K62 Finance

Refinancing allows Boart boss to focus on long term

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 18 : 8-Dec-14

Investors in Australian-listed mining services group Boart Longyear are set to vote on a refinancing deal worth as much as $US342m ($A410m) with US-based private equity firm Centerbridge in mid-December 2014. It will come as a relief to CEO Richard O’Brien, who has had to face a series of crises since being appointed on 1 April 2013. He still believes that a turnaround in the resources sector may not occur until possibly 2016, and urges shareholders to support the package deemed "not fair but reasonable" by consultant KPMG

CORPORATES
BOART LONGYEAR LIMITED – ASX BLY, CENTERBRIDGE PARTNERS LP, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CGI GLASS LEWIS PTY LTD, ISS PROXY AUSTRALIA

US80c to the dollar is ‘fair value’ for RBA

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Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 5-Dec-14

The Australian dollar reached a new 4.5-year low of $US0.8389 on 4 December 2014. Economists are divided regarding what constitutes fair value for the currency. Michael Workman of the Commonwealth Bank believes that a range of $US0.80 to $US0.85 is appropriate for the dollar at present. However, Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Saul Eslake suggests that fair value would be below $US0.80

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, TD SECURITIES, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

Westpac breaks ranks to tip RBA will cut rates

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 5-Dec-14

Westpac chief economist Bill Evans expects official interest rates to be reduced in both February and March 2015, citing factors such as the latest GDP data and the high Australian dollar. National Australia Bank and ANZ Bank economists have indicated that they may revise their forecasts for interest rates to remain on hold until late 2015. Economists at Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse have already forecast that the Reserve Bank will cut the cash rate in 2015

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

Three-way fight for ailing Ten

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 19 : 4-Dec-14

Competing bids worth between $A510m and $A664m have been prepared for Australian free-to-air TV group Ten Network, which along with adviser Citigroup is seeking at least $A770m. Pay TV provider Foxtel and US-based ally Discovery Communications are one suitor, and interest has also been voiced by private equity firm Saban Capital Group and hedge fund Anchorage Capital Partners. They would need the approval of News Corporation co-chair Lachlan Murdoch, Crown Resorts chair James Packer and WIN Corporation owner Bruce Gordon

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED, SABAN CAPITAL GROUP INCORPORATED, ANCHORAGE CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, CVC ASIA PACIFIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, KOHLBERG KRAVIS ROBERTS AND COMPANY, KKR AND COMPANY LP, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Hockey warns living standards could fall

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 4-Dec-14

Australia’s economic growth slowed to just 0.3 per cent in the September 2014 quarter, and by 2.7 per cent year-on-year. Economic growth contracted in all states except New South Wales. The national accounts also show that Australia has entered an "income recession", with real net disposable income contracting in the last two quarters. Treasurer Joe Hockey has urged opposition parties to support government policy in the Senate, warning that a decline in living standards is likely if reforms are not implemented

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, PALMER UNITED PARTY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Shoes of Prey closes $6.5m Series A round with Khosla Ventures

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Original article by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
BRW – Page: online : 3-Dec-14

Australian online retailer Shoes of Prey has raised $US5.5 million ($A6.5 million) in new venture capital. Companies and individuals that participated in the funding initiative included Khosla Ventures, Blackbird Ventures, Bonobos CEO Andy Dunn, ThirdLove co-founders David Spector and Heidi Zak, Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes, and Bill Tai from Southern Cross Venture Partners. The new funds will be used to finance expansion in the US and to construct a new factory in China

CORPORATES
SHOES OF PREY PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS VENTURE PARTNERS PTY LTD, ATLASSIAN SOFTWARE SYSTEMS PTY LTD, KHOSLA VENTURES, BLACKBIRD VENTURES PTY LTD, BONOBOS INCORPORATED, THIRDLOVE

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence Stop-Start Grind Higher

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 2-Dec-14

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia fell by 0.3 per cent to 113.9 in the week ended 30 November 2014. This is a small setback following a solid 1.2 per cent rise in the previous week. Looking through the weekly volatility, consumer confidence is trending modestly higher. Confidence in households’ finances compared with 12 months ago fell by 1.9 per cent. However, expectations of the economic outlook and household finances improved

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

RBA changes tune, opens door to interest rate cuts if $A stays high

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 3-Dec-14

The Australian dollar rose to $US0.8524 on 2 December 2014, after the Reserve Bank adopted a dovish position on monetary policy. The central bank has had a bias toward raising interest rates for some time, but governor Glenn Stevens has signalled that the cash rate could be cut again in 2015 if the dollar remains high. The Reserve Bank left the cash rate on hold at its final meeting for 2014

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, BARCLAYS BANK PLC, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

CBA shuffles executive ranks

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Original article by Michael Bennet
The Australian – Page: 23 : 2-Dec-14

The successor to Grahame Petersen as group executive for business and private banking at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has been announced. Adam Bennett joined CBA in 2004 from consultancy AT Kearney to work in the IT division, and served as CIO during the core banking system overhaul that experts say has allowed CBA to become the leader in the use of banking technology solutions. The business banking unit is the second largest at CBA after retail banking

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AT KEARNEY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

CBA backs university’s quantum leap

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Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 2-Dec-14

Research into the development of quantum computers at the University of New South Wales has been given a boost via a $A5m investment by the Commonwealth Bank. Michelle Simmons, the head of the university’s Centre for Quantum Computation & Communication Technology, says the investment will help Australia to maintain its status as a world leader in the technology. She is also hoping for financial support from the Federal Government

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. CENTRE FOR QUANTUM COMPUTATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY