K64 Auxiliary Finance and Insurance Services

China pullback won’t dent local M&A

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 31-Jul-17

Data from Dealogic shows that $US40.7bn ($A50.9bn) worth of mergers and acquisitions involving Australian companies have been announced so far in 2017. Minter Ellison partner Alberto Colla expects Japanese corporate raiders to continue to target local companies following a number of deals over the last 18 months. The law firm anticipates that US and Canadian companies will also be key drivers of M&A activity in Australia, particularly if Chinese deal-making is affected by China’s new regulations on financial outflows.

CORPORATES
DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, MINTER ELLISON, TOLL HOLDINGS LIMITED, JAPAN POST COMPANY LIMITED, BRADKEN LIMITED, HITACHI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY COMPANY LIMITED, ASG GROUP LIMITED, NOMURA RESEARCH INSTITUTE, PROGRAMMED MAINTENANCE SERVICES LIMITED – ASX PRG, PERSOL, SPOTLESS GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SPO, DOWNER EDI LIMITED – ASX DOW, VOCUS GROUP LIMITED – ASX VOC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, CORNERSTONE RESEARCH GROUP, STANFORD UNIVERSITY, KATANA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH, QUINDELL PLC, CIMIC GROUP LIMITED – ASX CIM

Small caps ‘offer best opportunity’

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 27-Jul-17

Allan Gray Australia’s Simon Mawhinney is upbeat about the outlook for small-capitalisation stocks, forecasting that they are set to outperform their larger peers. Smaller Australian companies have tended to have lower returns over the last several decades, but Mawhinney expects non-S&P/ASX 100 companies to outperform over the next five years. Allan Gray particularly likes stocks such as Capral, Mineral Deposits and HT&E.

CORPORATES
ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 100 INDEX, CAPRAL LIMITED – ASX CAA, MINERAL DEPOSITS LIMITED – ASX MDL, HT&E LIMITED – ASX HT1, ALUMINA LIMITED – ASX AWC, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 300 ACCUMULATION INDEX

Small miners, pot stocks dominate IPOs

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 26-Jul-17

The materials sector accounted for 15 of the 57 companies that debuted on the Australian sharemarket in the first half of 2017. They included five gold stocks and three lithium hopefuls. Marcus Ohm of HLB Mann Judd notes that IPOs raised $A1.9bn in total during the first half, compared with $A2.5bn in the first half of 2016 (from 34 IPOs). The majority of IPOs in the year to date have been worth less than $A100m. Meanwhile, the number of "back-door" listings fell from 69 to just 10.

CORPORATES
HLB MANN JUDD, OFFICEWORKS SUPERSTORES PTY LTD, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, THE GOOD GUYS, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH

Looking to profits to solve economy’s jumbled puzzle

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 25-Jul-17

PM Capital’s Uday Cheruvu says the August 2017 earnings season will be more important than usual given that business confidence seems to be improving but consumer confidence remains subdued. Cheruvu adds that capital expenditure intentions will also be a key metric in the upcoming reporting season, suggesting that building materials group in particular may increase capex. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs says companies whose earnings could exceed expectations include BlueScope Steel, Crown Resorts, Telstra and South32.

CORPORATES
PM CAPITAL LIMITED, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, BRAVURA SOLUTIONS LIMITED.- ASX BVS, COSTA GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX CGC, SKYCITY ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX SKC, COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, THE STAR ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX SGR, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, ADAIRS LIMITED – ASX ADH, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, CYAN INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FOUNDATION INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED – ASX AFI, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, RESMED INCORPORATED – ASX RMD, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH

Pressure mounts on hedge funds over fees

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 24-Jul-17

Investors in hedge funds are seeking a better deal on fees, as well as more flexible fee structures, according to a survey by Credit Suisse. The survey, which encompassed upwards of 200 corporate investors, also found that just under 90 per cent of investors who had withdrawn monies from poorly performing hedge funds intended to reinvest in the sector, and that 57 per cent of hedge funds envisage at least a "moderate" increase in their allotment to quantitative strategies.

CORPORATES
CREDIT SUISSE AG

Active management still delivers: Ophir

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Original article by Damon Kitney
The Australian – Page: 20 : 14-Jul-17

Ophir Asset Management’s co-founders Andrew Mitchell and Steven Ng are upbeat about the outlook for active fund managers. They argue that the active investment style is more effective at picking stocks that offer good value, as passive managers tend to allocate capital to sectors based on a market’s weightings. Ophir’s Opportunities Fund has achieve a total return of 352.2 per cent since it was established, while the Ophir High Conviction Fund has returned 62.5 per cent since inception.

CORPORATES
OPHIR ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, UNISUPER LIMITED, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GROUP LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 20 INDEX

Overreaction presents chance to buy on dip

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 27 : 13-Jul-17

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index reached an intra-day low of 5,665.6 points on 12 July 2017, before closing one per cent lower. The domestic bourse has shed 0.8 per cent so far in July, which may be a timely opportunity for investors to buy into the market. Meanwhile, although investors remain concerned about the political risk associated with US President Donald Trump, Citigroup believes that impeachment is unlikely despite the revelations concerning a meeting between Trump’s son and a Russian lawyer.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, REPUBLICAN PARTY (UNITED STATES)

Global bull market still charging ahead

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Original article by Myriam Robin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 7-Jul-17

Sentiment among Wall Street’s sell-side equity analysts rose by 2.4 per cent to a five-year high of 56.4 in June 2017, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Australian fund managers are also upbeat about the outlook for shares. AMP’s Shane Oliver notes that the long-running global bull market is unlikely to be affected when major central banks begin to increase interest rates. Citigroup also believes that the bull run will continue, with just two of its 18 risk indicators pointing to a bear market in the near-term.

CORPORATES
BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, MERRILL LYNCH AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, AMP LIFE LIMITED, CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, PERPETUAL INVESTMENTS, MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

New financial year ‘reset’ for investors

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Original article by Myriam Robin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 4-Jul-17

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 3.4 per cent in May 2017 and 0.1 per cent in June, due to factors such as tax-loss selling in the lead-up to the end of the financial year. Ophir Asset Management’s Andrew Mitchell is upbeat about the outlook for local equities in July, noting that fund managers will begin reweighting their portfolios. Institutional investors may also buy into stocks prior to the reporting season in August.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, OPHIR ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, ACONEX LIMITED – ASX ACX, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, APN OUTDOOR GROUP LIMITED – ASX APO, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, AVEO GROUP – ASX AOG

Will the RBA join the global rates party?

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Original article by Timothy Moore
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 3-Jul-17

Futures pricing suggest that the Australian sharemarket will be bolstered by a positive lead from Wall Street when trading resumes on 3 July. The Reserve Bank’s monetary policy meeting will be a key focus for investors in coming days, although the cash rate is expected to be left on hold in July. Meanwhile, Australian retail sales, building approvals and trade data will be released during the next week.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, UNITED STATIONERS, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, NIKE INCORPORATED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED