K64 Auxiliary Finance and Insurance Services

CBA enlists heavyweights for compo panel

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 16 : 25-Aug-14

Following a scandal over improper advice by its financial planning arm, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has formed an Independent Review Panel for the Open Advice Review Program meant to compensate affected customers. Some 400,000 clients of Commonwealth Financial Planning and Financial Wisdom from 2003 to 2012 will benefit. CBA has sought the services of a number of class action law firms on the issue, appointed ex- judges Geoffrey ­Davies and Julie Dodds-Streeton to the panel, and recruited US-based Promontory Financial Group to monitor internal processes at the bank

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, COMMONWEALTH FINANCIAL PLANNING LIMITED, FINANCIAL WISDOM LIMITED, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, McGRATH NICOL AND PARTNERS SERVICES PTY LTD, COURT OF APPEAL (QUEENSLAND), SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, LAW COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, PROMONTORY FINANCIAL GROUP LLC, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, MACQUARIE PRIVATE WEALTH MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, QUEENSLAND. PUBLIC HOSPITALS COMMISSION OF INQUIRY, QUEENSLAND. LITIGATION REFORM COMMISSION

BHP says cash returns on horizon

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 17 : 22-Aug-14

Stockholders of BHP Billiton were unhappy that the 2013-14 results presentation and announcement of a new standalone entity to house non-core operations were not accompanied by news of a stock repurchasing scheme. It had been tipped to be worth between $US3bn and $US5bn ($A3.2bn to $A5.4bn), and on 21 August 2014 the stock fell a further $A0.10 to close at $A38.03. CEO Andrew Mackenzie concedes that the dividend lift of just $US0.05 to $US1.12 would have been disappointing for many, but says the group will return more capital to investors in the medium-term future

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

Cyclical stocks could win favour as interest rates rise

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 22-Aug-14

There is general consensus among economists that the Reserve Bank of Australia will eventually begin to tighten monetary policy. Graham Harman of Russell Investments notes that cyclical stocks in particular tend to benefit from an increase in interest rates. However, David Sokulsky of UBS says historical analysis shows that stocks such as infrastructure, banks and utilities have been adversely affected by a rise in interest rates

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, RUSSELL INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Forecasts dip as economy slackens

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Original article by Bianca Hartge-Hazelman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 20-Aug-14

The Australian sharemarket has gained 3.5 per cent so far in 2014, although it has risen by 27 per cent in the last two years. Tony Brennan of Citigroup forecasts that the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index will end the year at 5,750 points. However, he warns that the market has lowered earnings expectations for 2014-15 by 0.5 per cent so far, and this could be scaled back further

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, ARNHEM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, COMPUTERSHARE LIMITED – ASX CPU, JAMES HARDIE INDUSTRIES PLC – ASX JHX, BLOOMBERG LP, LEUTHOLD GROUP LLC, BARCLAYS BANK PLC, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOWNER EDI LIMITED – ASX DOW, LEIGHTON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LEI

Hoyts Group plans roadshow to market $900m float

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Original article by Sarah Thompson, Jake Mitchell, Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 36 : 18-Aug-14

Pacific Equity Partners will undertake an overseas roadshow to promote the proposed sharemarket float of Hoyts Group. The private equity firm paid $A440m for the cinema group in late 2007, and the IPO is expected to be worth between $A800m and $A900m. Hoyts operates 44 cinema complexes, while it also owns a DVD distribution business and the Val Morgan cinema advertising business

CORPORATES
HOYTS CINEMAS LIMITED, PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, VAL MORGAN AND COMPANY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, CINIPLEX, VILLAGE ROADSHOW LIMITED – ASX VRL, AMALGAMATED HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX AHD, DALIAN WANDA GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

ATO freezes assets of Perth investor

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Original article by Sarah Danckert
The Australian – Page: 17 : 18-Aug-14

The directors of Swiss entity Growth Investment Fund have been ordered by the Federal Court of Australia to comply with an assets freeze order sought by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). The agency says there is an outstanding tax liability of $A14m, and the move applies to a stock portfolio worth $A9.5m as well as a total of four bank accounts held in Australia, France and Switzerland. It is believed the ATO’s action stems from a "Project Wickenby" investigation of a Perth-based investor

CORPORATES
GROWTH INVESTMENT FUND, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, REGIS RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX RRL, EMPIRED LIMITED – ASX EPD, EUROZ LIMITED – ASX EZL, EUROZ SECURITIES LIMITED, MONAVAL VERMOGENSVERWALTUNGS AG, ZERO NOMINEES PTY LTD

Investors queueing for elusive dairy farms

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 39 : 18-Aug-14

The Australian Dairy Farms Group plans to list on the Australian sharemarket in October 2014. However, there are relatively few opportunities for investors to buy into companies that own dairy farms, despite the strong growth in demand for dairy products in recent years. Corporate and Chinese investors account for more than 50 per cent of investors who will attend the Australian Dairy Farm Investment Forum in September

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN DAIRY FARMS LIMITED, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, BELL FINANCIAL GROUP LIMITED – ASX BFG, WARRNAMBOOL CHEESE AND BUTTER FACTORY COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX WCB, PACTUM DAIRY GROUP PTY LTD, HARVEY FRESH, DAIRY AUSTRALIA, KIDDER WILLIAMS LIMITED, ACE FARMING PTY LTD, VALAD PROPERTY GROUP, BLACKSTONE REAL ESTATE ADVISORS LLC, DUXTON ASSET MANAGEMENT PTE LTD, NORCO CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED

Resources outdo yield kings early in reporting season

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 15-Aug-14

The results reported so far during the current reporting season suggest that Australian-listed companies remain committed to financial prudence. There have been few buybacks and big dividends, with the exception of Telstra announcing a $A1 billion stock repurchasing scheme. Analysts believe companies do not want to return capital to shareholders because they need to have enough cash on hand to fund possible acquisitions

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, MAPLE-BROWN ABBOTT LIMITED, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIVERSDALE MINING LIMITED, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Fundies move to cash as risks increase

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Original article by Bianca Hartge-Hazelman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 15-Aug-14

A survey of 224 fund managers by Bank of America Merrill Lynch shows that 27 per cent have an overweight position on cash investments, compared with 12 per cent in July. Factors such as geopolitical tensions and renewed volatility in equity markets has prompted many fund managers to rebalance their portfolios in favour of cash rather than shares. There has also been a sharp fall in the number of investors who are overweight on equities

CORPORATES
BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, MERRILL LYNCH AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, AQUASIA PTY LTD

ATO chasing multi dippers

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Original article by Nassim Khadem
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 14-Aug-14

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) intends to crack down on taxpayers who engage in so-called "dividend washing". The tax agency issued warning letters in March 2014, which prompted some 1,300 recipients to make voluntary disclosures. It will shortly follow this up with further letters to taxpayers who failed to respond. The ATO has warned that taxpayers who ignore the letter could be audited and face large tax penalties

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY