K64 Auxiliary Finance and Insurance Services

Fewer, bigger trades block HFT growth

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 15 : 12-Jan-15

Australian stock exchange operator ASX has issued its trading data for December 2014, showing the first drop in the number of equity trades during a half-year since 2001. At the same time, the average value of each transaction rose 4% to $A5,663, bucking a trend caused mainly by the rise of automated high-frequency trading (HFT). Matt Williams, equities head at the Perpetual fund management firm that is the largest individual investor in ASX, says it appears that HFT is finding its "natural level". In Australia it accounts for just over a third of all trades, compared with twice that ratio in the US

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

ANZ backs exam for financial advisers

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Original article by Joanna Mather, Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 12-Jan-15

The ANZ Bank’s submission to a Senate inquiry has supported a proposal to subject financial planners to an annual exam of their skills and knowledge. The bank’s submission cites a US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority exam as a model that could be considered in Australia. Centrepoint Alliance and Choice are among the other organisations that support exams for financial planners, although the Financial Planning Association does not

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN CONSUMERS’ ASSOCIATION, CENTREPOINT ALLIANCE LIMITED – ASX CAF, FINANCIAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, MACQUARIE PRIVATE WEALTH MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

AMP strategist says crude likely to hit $US40 before any recovery

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 22 : 9-Jan-15

The crude oil price is currently trading at about $US50 a barrel, but AMP Capital’s Shane Oliver says production is unlikely to be reduced until it falls to around $US40. He adds that historical analysis shows that any resulting rebound in the oil price is likely to occur gradually. Meanwhile, Oliver says investors should capitalise on any downturn in share prices as a result of the falling oil price

CORPORATES
AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, KAROON GAS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX KAR, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AWE LIMITED – ASX AWE, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, SENEX ENERGY LIMITED – ASX SXY

Watchdog to beef up markets surveillance

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 18 : 8-Jan-15

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) in late 2013 launched its market analysis intelligence system, used to monitor the securities sector for insider trading and other misconduct. The cost of $A44m will now be added to with up to $A4m per annum until 2019, to enable ASIC to also crack down on problems in the areas of equity derivatives and contracts for difference. However interest rate, commodities, foreign exchange and credit derivatives traded over-the-counter will not be covered

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, NICK XENOPHON GROUP

Provident ‘the fault of trustees’

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Original article by Kylar Loussikian
The Australian – Page: 17 : 8-Jan-15

A class action suit is being launched by law firm Slater & Gordon on behalf of investors who lost funds in the mid-2012 collapse of Provident Capital. It will be alleged that Australian Executor Trustees was not diligent enough in its supervision of the debentures business, and should have realised in late 2010 that were insufficient reserves to secure the loans written by Provident. The equity ratio in 2008-09 was just 6.43%, compared with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission’s stipulated minimum of 20%

CORPORATES
SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH, PROVIDENT CAPITAL LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN EXECUTOR TRUSTEES LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL RESERVE LIMITED, FINCORP PTY LTD, MERIDIAN LAWYERS LIMITED

Spooked investors see local bond yields drop to record lows

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Original article by Mark Mulligan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 24 : 8-Jan-15

The yield on 10-year Australian government bonds reached a record low of 2.65 per cent on 7 January 2015. Bond yields in Europe and the US have also fallen sharply amid a growing trend for investors to shun equities in favour of assets that offer lower risk. Charlie Jamieson of Jamieson Coote Bonds notes that Australian bonds remain appealing to global investors due to a relatively high yield and their "AAA" credit rating

CORPORATES
JAMIESONCOOTEBONDS PTY LTD, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, ARDEA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FIDELITY WORLDWIDE INVESTMENT, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, CREDIT SUISSE AG

Medibank on the way to $3

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Original article by Jessica Gardner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 7-Jan-15

The shares of Medibank Private on 6 January 2015 closed 1.7% lower at $A2.35. The health insurer was recently floated with an issue price of $A2.15 for institutional investors and $A2 for small retail ones. Most analysts have placed negative or neutral recommendations on the stock, and the consensus price target is $A2.30. However Tim Lawson of Macquarie Bank is more bullish with $A2.62 and a "buy" rating, while Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Toby Langley also recommends accumulating the stock and predicts it to reach $A3

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED – ASX MBL, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN

M&A deals to outpace IPOs in 2015

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 20 : 6-Jan-15

Australia boasted more than $US16.21bn ($A20bn) worth of IPOs in 2014. Data from Dealogic shows that Macquarie Group handled some $US4.169bn worth of IPOs, ahead of UBS with $US2.52bn. Medibank Private dominated IPO activity in 2014, and Hugh Falcon of Macquarie expects float activity to be strong again in 2015. Simon Cox of UBS forecasts that investors will be more selective about the IPOs they back in 2015

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO, SPOTLESS GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SPO, GENESIS ENERGY LIMITED – ASX GNE, ESTIA HEALTH LIMITED – ASX EHE, ASALEO CARE LIMITED – ASX AHY, GENWORTH MORTGAGE INSURANCE AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX GMA, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL

Rio Tinto primed for $5b buyback

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 5-Jan-15

Credit Suisse’s Paul McTaggart suggests that Rio Tinto may pursue an on-market share buyback worth up to $US4bn ($A5bn). He says the resources group could potentially reveal plans for a buyback in February 2015, while Glyn Lawcock of UBS believes that any such buyback will be worth between $US2bn and $US3bn. Both mining analysts also expect Rio Tinto to increase its underlying dividend. The dividend payout ratio was 35 per cent in calendar 2013

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, GLENCORE PLC, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY AND SCIENCE

Who’ll pick next year’s best stocks: fundies or brokers?

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Original article by Bianca Hartge-Hazelman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 19-Dec-14

Fund managers and stockbrokers have issued lists of the most promising stocks among Australian-listed companies. The most popular is Aurizon. It appears on many lists of the best shares. Fund managers avoid consumer stocks such as Flight Centre Travel, Myer Holdings, JB Hi-Fi, Metcash and Harvey Norman. Stockbrokers expect a rebound in mining stocks such as Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Iluka Resources and Oil Search

CORPORATES
AURIZON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX AZJ, CHANT WEST FINANCIAL SERVICES PTY LTD, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, ARISTOCRAT LEISURE LIMITED – ASX ALL, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, ILUKA RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX ILU, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED