at $10.12 -- adding almost $1 billion to Billabong's value since February's low of $6.09. Brokers were at a loss to explain the sudden favoritism.