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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

US concerns spark global retreat

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Original article by Chris Kohler
The Australian – Page: 28 : 1-Feb-17

The Australian sharemarket retreated on 31 January 2017, with the S&P/ASX 200 shedding 0.7 per cent to close at 5,620. BHP Billiton was 2.63 per cent lower at $A26.64, Westpac eased 0.94 per cent to finish at $A31.71 and Virtus Health was down 17.7 per cent at $A5.11. However, Fortescue Metals Group advanced 2.8 per cent to end the session at $A6.66.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, VIRTUS HEALTH LIMITED – ASX VRT, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NAVITAS LIMITED – ASX NVT, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, ILUKA RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX ILU, CMC MARKETS PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Leaks on M&A deals on rise despite increased crackdown by regulators

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Original article by Michael Bennet
The Australian – Page: 14 : 19-Jan-17

A report from Intralinks shows that three per cent of Australian mergers and acquisition deals were leaked prior to an official announcement in 2015, compared with two per cent in 2014. Globally, the proportion of leaked deals rose from six per cent to 8.6 per cent in 2015. The report also notes that leaks resulted in a global median takeover premium of 53 per cent for target companies, compared with a premium of just 24 per cent for deals that were not leaked. Australia ranks among the three nations with the lowest level of M&A leaks, according to Intralinks.

CORPORATES
INTRALINKS INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

For markets, the devil was in the lack of detail

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 29 : 13-Jan-17

Ewa Turek of Morgan Stanley notes that the first press conference of US president-elect Donald Trump offered few details of the policies he will prioritise after taking office. US markets posted modest gains in response to the press conference, while the Australian market dipped slightly. Garry Laurence of Perpetual adds that investors are waiting for more details of Trump’s policies, as well as guidance regarding the outlook for US interest rates.

CORPORATES
MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, WINGATE ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY WEALTH MANAGEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

Key predictor levels to keep a wary eye on

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

There are a number of market thresholds that Australian investors should take into account when determining their portfolio strategy for 2017. These include the 20,000-point level for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and 6,000 points for Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200, parity between the US dollar and the euro, $US60 a barrel for crude oil and a US bond yield of 2.6 per cent.

CORPORATES
DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, DOUBLELINE CAPITAL LP, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES, THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED, MICROSOFT CORPORATION, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, McDONALD’S CORPORATION