K64 Auxiliary Finance and Insurance Services

Blue sky for miners, banks tipped in year ahead

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 18 : 23-Dec-16

The S&P/ASX 200 share index rose 0.5 per cent to 5,643.9 points on 22 December 2016. T Rowe Price head of Australian equities Randal Jenneke is optimistic about the stockmarket’s future performance. He expects the S&P/ASX 200 to rise as much as eight per cent by mid-2016. Mining and finance stocks are likely to perform strongly while "defensive yield" stocks will underperform.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, T ROWE PRICE GROUP INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Westpac subsidiary taken to court on super advice

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Lucy Battersby
The Age – Page: 19 : 23-Dec-16

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has launched legal action against Westpac Securities Administration Limited (WSAL) and BT Funds Management (BTFM). ASIC alleges in documents filed with the Federal Court’s New South Wales registry on 21 December 2016 that WSAL and BTFM breached the "best interests duty" regulations on 15 occasions during a sales campaign promoting superannuation products.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, WESTPAC SECURITISIES ADMINISTRATION LIMITED, BT FUNDS MANAGEMENT

Shake-up in offing after response to ASX outage

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Daniel Palmer
The Australian – Page: 13 & 18 : 22-Dec-16

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has released its final report on a review of the ASX’s computer system failure on 19 September 2016. Amongst other things, ASIC has questioned the ASX’s decision to put the market on "enquire" mode rather than respond to a request from rival stock exchange operator Chi-X to shift it to "adjust" mode. ASX MD Dom­inic Stevens says ASIC’s recommendations are being considered and some actions have already been taken in response to the outage.

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, CHI-X AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Bulls prevail in new yearly high

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Daniel Palmer
The Australian – Page: 18 : 22-Dec-16

The Australian sharemarket posted solid gains on 21 December 2016, with the S&P/ASX 200 adding 22.4 points to close at 5,613.5. BHP Billiton was one per cent higher at $A25.17 and Woodside Petroleum advanced 0.3 per cent to end the session at $A31.04. However, the Commonwealth Bank was 0.2 per cent lower at $A82.09 and Slater & Gordon shed 7.5 per cent to finish at $A0.24.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, THE A2 MILK COMPANY LIMITED – ASX A2M, BELLAMY’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX BAL, IG MARKETS LIMITED, CMC MARKETS PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX

Buoyant stocks at high for the year

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Rogers, Chris Kohler
The Australian – Page: 13 & 18 : 21-Dec-16

The Australian sharemarket posted solid gains on 20 December 2016, with the S&P/ASX 200 adding 0.5 per cent to close at 5,591.1. The benchmark index has risen by 5.6 per cent so far in 2016, and it may be poised for its best performance in a calendar year since 2013. Credit Suisse expects the S&P/ASX 200 to top 6,000 points by the end of 2017. The firm also forecasts that Australian bond yields will rise further.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, ESTIA HEALTH LIMITED – ASX EHE, SIRTEX MEDICAL LIMITED – ASX SRX, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BLOOMBERG LP, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL, SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD

Charter Hall Retail REIT portfolio grows by $130m

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 20-Dec-16

Charter Hall Retail REIT has reported that the value of its property portfolio increased by $A130 million, or 5.2 per cent, to $A2.695 billion. The portfolio weighted average capitalisation rate rose by 29 basis points to 6.71 per cent, from 6.42 per cent. Shopping Centres Australasia Property Group reported in mid-December 2016 that the value of its property portfolio increased by $A169.1 million. The total portfolio capitalisation rate improved by 51 basis points to 6.62 per cent.

CORPORATES
CHARTER HALL RETAIL REIT – ASX CQR, SHOPPING CENTRES AUSTRALASIA PROPERTY GROUP – ASX SCP

ASX, dollar shrug off budget update

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Zac Crellin, Jens Meyer, Patrick Commins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 20-Dec-16

Figures in the Federal Government’s Mid-year Economic and Fiscal Outlook on 19 December 2016 made a positive impression on investors. The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 29 points higher at 5,562 points on the same day while the All Ordinaries index rose 23 points to 5,612. The Australian dollar traded at $US0.729 in late trade. Shares in Seven West Media fell eight per cent, after revelations that CEO Tim Worner and a former executive assistant had a sexual relationship.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SYRAH RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX SYR, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Super funds’ safe harbour ‘extraordinary’

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sally Patten
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 20-Dec-16

The Federal Government has proposed to protect superannuation funds from legal challenges when fund members claim that the fund did not meet their fiduciary duties. The intention of the Government is to encourage funds to offer more comprehensive retirement income products (CIPRs). Michelle Levy, a partner at law firm Allens, says it would be inappropriate to offer a safe harbour solely for CIPRs.

CORPORATES
ALLENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

IPO pipeline could start to run dry next year

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sally Patten, Joyce Moullakis, Jessica Sier
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 17 : 19-Dec-16

Fund managers are bearish about the outlook for Australia’s IPO market in 2017. Data from Dealogic shows that a total of $US4.3bn was raised via IPOs in 2016, compared with $US5.6bn in 2015. Wilson Asset Management’s Chris Stott notes that many IPOs in the second half of 2016 have underperformed, which he says reflects a decline in the quality of companies that are listing. Kogan.com and Inghams are among the IPOs that have underperformed. In contrast, Afterpay has gained around 180 per cent since its sharemarket debut in May.

CORPORATES
DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, KOGAN.COM LIMITED – ASX KGN, INGHAMS GROUP LIMITED – ASX ING, PROPERTYLINK GROUP LIMITED – ASX PLG, REDBUBBLE LIMITED – ASX RBL, SILVER HERITAGE GROUP LIMITED – ASX SVH, AFTERPAY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX AFY, WELLARD LIMITED – ASX WLD, BAKER AND McKENZIE, TPG CAPITAL LP, CYAN INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FORAGER FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

M&A in 2017: All about break-ups, bear hugs and mining

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 21 : 16-Dec-16

Data from Dealogic shows that the total value of announced mergers and acquisitions in Australia has topped $US97bn ($A129bn) in 2016, compared with $US93.7bn in 2015. The total value of completed deals has fallen from $US92.7bn to $US82.9bn. Meanwhile, Simon Haddy and Tony Damian of law firm Herbert Smith Freehills expect more large-scale M&A deals in 2017 and strong takeover activity in the resources sector. They also forcast that North American suitors in particular will be active in the Australian market, and expect there to be more emphasis on consortium bids with a view to breaking up companies.

CORPORATES
DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD, TATTS GROUP LIMITED – ASX TTS, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, KKR AND COMPANY LP, NORTH HAVEN INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERS, JP MORGAN AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, FIRST STATE SUPER, APN OUTDOOR GROUP LIMITED – ASX APO, OOH!MEDIA LIMITED – ASX OML, BAIN CAPITAL LLC, CAMP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSGRID PTY LTD, PORT OF MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, AUSTRALIA. TAKEOVERS PANEL