Rinehart aide ‘set to take Ten seat’

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 21 : 21-Oct-14

The stock of Ten Network on 20 October 2014 closed $A0.02 higher at $A0.22, on news of merger talks by the free-to-air TV group with Fairfax Media. The Hancock Prospecting vehicle of mining heiress Gina Rinehart owns stakes of 14.99% and 10% in Fairfax and Ten respectively. Her seat on the board of the latter may soon be transferred to her chief development officer, John Klepec. Rinehart is believed to be positively disposed toward a merger deal, despite doubts about Fairfax’s management capabilities in the TV sector

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CMC MARKETS PTY LTD

Tech funder on lookout for more start-ups

Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 21-Oct-14

OneVentures will soon start making new investments through its Innovation & Growth Fund II, having already invested $A60 million in technology start-ups. OneVentures MD Michelle Deaker hopes the fund will reach the level of $A100 million by the end of 2014 or in early 2015. The fund will split its investments between technology companies and life sciences groups

CORPORATES
ONEVENTURES PTY LTD, THE MYER FAMILY COMPANY PTY LTD, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, THE CARLYLE GROUP, CALEDONIA INVESTMENTS LIMITED, VAXXAS PTY LTD, AIRTREE VENTURES PTY LTD

Medibank sale to triple George Savvides’s pay with big bonuses

Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 21-Oct-14

Medibank Private MD George Savvides will receive a huge pay rise when the company floats on the Australian stock exchange on 25 November 2014. His remuneration will triple from $A1.2 million to $A3.99 million. Savvides’s contribution to the IPO will deliver a bonus of $A750,000 for him, which some analysts believe is excessive

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED, INSTITUTIONAL SHAREHOLDER SERVICES INCORPORATED, OWNERSHIP MATTERS PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AURIZON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX AZJ, NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC, SIGMA PHARMACEUTICALS LIMITED – ASX SIP

Sandfire wins recast of ‘incorrect’ profile

Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 20 : 17-Oct-14

The Australian National University (ANU) recently announced that it would divest the shares of seven resources groups, after concerns about them were raised by adviser Centre for Australian Ethical Research (CAER). Among those affected was Sandfire Resources, but CAER has now said it will edit its assessment of the miner after talks with MD Karl Simich. He says his business has been unfairly tarnished by being included on the list despite factual inaccuracies in CAER’s report. Simich stresses that he backs ANU’s right in principle to make its own investment decisions

CORPORATES
SANDFIRE RESOURCES NL – ASX SFR, CENTRE FOR AUSTRALIAN ETHICAL RESEARCH PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Rollercoaster spells correction

Original article by Michael Koziol
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 17-Oct-14

The US and European sharemarkets were heavily sold down on 16 October 2014. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 173 points lower, after shedding 368 points early in the trading session. Sharemarket indices in countries such as Germany, France, Spain and Japan have officially entered correction mode, having shed more than 10 per cent, while Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 has fallen by more than eight per cent in recent weeks

CORPORATES
DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, TOKYO STOCK PRICE INDEX, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, CAC 40 INDEX, NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX, PSI 20 INDEX, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Silicon Valley start-up surges on ASX debut

Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 & 32 : 16-Oct-14

Shares in online recruitment firm 1-Page closed at $A0.34 on 15 October 2014, capping a $A8.5m Australian sharemarket float for the US-based group. The stock was issued at $A0.20 apiece and listed at $A0.345. Amanda Moyes of ASX Limited says the sharemarket operator would like to see more US technology firms list on the local bourse. Australia’s R&D tax concessions regime contributed to 1-Page’s decision to list in Australia

CORPORATES
1-PAGE LIMITED – ASX 1PG, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, FOSTER STOCKBROKING PTY LTD, KTM CAPITAL PTY LTD, CYGNET CAPITAL PTY LTD, NASDAQ, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS, FRANCE TELECOM SA

Hard times loom for Future Fund

Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 21 : 16-Oct-14

David Neal, MD of the Future Fund, has unveiled a 2013-14 rate of return of 14.3% for the Australian Government’s civil service superannuation liabilities manager. This is up from the previous estimate of 13.9%, and follows a result of 15%-plus in 2012-13. However despite further growth of 2.9% in the first quarter of 2014-15, Neal warns that the performance will now level off due to the tapering of quantitative easing and rising interest rates in the US. This was backed by investment strategy and risk head Stephen Gilmore, while chief investment officer Raphael Arndt said the Future Fund may invest in infrastructure assets privatised by state governments

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Few shares spared as index heads to correction

Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 15-Oct-14

Bearish sentiment toward equities means that just 11 stocks in Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index have risen in the last six weeks. These include TPG Telecom, Qube Holdings, Recall Holdings and M2 Group. Some 40 per cent of ASX 200 stocks have fallen by more than 10 per cent since early September 2014, while the index itself has shed eight per cent over this period. CIMB’s Shane Lee says the sell-off means that some stocks may now offer good value to investors

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, QUBE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX QUB, RECALL HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX REC, M2 GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTU, CIMB SECURITIES INTERNATIONAL (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, RUSSELL INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, RESMED INCORPORATED – ASX RMD, SONIC HEALTHCARE LIMITED – ASX SHL, TOLL HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TOL, BRAMBLES LIMITED – ASX BXB, IINET LIMITED – ASX IIN, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH

RBA warns: share sell-off will be violent

Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 21 : 15-Oct-14

A Citi investment conference in Sydney on 14 October 2014 heard from Guy Debelle, head of financial markets at the Reserve Bank of Australia. He argued investors were showing irrational exuberance and were ignoring risk at their own peril. Debelle said the stock market volatility of recent weeks was coming unexpectedly late given factors such as rising geopolitical tensions, and an eventual selling of fixed-interest instruments globally would be "violent". He also noted that new regulations prompted by the global financial crisis had reduced the scope for liquidity

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, CHICAGO BOARD OPTIONS EXCHANGE VOLATILITY INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

After the wipeout, Great Southern investors stand to lose homes

Original article by Dennis Shanahan, Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 21 : 15-Oct-14

The Supreme Court of Victoria will in late October 2014 rule on whether a settlement can be ratified that will mean Bendigo & Adelaide Bank can bring bankruptcy proceedings against investment loan borrowers. The about 47,000 customers had bought into the rural managed investment schemes of Great Southern between 2005 and 2008, and owe some $A398m. They will also claw back less than $A16 for every $A10,000 they lost in the collapse. Law firm MacPherson & Kelley, representing the investors, will gain close to $A20m

CORPORATES
BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN, GREAT SOUTHERN LIMITED, MACPHERSON AND KELLEY LAWYERS PTY LTD, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA, TIMBERCORP LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION