K64 Auxiliary Finance and Insurance Services

Director insider trading is rife

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 19 : 23-Sep-19

Australian National University academic Dr Dean Katselas has studied the trading of shares by directors following the release of listed companies’ earnings announcements. He says directors typically sell shares when positive information about their company is released and spark a jump in its share price, while they buy shares after the release of negative information that sees the share price depressed. Katselas says ‘contrary’ share trades are being made on the basis of non-public information about a company’s future performance, which he says essentially amounts to insider trading.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

IOOF no closer to ANZ deal after court win

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Original article by Joanna Mather, Aleks Vickovich
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 17 : 23-Sep-19

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has failed in its court case against IOOF Holdings, in which it sought to argue that the financial services company breached its obligation to act in its members’ best interests. It had been the first time in more than 10 years that APRA had taken superannuation trustees to court, with Federal Court Justice Jayne Jagot finding that its legal arguments were "unpersuasive". Despite APRA’s lack of success in the case, industry observers say it does not mean that IOOF is guaranteed to complete its takeover of the ANZ Bank’s wealth unit.

CORPORATES
IOOF HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX IFL, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, ALLENS, ADVISER RATINGS PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD

HK exchange in London bid

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Original article by Steven Russolillo
The Australian – Page: 17 & 27 : 12-Sep-19

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) has launched an unsolicited takeover bid for the London Stock Exchange (LSE). LSE has indicated it will consider the bid, which is valued at Stg29.6 billion ($53.27 billion), and which it described as "unsolicited, preliminary and highly conditional". The HKEX bid for the LSE is aimed at preventing the proposed merger between the LSE and financial-information provider Refinitiv Holding, which was announced in August. In commenting on the HKEX bid, the LSE stated it remained committed to its bid for Refinitiv.

CORPORATES
HONG KONG EXCHANGES AND CLEARING LIMITED LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE REFINITIV RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Hopes for tariff truce as US, China resume talks

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 28 : 6-Sep-19

Sharemarkets across the Asia-Pacific region rallied on 5 September as investors welcomed news that the US and China will hold trade discussions in early October. Both nations imposed new tariffs at the start of September, while the US is scheduled to increase tariffs on a range of Chinese goods on 1 October. Meanwhile, financial markets have priced in an 88 per cent chance that the Reserve Bank of Australia will reduce official interest rates in October, followed by another rate cut by May.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, NIKKEI 225 INDEX, KOSPI INDEX, HANG SENG INDEX

S&P gives AMP thumbs down over bad news

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 28-Aug-19

The credit rating of wealth manager AMP has been downgraded from ‘A-‘ to ‘BBB+’ by S&P Global Ratings. The long-term issuer credit rating of AMP Bank and AMP Life have also been downgraded by one notch apiece. S&P has indicated that the ratings downgrade was primarily due to the recent deal to sell AMP Life to Resolution Life, which will have an impact on AMP’s group credit profile. S&P also said it may review AMP’s credit rating if the deal does not proceed, although this may not result in an upgrade.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AMP LIFE LIMITED, AMP BANK LIMITED, S&P GLOBAL RATINGS, RESOLUTION LIFE GROUP LIMITED

Financial advisers too expensive and can’t be trusted: report

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Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 27-Aug-19

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has released the findings of a survey on consumers’ attitudes toward the financial advice sector. It shows that there is a high level of distrust regarding the sector; amongst other things, about 50 per cent of respondents believe that financial advisers are more concerned about making themselves rich than helping clients, while almost 30 per cent prefer to obtain financial advice from family members, friends or colleagues. The ASIC report is based on interviews with almost 2,500 investors.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP

Funds brace for more volatility

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Original article by William McInnes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 27 : 27-Aug-19

Federation Asset Management chairman Greg Bundy says financial markets will keep falling, as he does not expect the US-China trade war to be resolved for some time. Matt Sherwood of Perpetual agrees that there is unlikely to be a quick resolution to the trade dispute. Bearish sentiment slashed the value of Australian stocks by around $26bn on 26 August, while the yield on 10-year Australian government bonds fell to 0.88 per cent. Shares in gold producers also rallied as investors sought out ‘safe-haven’ assets.

CORPORATES
FEDERATION ASSET MANAGEMENT, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

AMP accused of leaving planners in limbo

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 12 : 20-Aug-19

The Finance Sector Union will ask the Fair Work Commission to intervene over AMP’s plans to revamp its financial planning operations. AMP has indicated that it intends to reduce the amount it pays when acquiring financial planning practices as a ‘buyer of last resort’, as well as cutting adviser numbers. The AMP Financial Planners Association will hold a meeting during August to allow members to vote on possible courses of legal action against AMP.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, FINANCE SECTOR UNION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AMP FINANCIAL PLANNERS ASSOCIATION

Exorbitant registry fees in ASIC’s sights

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 21 : 15-Aug-19

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is believed to be launching an investigation into the exit fees charged by share registry providers Computershare and Boardroom. This follows a complaint by fellow provider Automic, which stated to the ACCC in December that competition in the share registry sector was being stifled by the ‘exit fees’ that Computershare and Boardroom were charging clients who wanted to shift their business. A Computershare spokesperson has stated that it does not engage in anti-competitive practice.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, COMPUTERSHARE LIMITED – ASX CPU, BOARDROOM LIMITED, AUTOMIC

$47bn lost as currency war erupts

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 25 : 7-Aug-19

The Australian sharemarket has shed 5.4 per cent since reaching a record high in late July, as fears of a currency war add to tensions over the ongoing US-China trade war. However, Richard Coppleson of Bell Potter has downplayed concerns about the outlook for equities, saying a bear market is unlikely. He says there is not yet an all-out trade war, while interest rates are set to remain low. Shane Oliver of AMP Capital also does not expect a bear market, although he says shares are likely to fall further in the short-term.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, PEOPLE’S BANK OF CHINA, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, HANG SENG INDEX, NIKKEI 225 INDEX, TAIEX INDEX, FTSE STRAITS TIMES INDEX, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF COMMERCE, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA