K: Financial and Insurance Services

ASIC calls for crackdown on card sharks

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 4-Jul-18

A review of the credit card industry by the Australian Securities & Investment Commission has found that many consumers are finding it hard to repay their debt. ASIC deputy chair Peter Kell says relatively few card issuers actively take action to address such problems. In addition to being in arrears, many consumers have been issued with credit cards that are inappropriate for their needs. ASIC has proposed new rules whereby a consumer’s credit card debt would be restricted to their capacity to repay it within three years.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, LATITUDE GROUP, AMERICAN EXERGEN CORPORATION, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

RBA holds rates firm, defying global trend

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 19 & 27 : 4-Jul-18

Financial markets have priced in little chance of monetary policy tightening by April 2019 after the Reserve Bank of Australia left the cash rate unchanged at 1.5 per cent on 3 July. Economists note that the wording of the statement issued by governor Philip Lowe was largely similar to the previous month. Lowe reiterated that progress in reducing the unemployment rate and lifting inflation to the RBA’s target range of 2-3 per cent is likely to be gradual. He also noted the potential for a trade war to impact on global economic growth

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Law firm hits CBA with class action suit

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 20 : 3-Jul-18

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia faces another class action over its money-laundering scandal. Law firm Phi Finney McDonald has filed a lawsuit on behalf of investors who bought CBA shares between 16 June 2014 and 3August 2017. The firm alleges that CBA’s failure to inform the market about the scandal constituted a breach of its disclosure requirements. The class action will allege that investors incurred loss and damage due to the bank’s inaction.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, PHI FINNEY McDONALD PTY LTD, THERIUM PTY LTD, CALIFORNIA STATE TEACHERS’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM, TEACHERS’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF TEXAS, MASSACHUSETTS PENSION RESERVES INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT BOARD, COLORADO PUBLIC EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, IMF BENTHAM LIMITED – ASX IMF

Property fall tipped to soften RBA

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 3-Jul-18

The Reserve Bank of Australia is widely tipped to leave official interest rates unchanged at 1.5 per cent on 3 July. However, the central bank’s so-called "shadow board" believes that there is a strong case for the cash rate to be increased immediately, given factors such as low wages growth, low unemployment and an inflation rate that is within the RBA’s target range. Meanwhile, new data shows that there was an 0.3 per cent decline in house prices in major cities during June.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NOMURA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, MONASH UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY, MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY

No RBA rate hikes for a year

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Original article by Vesna Poljak, Sarah Turner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 20 : 2-Jul-18

A quarterly survey of economists shows that the general consensus is that the Reserve Bank of Australia will leave interest rates on hold at 1.5 per cent until June 2019. The cash rate is now expected to reach two per cent by the end of 2019. However, former ANZ Bank chief economist Warren Hogan expects one rate increase by mid-2019, arguing that the RBA needs to begin the process of normalising monetary policy. Matthew Peter of QIC also expects one rate rise in the next 12 months.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, QIC LIMITED, UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY, BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD, MARKET ECONOMICS PTY LTD, LAMINAR CAPITAL, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

Strategists offer their wisdom on ASX outlook for 2018-19

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Original article by Sarah Turner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 2-Jul-18

The S&P/ASX 200 gained 8.6 per cent during 2017-18, ending the financial year at 6,194 points. The energy sector rose 37 per cent and the material sector added 24 per cent. Equities strategists are generally upbeat about the outlook for commodity prices and the resources sector in 2018-19, although some are bearish about bank stocks. Meanwhile, Chris Nicol of Morgan Stanley expects the S&P/ASX 200 to be trading at 5,950 points at the end of 2018-19, while Tony Brennan of Citigroup has a target of 6,650 points.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, ARISTOCRAT LEISURE LIMITED – ASX ALL, THE A2 MILK COMPANY LIMITED – ASX A2M, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

DIY super is built on dodgy advice

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Original article by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
The Age – Page: 20 : 29-Jun-18

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission’s deputy chairman Peter Kell says the financial planning industry needs to lift its game when it comes to providing advice to the $A697bn self-managed superannuation fund sector. Kell was commenting on an ASIC report which contends that nine out of every 10 SMSFs are "underpinned" by sub-standard financial advice. The number of SMSFs grew by an average of 5.2 per cent a year between 2010 and 2017, while there were over 590,000 SMSFs at the end of June 2017.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Banks to stick with advice charges

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Original article by Anthony Klan
The Australian – Page: 8 : 29-Jun-18

Westpac-owned BT recently stated that it will abolish so-called "grandfathered" advice charges for customers with legacy investment products. AMP, National Australia Bank, ANZ, and the Commonwealth Bank have indicated that they will still impose the charges. The Productivity Commission noted in a recent report that around 630,000 superannuation accounts are subject to trailing commissions, with such charges having a detrimental impact on their balances.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

ASX sails to 8pc return with BHP leading the pack

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 29 : 29-Jun-18

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index has posted a gain of 8.6 per cent prior to dividends so far in 2017-18, after rising 9.3 per cent in 2016-17. BHP Billiton, CSL and Macquarie Group have been the biggest contributors to the local market’s gains in the current financial year. Citigroup has forecast that the ASX 200 will rise to 6,500 points in 2018-19, while the consensus of analysts is for earnings-per-share growth of eight per cent in 2018-19.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, XERO LIMITED – ASX XRO, WISETECH GLOBAL LIMITED – ASX WTC, AFTERPAY TOUCH GROUP LIMITED – ASX APT, ALTIUM LIMITED – ASX ALU, APPEN LIMITED – ASX APX, BLOOMBERG LP, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, ATLAS FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

RBA sidelined as cost of money rises

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 28-Jun-18

Futures market pricing suggests that investors expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to keep official interest rates on hold until late 2019. However, the gap between the cash rate and the bank bill swap rate has increased to 61 basis points, compared with an average of 18 basis points for much of the last decade. The rise in the BBSW may eventually prompt Australia’s major banks to increase their mortgage interest rates independently of the RBA, with several of the nation’s smaller lenders having already done so.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, ME BANK, AMP BANK LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD