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Active fundies struggle as passive index huggers deliver

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 26-Apr-17

Data from S&P Dow Jones Indices shows that more than 75 per cent of Australia’s actively-managed large-cap equity funds failed to match the performance of their benchmark index in 2016. Independent Asset Management and Hyperion Asset Management are among the active fund managers to have underperformed in recent years, as investors have increasingly embraced passively-managed index funds.

CORPORATES
S&P DOW JONES INDICES LLP, INDEPENDENT ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, HYPERION ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, HYPERION AUSTRALIAN GROWTH COMPANIES FUND, MERCER INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 ACCUMULATION INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 300 ACCUMULATION INDEX

External factors align for a ‘buying opportunity’

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 25 : 19-Apr-17

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index remained above the technically important 5,830- point level on 18 April 2017, despite a further downturn in the iron ore price. However, the local sharemarket has fallen by just 2.2 per cent since its recent peak of 5,950.1, and it could still test the 6,000-point level for the first time since 2008. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley remains bearish about the outlook for the local market, and the firm still expects the S&P/ASX 200 to fall to 5,450 by the end of the year.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Traders pour into gold as tensions rise

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 32 : 13-Apr-17

The price of gold has rallied in recent weeks as growing geopolitical tensions prompt renewed investor support for "safe haven" assets. Meanwhile, the yield on 10-year US Treasuries recently reached a five-month low and it is again testing this level, while the VIX volatility index has risen to its highest level in five months. However, Joseph Capurso of the Commonwealth Bank says the continued strength of the US dollar suggests that recent financial market trends do not constitute a "global risk-off event".

CORPORATES
CHICAGO BOARD OPTIONS EXCHANGE VOLATILITY INDEX, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, MORGAN STANLEY CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL ALL COUNTRY WORLD INDEX, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED

Activism may explain ASX’s sprint to 6000

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Original article by Jessica Sier
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 12-Apr-17

Hasan Tevfik of Credit Suisse says international shareholder activists may increasingly target Australian shares, adding that it is surprising that they have not already done so. He suggests that activist investors may have contributed to the local sharemarket’s recent rally. Shareholder activism has come under scrutiny in the wake of a proposal by US hedge fund Elliott Management for BHP Billiton to undertake a major restructuring.

CORPORATES
CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, ELLIOTT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, ELLIOTT ASSOCIATES LP, PERPETUAL INVESTMENTS, JP MORGAN ASSET MANAGEMENT INCORPORATED, JANA PARTNERS LLC, AMERICAN WHOLE FOODS

Wall Street could stop ASX bull run

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Original article by Philip Baker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 11-Apr-17

The S&P/ASX 200’s rise above the 5,900-point level has prompted renewed speculation that it could test 6,000 points. However, the near-term outlook for the benchmark index will depend on the US earnings season, and data from Bloomberg shows that the number of companies that have provided earnings guidance in the last month has fallen to the lowest level since 1999. Meanwhile, borrowings costs may rise as offshore investors bail out of US treasuries and the Federal Reserve prepares to divest $US2.46trn worth of treasuries.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BLOOMBERG LP, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, THOMSON REUTERS PLC, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT

M&A seen as resilient to shocks

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 11-Apr-17

Data from Dealogic shows that $US11.9bn ($A15.9bn) worth of takeover bids for Australian companies were announced in the March 2017 quarter, which is 38 per cent lower year-on-year. Meanwhile, Deloitte has released a report which forecasts that global uncertainty will weigh upon mergers and acquisitions activity in 2017. However, the firm expects an upturn in M&A activity when the uncertainty abates. Timothy Mahapatra of Deloitte notes that deal-making is still a priority for many companies.

CORPORATES
DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, ALINTA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, CHOW TAI FOOK ENTERPRISES LIMITED, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX YAL, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Bond’s grandson bets big on future of cobalt

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 14-Mar-17

Terra Capital’s main resources fund delivered an annualised return of 21 per cent from its formation in 2010 up until 31 January 2017. The fund avoids large stocks like BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, preferring to focus on smaller stocks in the resources sector. Founder Jeremy Bond, who is a grandson of the late Alan Bond, says cobalt stocks have become part of its portfolio recently, due to cobalt being a major component of the type of batteries used in electric cars.

CORPORATES
TERRA CAPITAL PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 300 RESOURCES INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX SMALL RESOURCES INDEX, ECOBALT SOLUTIONS INCORPORATED, EQUATOR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX EQU, BATTERY MINERALS RESOURCES LIMITED

Pause ahead of next Fed rate decision

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Original article by Timothy Moore
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 13-Mar-17

The US Federal Reserve is widely tipped to increase official interest rates in the week beginning 13 March 2017, and sharemarket trading volumes are likely to be subdued ahead of the monetary policy meeting. Stronger-than-expected growth in US jobs in February will strengthen the case for a rate rise. In contrast, most economists expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to leave the cash rate on hold in 2017. Meanwhile, Capital Economics forecasts that the iron ore price will fall to around $US45 per tonne.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES, OANDA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

Earnings season shows bourse’s pillars are solid

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 31 : 16-Feb-17

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed above 5,800 points on 15 February 2017, bolstered by strong earnings results by a number of blue-chip stocks. The local bourse is now underperforming the US market by less than two per cent, recovering from a disappointing performance in January. The S&P/ASX 200 could test the 6,000-point level if the reporting season continues to deliver good results, and Richard Copple­son of Bell Potter still expects it to reach 6,300 points by the end of 2017.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, COMPUTERSHARE LIMITED – ASX CPU, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, CIMIC GROUP LIMITED – ASX CIM, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, PRIMARY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX PRY, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, BRAMBLES LIMITED – ASX BXB, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Betting on US stimulus could come back to bite

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 32 : 14-Feb-17

Sharemarkets have rallied in response to indications from US President Donald Trump of a major announcement on tax policy in coming weeks. Diana Mousina of AMP Capital warns that any move by the Trump administration to back away from its proposed tax cuts for companies and individuals would hit shares and US economic growth. However, an overly aggressive fiscal stimulus package would risk a spike in the inflation rate, which would most likely prompt a rise in interest rates. This in turn could derail the sharemarket rally.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, PERPETUAL INVESTMENTS, PACIFIC INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT COMPANY LLC