K62 Finance

Macquarie result wins praise and upgrades

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 12-May-15

Analysts are upbeat about the earnings outlook for Macquarie Group in fiscal 2016, after its net profit for the year to 31 March 2015 rose by 27 per cent to $A1.6bn. Data from Bloomberg shows that the consensus forecast is for a profit of $A1.79bn in fiscal 2016, and Macquarie itself expects a modest rise in earnings. CLSA has lifted its 12-month share price target to $A102, compared with Macquarie’s closing price of $A78.78 on 11 May.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, BLOOMBERG LP, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, MACQUARIE SECURITIES PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Westpac banks on cloud push to rein in costs

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Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 12-May-15

Westpac anticipates significant cost savings from a proposal to shift many of its IT systems to a hybrid cloud environment. Chief information officer Dave Curran says the banking major aims to capitalise on the efficiencies that can be derived from shifting to cloud technology. Westpac also aims to reduce its cost-to-income ratio, which rose from 41.6 per cent to 42.5 per cent in the first half of 2014-15.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AMAZON WEB SERVICES LLC, MICROSOFT CORPORATION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Aussie tipped to tread water until US lifts rates

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Original article by Rose Powell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 12-May-15

The Australian dollar was buying $US0.7893 late in trading on 11 May 2015. The currency was not unduly affected by an interest rate cut in China, while Westpac’s Robert Rennie expects it to trade at around the $US0.78 level for some time. He forecasts that it will fall to around $US0.73 by late September, while Thomas Averill of Rochford Capital does not expect further monetary policy easing in Australia.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, ROCHFORD CAPITAL PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, SOCIETE GENERALE SA

Lowest rate since ’60s

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Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 10-Apr-15

The Reserve Bank of Australia is widely tipped to reduce the cash rate by 25 basis points to two per cent in May 2015. The cash rate is already at its lowest level in five decades, but economists maintain that further rate cuts can help to stimulate the economy. The Commonwealth Bank’s Michael Workman notes that the low level of confidence is a key issue for the economy, while Shane Oliver of AMP Capital says there is potential for more rate cuts beyond May

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Economists stumped by RBA’s moves

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Original article by Vesna Poljak, Patrick Commins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 9-Apr-15

None of the economists polled by Bloomberg News have been accurate in their forecasts for the monetary policy decisions of all three Reserve Bank of Australia board meetings so far in 2015. Several economists have, however, successfully predicted the outcome of two interest rate decisions, while five have failed to predict any. Meanwhile, the financial market’s forecasts have been right on one occasion in 2015

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BLOOMBERG LP, BARCLAYS BANK PLC, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, NOMURA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, TD SECURITIES, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BANK OF ENGLAND, LABOUR PARTY (GREAT BRITAIN)

ANZ banks big win in class action fees battle

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Original article by Katie Walsh, Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 9-Apr-15

Law firm Maurice Blackburn may launch a High Court appeal against the Federal Court’s rejection of a class-action lawsuit against the ANZ Bank. The case centred on the question of whether bank fees were excessive, with more than 43,000 ANZ customers participating in the class action. Other major banks are subject to separate class actions over bank fees, with about 180,000 customers in all taking part

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, IMF BENTHAM LIMITED – ASX IMF, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, JONES DAY, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, BABCOCK AND BROWN LIMITED, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence: Bumpy Ride for Confidence

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-Apr-15

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia fell by 2.3 per cent to 109.7 in the week ended 5 April 2015, its lowest level in almost eight months. The weakness was broadly based, with four out of the five sub-indices declining. The sub-index for confidence in the economic outlook over the next year fell by 2.9 per cent, while confidence in the economic outlook over the next five years fell by 1.3 per cent

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

RBA baulks at 2pc cash rate, for now

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 8-Apr-15

The Australian dollar rallied to $US0.7690 on 7 April 2015, after the Reserve Bank left the cash rate on hold at 2.25 per cent. There was widespread expectation among financial market watchers that the central bank would reduce the cash rate, but they have priced in a 76 per cent chance of a rate cut in May. Vimal Gor of BT Investment Management and Paul Dale of Capital Economics both believe that the Reserve Bank missed a chance to put downward pressure on the dollar

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, JAMIESONCOOTEBONDS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Pre-emptive $A spike attracts ASIC interest

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 8-Apr-15

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission will investigate further unusual currency trading activity on 7 April 2015. The Australian dollar again rose suddenly shortly before the Reserve Bank revealed that it had left the cash rate on hold. The corporate regulator is looking into similar trading activity in the previous two months. The dollar was buying $US0.7699 late in trading, and Richard Yetsenga of the ANZ Bank expects it to remain at around this level in the near-term

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, RESERVE BANK OF INDIA, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Shares to open lower as RBA considers cut

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Original article by Mark Mulligan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 7-Apr-15

Futures traders expect the Australian sharemarket to shed 0.15 per cent when trading resumes on 7 April 2015. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 fell by 0.4 per cent during the previous week. The Reserve Bank’s monthly board meeting will be a focus for investors, with Credit Suisse data showing that financial markets have priced in a 75 per cent chance of a rate cut. Retail sales, construction and mortgage lending data will also be released in coming days

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, BLOOMBERG LP, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, BANK OF JAPAN, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL OPEN MARKET COMMITTEE, SOCIETE GENERALE, OANDA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED