K62 Finance

Barclays Bank firing up in Australia

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Original article by Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 5-Mar-15

UK-based Barclays Bank intends to significantly expand its presence in Australia’s investment banking industry. It will target sectors such as health and aged care, resources and agribusiness. Barclays boasts a market capitalisation of Stg43bn, and its assets totalled Stg1.3trn ($A2.5trn) at the end of 2013. It has just 100 employees in Australia, and a global workforce of more than 139,000

CORPORATES
BARCLAYS BANK PLC, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC, CREDIT AGRICOLE SA, PORT OF MELBOURNE, LEHMAN BROTHERS INCORPORATED, LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE, SOUTH32 LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Macquarie seals $5.1b aircraft deal

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 & 27 : 5-Mar-15

Australian-listed Macquarie Group will partially finance the acquisition of an aircraft fleet via a $A500m capital raising. The group will pay $US4bn ($A5.1bn) for the fleet of 90 passenger airplanes, which were sold by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Terra Firma. Macquarie’s aircraft leasing business has made a number of acquisitions in recent years, and now boasts a fleet of 220 aircraft

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, TERRA FIRMA CAPITAL PARTNERS LIMITED, CANADA PENSION PLAN INVESTMENT BOARD, MACQUARIE AIRFINANCE LIMITED, SUMITOMO MITSUI FINANCIAL GROUP INCORPORATED, ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND GROUP PLC, MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, AWAS AVIATION CAPITAL LIMITED, ARNHEM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, BOEING COMPANY, AIRBUS SAS, DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AIRLINE BUSINESS, GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, GENERAL ELECTRIC CAPITAL AVIATION SERVICES, AERCAP HOLDINGS NV, BOEING CAPITAL CORPORATION, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, AIR FRANCE SA, ETIHAD AIRWAYS, AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP INCORPORATED

Private equity bosses tip rosier times ahead

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Original article by Sally Rose, Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 5-Mar-15

Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) gained $A4.5bn from divesting businesses via IPOs and trade sales in 2013 and 2014. International buyers accounted for most of the firm’s trade sales, and Nathanial Thomson of Crescent Capital expects the trend for offshore buyers to purchase Australian businesses to continue. Meanwhile, PEP MD Tim Sims is upbeat about the outlook for Australia’s business sector, and says offshore investors should not be deterred by data showing that the economy is slowing

CORPORATES
PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, CRESCENT CAPITAL PARTNERS LIMITED, XTRALIS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, PITCHER PARTNERS CORPORATE ADVISORY PTY LTD, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS

Spike in $A seconds before rates call

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Original article by Sally Rose, Jonathan Shapiro, Gareth Hutchens
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 5-Mar-15

Concerns about insider trading in the foreign exchange market has intensified after the Australian dollar rose by 0.5 per cent less than a minute before the Reserve Bank announced that the cash rate would remain on hold in March 2015. The currency had fallen by 0.8 per cent only seconds before the previous rate announcement in February. Currency experts such as the Commonwealth Bank’s Richard Grace support the Australian Securities & Investments Commission’s decision to investigate the irregular trading activity

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, BLOOMBERG LP, THOMSON REUTERS PLC

Rate pause clobbers share prices

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Original article by Jacob Greber, Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 4-Mar-15

The Australian sharemarket fell sharply and the dollar rallied after the Reserve Bank defied expectations and left official interest rates on hold on 3 March 2015. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index ended the session at 5,933.9 points, and Tony Paterno of Ord Minnett says it is now unlikely to breach the 6,000-point level in the near-term. The central bank has maintained its easing bias, with governor Glenn Stevens indicating that there may be further rate cuts if this is deemed appropriate

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, ORD MINNETT GROUP LIMITED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, AUSBIL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, CONTANGO ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, RP DATA LIMITED, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Banks to put out welcome mats for the disruptors

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 17 : 4-Mar-15

The New South Wales Government has unveiled plans for a financial technology hub in the Sydney CBD. The Stone & Chalk hub will receive financial backing from a range of companies, including major banks, insurers, retailers and technology groups. The hub will provide financial technology start-ups with subsidised office space and facilities to work with financial and technology companies to further develop their business

CORPORATES
NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, SUNCORP BANK, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, VEDA GROUP LIMITED – ASX VED, AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, INTEL CORPORATION, ORACLE CORPORATION, FINZSOFT SOLUTIONS (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, ALLENS, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CAPITAL MARKETS CO-OPERATIVE RESEARCH CENTRE LIMITED, CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL FINANCE AND REGULATION, FINANCIAL SERVICES INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALASIA, AWI VENTURES LIMITED, SOCIETYONE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, LEVEL39, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Regulators examine super switch breaches

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Original article by Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 3-Mar-15

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority will look into allegations that banks are illegally trying to gain market share in the superannuation sector. UMR Research has released the findings of a survey which suggests that banks have offered inducements to encourage employers to change their default super funds to those offered by the banks. The Financial Services Council says UMR should disclose which banks have offered incentives to switch default funds

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, UMR RESEARCH PTY LTD, FINANCIAL SERVICES COUNCIL, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD

Orica launches $400m share buyback

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Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 3-Mar-15

Australian-listed Orica has revealed plans for an on-market share buyback from mid-March 2016. The explosives group intends to repurchase up to $A400m worth of shares over the next 12 months, following the sale of its chemicals division to Blackstone for $A750m. The private equity firm has announced that the business will be known as Ixom. It boasts EBIT of around $A110m and revenue of $A1.2bn

CORPORATES
ORICA LIMITED – ASX ORI, THE BLACKSTONE GROUP LP, IXOM, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, LAZARD PTY LTD, FONTERRA CO-OPERATIVE GROUP LIMITED, NUFARM LIMITED – ASX NUF, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, SYDNEY WATER CORPORATION, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL

Stunned traders caught in the glare of ASX200’s headlights

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Original article by John Wasiliev
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 3-Mar-15

The Australian sharemarket reached its highest level in seven years on 2 March 2015, ahead of the Reserve Bank’s monthly board meeting. More than 50 per cent of economists expect the central bank to reduce the cash rate again, after a 25 basis point cut in February. However, opinion is divided as to whether the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 will breach the 6,000-point level in the near-term

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CMC MARKETS PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, WORLEYPARSONS LIMITED – ASX WOR, TOLL HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TOL, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, IG MARKETS LIMITED, OANDA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, THINKFOREX

Bets mount on second cash rate cut in weeks

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Original article by Mark Mulligan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 2-Mar-15

Futures traders expect the Australian sharemarket to lose ground when trading resumes on 2 March 2015. With the reporting season over, investors are likely to focus on economic data to be released in the coming week, as well as the Reserve Bank’s monthly board meeting. The recent release of disappointing capital expenditure data has heightened speculation that the central bank could reduce the cash rate again in March, following a 25-basis point cut in February

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, PEOPLE’S BANK OF CHINA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW