Markets not worried about an early election

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASX200 payout slide set to dwarf counterparts

Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 1-Mar-16

A number of companies in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 have increased their dividends in 2015-16, despite the financial market volatility. However, Hasan Tevfik of Credit Suisse expects the combined dividend payout of S&P/ASX 200 companies to fall from $A79bn in 2014-15 to just $A73bn. Meanwhile, the total capital returned to shareholders will be boosted by share buybacks.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Days of continuous dividend growth over

Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 26-Feb-16

Australia’s top 200 stocks have recorded stronger growth in dividends per share than earnings per share in the last few years, but fiscal 2016 seems likely to see the situation reversed. Analysts attribute this to factors such as the abolition of the progressive dividend policies of both BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, and expectations that the major banks’ dividend will be broadly in line with their previous payouts.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEXBHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHPRIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIOCOMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBAWESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBCNATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NABAUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZCITIGROUP PTY LTDGOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTDHENDERSON GLOBAL INVESTORS LIMITED

Resources uncertainty keeps ASX below 5000

Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 25-Feb-16

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index has failed to remain above the 5,000-point level so far in February 2016. The local market has been weighed down by continued weakness in the resources sector, while Julian Beaumont of Bennelong Australian Equity Partners adds that the market is likely to remain range-bound until concerns about the banking sector are alleviated. Meanwhile, Marcus Padley says any market rebound will be driven by an upturn in commodity prices.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BENNELONG AUSTRALIAN EQUITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, PENGANA GLOBAL RESOURCES FUND, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

Private equity floats lag for second year

Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 23-Feb-16

New figures show that Australian IPOs in 2015 that were backed by private equity firms delivered an average return of 13.1 per cent. In contrast, the average return of IPOs that had no private equity involvement was 19.3 per cent. Private equity-backed IPOs have not outperformed since 2013, when they achieved an average return of 19.6 per cent. However, they have comfortably exceeded the performance of non-private equity IPOs over a three-year period.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRIVATE EQUITY AND VENTURE CAPITAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, NM ROTHSCHILD AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, GATEWAY LIFESTYLE – ASX GTY, CBL CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX CBL, BESTON GLOBAL FOOD COMPANY LIMITED – ASX BFC, PEPPER GROUP LIMITED – ASX PEP, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, DICK SMITH HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX DSH, ECLIPX GROUP LIMITED – ASX ECX, ANCHORAGE CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, McALEESE LIMITED – ASX MCS