K62 Finance

Rising dollar a threat to economy: RBA

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Original article by James Glynn
The Australian – Page: 27 : 2-Aug-17

The Reserve Bank still expects GDP growth to return to three per cent and inflation to rise to within its target range. However, these forecasts are being hindered by the continued strength of the Australian dollar, which has been noted by central bank governor Philip Lowe. He is upbeat about the outlook for the labour market, forecasting that the unemployment rate will ease in the next several years. Meanwhile, Michael Blythe of the Commonwealth Bank expects the cash rate to remain on hold until at least late 2018.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED

ANZ restructure raises union fears of significant job losses

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman, James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 1-Aug-17

ANZ Bank CEO Shayne Elliott will emphasis on 1 August 2017 via a video to all staff that its Australasian focus is on retail customers and on corporate customers in Asia. The video will follow on from a message sent by Elliott on the previous day in which he called for changes to ANZ’s work practices and flexibility. Julia Angrisano of the Finance Sector Union says it is concerned that what appears to be a major reorganisation by ANZ will lead to job cuts at the bank.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, FINANCE SECTOR UNION, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Residential lending hits record levels

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Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 1-Aug-17

Reserve Bank of Australia figures show that there was a 7.4 per cent increase in mortgage loans to property investors in the year to June 2017. This compares with an increase of 6.2 per cent in loans to owner-occupiers. Overall, a record $A1.69 trillion worth of mortgages were active at the end of June. Martin North of Digital Finance Analytics said the figures suggest that regulatory attempts to cool the residential property market do not seem to have had any impact yet.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, DIGITAL FINANCE ANALYTICS, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, ME BANK, BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED – ASX MBL, CANSTAR PTY LTD, MORTGAGE CHOICE LIMITED – ASX MOC, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Mortgage stress growing: ME Bank

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 31-Jul-17

Almost 50 per cent of Australian mortgage holders are spending more than 30 per cent of their pre-tax income on repayments, according to a survey by ME Bank. It also found that borrowers are less confident than they were six months ago about their ability to meet minimum mortgage repayments, with investors more pessimistic than owner-occupiers. Similarly, borrowers are less confident than when previously surveyed about their ability to repay more than the minimum amount on their mortgage.

CORPORATES
ME BANK, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Cyber crooks selling forged CBA statements for just $6

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Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 28-Jul-17

Identity theft is growing at 80 per cent per annum according to Equifax, while fake Commonwealth Bank and Westpac bank statements can be acquired on the "dark web" for as little as $A6. Spokespersons for both banks state that they have a range of technologies and monitoring activities in place aimed at preventing the theft of customer data. Identity thieves can use false bank statements for any number of purposes, including setting up other bank accounts and earning identity points to acquire drivers’ licences and other official documents.

CORPORATES
EQUIFAX INCORPORATED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COLONIAL FIRST STATE INVESTMENTS LIMITED, THE PERSONNEL RISK MANAGEMENT GROUP PTY LTD, PHARMACYID PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD

RBA rate hike hopes fade as Aussie bumps past US80c

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 28-Jul-17

The Australian dollar reached a new two-year high of US0.8043 during intra-day trading on 27 July, compared with $US0.76 at the start of the month. The currency rallied after the US Federal Reserve left interest rates on hold, and Charlie Jamieson of Jamieson Coote Bonds says a US rate rise in September is looking increasingly unlikely, while a rise in Australia’s cash rate will also be off the agenda in the near-term. Meanwhile, Westpac estimates that the Australian dollar’s fair value is around $US0.76 to $US0.77.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL OPEN MARKET COMMITTEE, JAMIESONCOOTEBONDS PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT, FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF ATLANTA

‘Dangerous’ bank levy may have domino effect: Bligh

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Original article by David Crowe, Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 27-Jul-17

Australian Bankers’ Association CEO Anna Bligh has expressed concern that more state governments could implement their own version of the federal levy on banks. The levy is intended to boost government revenue by $A6.2bn, but Bligh has told the National Press Club that this impost could double if all states introduced their own levy. Bligh also supports Peter Costello’s call for banking industry executives to justify their high salaries, while she has questioned whether a royal commission into banks – as advocated by Labor – is appropriate and necessary.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA), SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

RBA dampens rate cut hopes

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 27-Jul-17

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe has signalled that the central bank will maintain its inflation target of 2-3 per cent. Meanwhile, new data shows that CPI growth in the June quarter was below expectations at 1.9 per cent, although growth in core inflation was in line with forecasts at 1.8 per cent. Shane Oliver of AMP Capital expects the RBA to leave the cash rate at 1.5 per cent until at least the end of 2018.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, THE ANIKA FOUNDATION

Surging dollar threatens post-boom momentum as it tests US80c

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 & 27 : 26-Jul-17

The Australian dollar has gained 3.5 per cent so far in July, and it remains close to a two-year high. The currency has risen by about 10 per cent in the year to date, and its trade-weighted index has risen by five per cent. The Australian dollar has benefited from factors such as a downturn in the value of its US counterpart and growing speculation that the Reserve Bank will increase interest rates in 2018. Greg Gibbs of Amplifying Global FX Capital says a further sharp fall in the value of the US dollar is possible given the US economic outlook.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AMPLIFYING GLOBAL FX CAPITAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, THE ANIKA FOUNDATION, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

As good as it gets for the Australian dollar?

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Original article by Jens Meyer
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 25-Jul-17

A speech by Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe on 26 July is likely to be closely scrutinised after recent commentary on a neutral interest rate target prompted the Australian dollar to rally. The currency peaked at a two-year high in response, although it retreated after deputy governor Guy Debelle downplayed the discussions about neutral rates. Paul Dales of Capital Economics expects the dollar to come under downward pressure, citing factors such as the outlook for interest rates and the iron ore price.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, AXITRADER PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL OPEN MARKET COMMITTEE, OANDA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD