Global shares still look best for capital growth

Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 28 : 10-Oct-17

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 has gained 1.3 per cent so far in 2017, compared with an 8.2 per cent gain for the MSCI All Country World index in Australian dollar terms. Most analysts expect global equities to continue to outperform Australian stocks in the near-term, although Richard Coppleson of Bell Potter remains upbeat about the outlook for the local market. He notes that investors are likely to reinvest some of the $A23.7bn worth of dividends that have been paid in recent weeks.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, MSCI ALL COUNTRY WORLD INDEX, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Get ready for a lost decade for shares

Original article by Philip Baker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 5-Oct-17

The key US sharemarket indices are trading at record highs, while Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is now trading slightly below its level at the start of 2017. At 5,652 points, the local bourse remains well below its record high of 6,828 on 1 November 2007. Independent investment analyst Boris Pogos notes that there have been a number of other periods during which the Australian sharemarket has delivered a negative return over 10 years or more, and these trends suggest that the all-time record high may not be breached until at least 2020.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX, RUSSELL 2000 INDEX, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Citi tips ‘attractive’ return on stocks

Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 6-Sep-17

Data from Citigroup shows that the earnings of Australian-listed companies increased by 17.8 per cent in 2016-17, although growth was just 4.3 per cent when resources stocks are excluded. Earnings are forecast to rise by 3.4 per cent overall in 2017-18, although Tony Brennan of Citigroup notes that growth could be around 10 per cent when dividends are taken into account. Meanwhile, UBS expects earnings growth of 3.5 per cent overall. Citigroup also forecasts that the S&P/ASX 200 could potentially rise by 12 per cent in 2017-18.

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, PRIMARY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX PRY, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, COMPUTERSHARE LIMITED – ASX CPU, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX

Kim’s bomb the bleak balance for the upbeat

Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 4-Sep-17

Shane Oliver of AMP Capital says there is potential for equity markets to experience a correction, although this could depend on the response to North Korea’s test of a hydrogen bomb. Meanwhile, Oliver says profit growth in Australia remains significantly lower than in the US, Europe and Japan. He anticipates GDP growth of 0.5 per cent for the quarter and 1.5 per cent growth year-on-year. A survey by Bloomberg shows that the general consensus is for GDP growth of 0.7 per cent for the quarter and 1.8 per cent for the year to June.

CORPORATES
AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BETASHARES CAPITAL LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

‘Don’t throw away growth for dividends’

Original article by Andrew White, David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 31-Aug-17

Data from Credit Suisse shows that 60 per cent that have a 30 June balance data increased their dividend payout in the August 2017 reporting season, while 31 per cent reduced their dividends. Perennial Value Management MD John Murray has welcomed the decision of some companies to increase their capital expenditure rather than returns to shareholders. Wilson Asset Management chairman Geoff Wilson notes that the increase in capex during the current reporting season is the strongest since 2007.

CORPORATES
PERENNIAL VALUE MANAGEMENT LIMITED, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, NUFARM LIMITED – ASX NUF, SKYCITY ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX SKC, AMCOR LIMITED – ASX AMC, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, APA GROUP – ASX APA

Investors take cover from Kim’s missile over Japan

Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 24 : 30-Aug-17

Sharemarkets in the Asia-Pacific region retreated on 29 August, after North Korea fired a missile over Japan’s main islands. Futures pricing suggests that the S&P 500 will also fall as geopolitical tensions on the Korean peninsula increase. Meanwhile, the yield on 10-year US Treasuries reached a two-month low and the gold price peaked at a nine-month high of $US1,322.41 an ounce. Sue Trinh of RBC says financial markets’ initial response to the latest missile test was "relatively shallow" and short-lived.

CORPORATES
RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, KOSPI INDEX, NIKKEI 225 INDEX, HANG SENG INDEX, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, JAPAN. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, UNITED NATIONS. SECURITY COUNCIL, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF STATE, NOMURA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, BLACKMORES LIMITED – ASX BKL, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, REGIS RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX RRL, RETAIL FOOD GROUP LIMITED – ASX RFG, MANTRA GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTR, DOWNER EDI LIMITED – ASX DOW, SPEEDCAST INTERNATIONAL LIMITED – ASX SDA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Visa moves to kill PINs with biometrics

Original article by Yolanda Redrup
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 29-Aug-17

Visa hopes it will not be too long before its card users will be able to do away with using PIN number or 16-digit card numbers to conduct transactions. Visa is looking to work with Australian banks to adopt biometric authentication protocols that will allow card users to make transactions by using their fingerprint, with the process aimed at both reducing fraud and cutting down transaction times. Visa’s Joe Cunningham would also like to see greater data sharing between banks and merchants.

CORPORATES
VISA INTERNATIONAL, AUSTRALIAN PAYMENTS CLEARING ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Despite the gloom, this is the best reporting season in years

Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 26 : 29-Aug-17

Financial market analysts argue that negative perceptions of the August 2017 reporting season are not justified. Jason Steed of JP Morgan notes that 123 stocks in the S&P/ASX 200 Index have risen so far in August, while he adds that investors’ perceptions of the reporting season are often influenced by a handful of stocks that post large declines in the wake of their earnings results. Hasan Tevfik of Credit Suisse says the capital expenditure intentions of ASX 200 companies also demonstrates the strength of the reporting season.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL

Two strikes rule reining in exec pay

Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 24-Aug-17

The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors has released the findings of a survey which shows that the top listed companies have not significantly increased their CEOs’ salaries in the last 10 years. The annual fixed pay of S&P/ASX 100 CEOs has been steady at about $A1.9m, while bonuses have also been relatively steady. ACSI CEO Louise Davidson notes that the trend has coincided with the introduction of the "two strikes" rule.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SUPERANNUATION INVESTORS INCORPORATED, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, CHALLENGER LIMITED – ASX CGF, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, JAMES HARDIE INDUSTRIES PLC – ASX JHX, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN

Wild ride for majors as profit season unfolds

Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 27 : 24-Aug-17

The August 2017 reporting season has prompted large movements in the shares of some blue-chip stocks. Data from Bloomberg shows that 30 companies in the benchmark S&P/200 Index have experienced share price movements of at least five per cent on the day their latest financial results were released. AMP Capital’s Shane Oliver notes that a similar number of stocks have outperformed and underperformed the market, although investors have tended to react more savagely than usual to stocks that failed to meet earnings expectations.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, BLOOMBERG LP, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO, ACONEX LIMITED – ASX ACX, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, SIRTEX MEDICAL LIMITED – ASX SRX, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, MONADELPHOUS GROUP LIMITED – ASX MND, THE A2 MILK COMPANY LIMITED – ASX A2M, VIRTUS HEALTH LIMITED – ASX VRT, THE STAR ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX SGR, McMILLAN SHAKESPEARE LIMITED – ASX MMS, AVEO GROUP – ASX AOG, BEACH POINT CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LP, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG