K64 Auxiliary Finance and Insurance Services

Commentators look forward as ASX 200 flirts with 6000

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Original article by John Wasiliev
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 24-Mar-15

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index continued to test the 6,000-point level again on 23 March 2015. Ric Spooner of CMC markets expects it to rise above 6,000 points in the near-term, adding that if the benchmark index finds support above this level it could potentially rise to around 6,180. Meanwhile, ThinkForex’s Matt Simpsons says the Australian dollar is likely to trade within the range of $US0.755 to $US0.7912 in the near-term

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CMC MARKETS PTY LTD, THINKFOREX, IG MARKETS LIMITED, OANDA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, RESMED INCORPORATED – ASX RMD, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, QUAY EQUITIES PTY LTD, HC SECURITIES

Debt markets may also move to T+2 settlements

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 24-Mar-15

An ASX working party has proposed shifting to a two-day settlement cycle for cash-based share trades from 7 March 2016, in line with European bourses. New Zealand may also adopt the so-called T+2 settlement cycle in 2016, as many stocks are listed in both Australia and New Zealand. Australian debt markets may also adopt T+2 in 2016

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL MARKETS ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, OMGEO PTY LTD

Murdoch eyes radio assets in APN play

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Original article by Dominic White, Sarah Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 20-Mar-15

Independent News & Media (INM) and Baycliffe have exited the share register of Australian-listed APN News & Media. INM netted about $A180m for its 191 million shares, while Baycliffe offloaded 125 million shares for $A117m. Meanwhile, News Corporation has built a 14.99 per cent stake in APN, although under existing media ownership laws it is prohibited from increasing this. APN shares were placed in a trading halt at $A0.94 on 19 March 2015

CORPORATES
APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, INDEPENDENT NEWS AND MEDIA PLC, BAYCLIFFE LIMITED, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NOVA ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, KIIS1065, AUSTRALIAN RADIO NETWORK PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, 101.7 WS-FM, NOVA 96.9 PTY LTD, SMOOTHFM, 2DAY FM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NZME, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Boral launches $236m program to buy back shares

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Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 19-Mar-15

Australian-listed building materials group Boral has revealed plans for an on-market share buyback. The group aims to repurchase about five per cent of its shares over the next year, which could cost up to $A236m. Boral boasted cash holding of $A357m at the end of 2014, and Andrew Peros of Credit Suisse says the buyback will place the group in a strong financial position to pursue acquisitions

CORPORATES
BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, ORICA LIMITED – ASX ORI, AMCOR LIMITED – ASX AMC, USG CORPORATION, TRANSPACIFIC INDUSTRIES GROUP LIMITED – ASX TPI

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

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