K64 Auxiliary Finance and Insurance Services

Local investors get behind BHP demerger

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 19-Mar-15

BHP Billiton will incur total costs of $US738m ($A966m) in demerging non-core assets into the South32 entity. Tim Schroeders of Pengana Capital says the costs are higher than anticipated, while Argo Investments’ Jason Beddow says investors are likely to seek information from BHP on the likely productivity gains arising from the demerger. Both fund managers say that as yet there are no compelling reasons to vote against the deal on 6 May 2015

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SOUTH32 LIMITED, PENGANA CAPITAL LIMITED, ARGO INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX ARG, ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, BERNSTEIN AND ASSOCIATES, GLENCORE PLC, X2 RESOURCES PARTNERS LP, WARBURG PINCUS AND COMPANY

Insider trader gets seven years’ jail

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 18-Mar-15

The Supreme Court of Victoria has jailed two men on insider trading charges. Lukas Kamay will be eligible for parole after serving four and a half years in jail, while Christopher Hill can apply for parole after two years. Kamay was working as a foreign exchange trader at National Australia Bank when the illegal bets on the Australian dollar were made during 2013 and 2014. Kamay was also jailed on money laundering and identity theft offences

CORPORATES
SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, MONASH UNIVERSITY, VICTORIA. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS, AXICORP PTY LTD, PEPPERSTONE FINANCIAL PTY LTD

Ethical funds make most of mining’s woes

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 18-Mar-15

Data from Mercer shows that Australian fund managers with a focus on socially responsible investing achieved a return of 13 per cent in the three months to 28 February 2015. Such funds also delivered a return of 17.3 per cent year-on-year. The Integrity Tailored ESG Fund topped the performance table for the quarter, while the Warakirri Charitable Australian Equities Fund boasted the best return over 12 months

CORPORATES
MERCER INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, INTEGRITY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WARAKIRRI ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, BENNELONG FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, DALTON NICOL REID PTY LTD, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, RESMED INCORPORATED – ASX RMD, REGIS HEALTHCARE LIMITED – ASX REG, SONIC HEALTHCARE LIMITED – ASX SHL, ESTIA HEALTH LIMITED – ASX EHE

KKR snares GE Capital arm for $8.2b

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Original article by Sarah Thompson, Sally Patten, Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 16-Mar-15

The Australasian consumer finance division of GE Capital will be sold to KKR & Company, Deutsche Bank and Varde Partners. The consortium will pay $A8.2bn for the business, whose operations include credit cards, personal loans and sales finance. The KKR-led consortium was one of four groups that made binding bids for the business, which GE put on the market in late 2014

CORPORATES
GE CAPITAL CORPORATION, KKR AND COMPANY LP, KOHLBERG KRAVIS ROBERTS AND COMPANY, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, VARDE PARTNERS INCORPORATED, TPG CAPITAL LP, ONTARIO TEACHERS’ PENSION PLAN, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, THE BLACKSTONE GROUP LP, LIBERTY FINANCIAL PTY LTD, GOVERNMENT OF SINGAPORE INVESTMENT CORPORATION PTE LTD, APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT LLC, JC FLOWERS AND COMPANY LLC, PEPPER AUSTRALIA, QATAR INVESTMENT AUTHORITY, CREDIT SUISSE AG, MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, MERRILL LYNCH AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, MOELIS AND COMPANY

Chi-X calls for share clearing split

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Original article by Shaun Drummond
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 16-Mar-15

Submissions on the Council of Financial Regulators review of ASX Limited’s monopoly on equities clearing must be lodged by 27 March 2015. John Fildes, the CEO of rival stock exchange operator Chi-X Australia, argues that the ASX Clear business should be subject to formal separation from ASX Limited or internal separation to ensure independent access to equities clearing. Fildes acknowledges that the domestic market is too small to justify introducing competition in the sector

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, CHI-X AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, COUNCIL OF FINANCIAL REGULATORS, LCH.CLEARNET SA, ASX CLEAR

IPO wave may not be sustainable

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Original article by Larissa Nicholson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 13-Mar-15

Seven companies debuted on the Australian sharemarket during the first two months of 2015. Deloitte’s Ian Turner notes that these stocks have collectively gained 23 per cent since their IPOs. The market boasted a total of 74 IPOs in 2014, which raised a combined $A26bn. Turner cautions that the IPO market may not match this performance in 2015, noting that the float market had been subdued prior to 2014

CORPORATES
DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, APPEN LIMITED – ASX APX, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO

IFM snares US tollroad for $10b

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Original article by Jenny Wiggins, Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 20 : 13-Mar-15

IFM Investors CEO Brett Himbury has described the Indiana Toll Road in the US as a "fantastic investment" for the group. He is upbeat about the outlook for the US economy, and notes that the 253km toll road’s revenue is likely to remain strong regardless of the strength of the economic recovery. IFM has paid $US7.5bn ($A10bn) for a 66-year lease to operate the toll road, which was placed into bankruptcy in 2014

CORPORATES
IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD, INDIANA TOLL ROAD CONCESSION COMPANY, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, CINTRA CONCESIONES DE INFRAESTRUCTURAS DE TRANSPORTE SA, GRUPO FERROVIAL SA, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL, CANADA PENSION PLAN INVESTMENT BOARD, ONTARIO TEACHERS’ PENSION PLAN, ABERTIS INFRAESTRUCTURAS SA, BOREALIS INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT INCORPORATED, QUEENSLAND MOTORWAYS LIMITED

Lower test will add fuel to the fire for shareholder class actions

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Original article by John Emmering, Michael Legg
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 13-Mar-15

In most cases, shareholder class actions in Australia are based on alleging causation between losses incurred by shareholders and directors’ behaviour. Until now, Australian courts have required proof of individualised reliance. The Federal Court’s observations in the case against Babcock & Brown directors are likely to stimulate discussion of causality in class actions

CORPORATES
BABCOCK AND BROWN LIMITED, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, DOWNER EDI LIMITED – ASX DOW, ARASOR CORPORATION, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, JONES DAY

NAB leads $8b mortgage bond rush as investor demand builds

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 13-Mar-15

There has been a spike in activity in Australia’s residential mortgage-backed securities market in 2015, with issuance in the year to date topping $A8.2bn. This compares with just $A4.8bn during the same period in 2014. National Australia Bank is the latest player to venture into the securitisation market, issuing $A1.75bn worth of such securities with a triple-A rating

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, RESIMAC LIMITED, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, CREDIT UNION AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED

Good value still out there for the willing

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 12-Mar-15

There has been strong demand for corporate bonds among yield-seeking investors in recent years. Craig MacDonald of Standard Life says long-term, lower-rated corporate bonds still offer value for investors, and he is actively seeking to invest in such assets. However, he favours cash holdings at present rather than short-term bonds. MacDonald adds that Standard Life’s corporate bond fund is likely to achieve a lower return in 2015 than in 2014

CORPORATES
STANDARD LIFE PLC, CEMEX SA