K64 Auxiliary Finance and Insurance Services

Morrison declares open season on ASX

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 44 : 31-Mar-16

Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison announced on 30 March 2016 that ASX Limited will no longer have a monopoly on clearing and settlement activities. Elmer Funke Kupper’s recent resignation as CEO of the stock exchange operator makes it ill-prepared for the coming changes. Morrison said no licences will be granted during a transition period. The ASX has therefore 18 months to prepare itself for a new regulatory regime.

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, CHI-X AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, COUNCIL OF FINANCIAL REGULATORS, CONTANGO ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE, DEUTSCHE BOERSE, SOCIETE GENERALE SA, UNICREDIT SPA, CHICAGO MERCANTILE EXCHANGE, INTERCONTINENTAL EXCHANGE, SINGAPORE EXCHANGE LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, LONDON CLEARING HOUSE

Investors to get $9b dividend bonanza

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 31-Mar-16

Australian companies are expected to pay shareholders around $A19bn in interim dividends during March and April 2016. Fund managers estimate that almost $A9bn worth of dividends will be paid in the final week of March, including some $A3.4bn worth of dividends from the Commonwealth Bank. Meanwhile, CommSec’s Craig James warns that the current dividend payout ratio of 106.3 per cent of profits is not sustainable. Many shareholders are expected to reinvest their dividends in equities, particularly given the low returns from assets such as bonds.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, PLATYPUS ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Dividend lure keeps capex hungry

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 30-Mar-16

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 boasts a dividend yield of 4.98 per cent at present, and it is tipped to be 4.66 per cent for the 2016 calendar year. Yield-hungry investors continue to shun bonds in favour of equities, and Citigroup has suggested that this focus on yield is deterring companies from increasing their capital expenditure. Australian companies anticipate capex of $A124bn in 2015-16, and $A82.6bn in 2016-17.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, UBS GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

‘It’s not right, it’s unfair, it’s trial by media,’ says ASX CEO

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Original article by Perry Williams, Tony Boyd
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 22-Mar-16

ASX Limited chairman Rick Holliday-Smith will become acting CEO of the stock exchange operator following the resignation of Elmer Funke Kupper, who has been CEO for more than four years. Funke Kupper says he stepped down to protect the company’s integrity, adding that his priority is the Australian Federal Police’s investigation into allegations of corruption at Tabcorp when he was CEO. Funke Kupper has stressed that he has not been told that he is personally under investigation.

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, CAMBODIA. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, McKINSEY AND COMPANY, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Markets not worried about an early election

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Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 22-Mar-16

Matt Sherwood of Perpetual does not expect the 2016 federal election to have much impact on the Australian sharemarket. He adds that policies such as high taxes and high government spending are likely to have the biggest adverse effect on the market. Meanwhile, David Bassanese of BetaShares says the construction sector will benefit if the Federal Government succeeds in its bid to increase regulation of the industry, while the housing sector will face a less severe crackdown on negative gearing if it is returned to office.

CORPORATES
PERPETUAL INVESTMENTS, BETASHARES CAPITAL LIMITED, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, MONADELPHOUS GROUP LIMITED – ASX MND, MIRVAC GROUP – ASX MGR, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Myer leads ASX rally along with miners

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Original article by Jens Meyer
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 18-Mar-16

The S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed one per cent to 5,168.2 points on 17 March 2016. Investor sentiment was positively influenced by higher commodity prices and the decision of the US Federal Reserve to leave interest rates unchanged. Big mining companies recorded significant gains, with Fortescue rising nine per cent to $A2.65, BHP Billiton gaining 2.4 per cent to $A17.29 and Rio Tinto adding 2.4 per cent to $A43.73.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, NIKKEI 225 INDEX, HANG SENG INDEX, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, QUBE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX QUB, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, EVOLUTION MINING LIMITED – ASX EVN, OROTONGROUP LIMITED – ASX ORL, ASCIANO LIMITED – ASX AIO, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

Deutsche tips value stocks to outperform

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Original article by Jessica Sier
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 15-Mar-16

Australian equities with high price-earnings ratios have significantly outperformed the broader sharemarket in the last several years. However, Deutsche Bank says investors should consider buying into value stocks, forecasting that they are set to deliver the best returns. Deutsche Bank favours stocks such as Boral, Harvey Norman, Flight Centre Travel Group and AGL Energy.

CORPORATES
DEUTSCHE BANK AG, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, FORAGER FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, COCHLEAR LIMITED – ASX COH, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC

Aussie tests US76c as central banks ponder

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 14-Mar-16

Market watchers expect Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 to gain 0.8 per cent when trading resumes on 14 March 2016. The market is likely to benefit from a positive lead from overseas bourses and encouraging economic data from China. Investors will also be awaiting the outcome of the monetary policy meetings of the US and Japanese central banks in coming days, as well as the release of the latest jobs data in Australia.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, BANK OF JAPAN, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, EURO STOXX 50 INDEX, ROUBINI GLOBAL ECONOMICS LLC, PEOPLE’S BANK OF CHINA, BLOOMBERG LP

Investors advised to widen stocks horizons

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 4-Mar-16

The Australian sharemarket has shed five per cent so far in 2016, with the market volatility adversely affecting exchange-traded funds in particular. However, experts say investors who use an active investment strategy can diversify their portfolios by gaining exposure to passive investment options such as exchange-traded funds. The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF has delivered the best performance among such funds in the year-to-date.

CORPORATES
MARKET VECTORS GOLD MINERS ETF – ASX GDX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 300 INDEX, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD, BETASHARES CAPITAL LIMITED, ISHARES INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, BETASHARES AUSTRALIAN EQUITIES STRONGBEARHEDGEFUND – ASX BBO, MARKET VECTORS CHINAMC A-SHARE ETF – ASX CET, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, PROTEGE FUNDS LLC, VANGUARD S&P 500 ADMIRAL INDEX FUND

Super funds push for more ESG disclosure

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Original article by Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 3-Mar-16

Australian-listed companies are under pressure to report more thoroughly their environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices. On 2 March 2016, the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) and the Financial Services Council launched a new guide on corporate disclosure of ESG information to shareholders. Research by ACSI suggests that the ESG disclosure practices of ASX 200 companies are inadequate.

CORPORATES
FINANCIAL SERVICES COUNCIL, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SUPERANNUATION INVESTORS INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ