K: Financial and Insurance Services

Why the RBA will hike interest rates

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Original article by Karen Maley
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 6-Feb-18

Ellerston Capital’s Tim Toohey expects the Reserve Bank to increase official interest rates by 125 basis points over the next three years, beginning in the second half of 2018. He says the prospect of higher interest rates will have relatively little impact on consumers, despite rising household debt, arguing that the net worth of Australian households has risen strongly over the last decade. Meanwhile, he attributes a slump in retail spending in the September 2017 quarter to the Federal Government’s changes in the rules on voluntary superannuation contributions rather than negative consumer sentiment.

CORPORATES
ELLERSTON CAPITAL PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Investors follow Future Fund to lift share exposure

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Original article by James Kirby
The Australian – Page: 32 : 2-Feb-18

A report from Investment Trends shows that in early 2017 the average investor expected a return of just 1-5 per cent from Australian equities for the calendar year, but the ASX achieved a full-year return of 11.8 per cent. Investment Trends’ King Loong Choi says the firm’s annual survey shows that the proportion of investors whose main goal is to maximise capital growth has risen from 18 per cent to 25 per cent in 2018. Choi adds that retail investors who increase their exposure to equities in 2018 may choose to do so via investment vehicles such as exchange-traded funds rather than directly buying shares.

CORPORATES
INVESTMENT TRENDS PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY

Banks watch as capital city unit crisis unfolds

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: 21 : 31-Jan-18

The yield on US 10-year government bonds peaked at 2.73 per cent in late January, and the policies of President Donald Trump could see yields rise further. This would have major implications for Australia’s banks, which source 30-40 per cent of their funding from offshore. Australian banks are in turn heavily exposed to the residential and retail property markets, and a sharp rise in global interest rates would put downward pressure on asset values in these sectors. This would be of particular concern for the inner city apartment markets in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, where there are already fears of an oversupply.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Smaller end of town to buoy ASX

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 25 : 31-Jan-18

A report by HLB Mann Judd notes that 37 companies have plans to list on the Australian sharemarket at present, compared with 23 at the same time in 2017. Third Party Technologies heads the list of prospective floats, with plans to raise $A123m from investors. HLB Mann Judd expects small and medium-sized companies to continue to dominate the IPO market in 2018. There were no IPOs worth more than $A1bn in 2017, and no IPOs of this size are currently in the works.

CORPORATES
HLB MANN JUDD, THIRD PARTY TECHNOLOGIES INCORPORATED – ASX 3PT, INDIA FUND LIMITED – ASX INF, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GROUP LIMITED, INGHAMS GROUP LIMITED – ASX ING, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, OFFICEWORKS SUPERSTORES PTY LTD, ARCHER CAPITAL PTY LTD, CRAVEABLE BRANDS LIMITED, OPORTO PTY LTD, RED ROOSTER FOODS, ZIP INDUSTRIES AUSTRALIA, QUADRANT PRIVATE EQUITY PTY LTD, CHAMP PRIVATE EQUITY PTY LTD, ACCOLADE WINES LIMITED

Satisfaction with banks up in December

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 31-Jan-18

New research from Roy Morgan shows that customer satisfaction with banks in the six months to December 2017 was 80.8%, up from 80.6% in November. Despite many fluctuations in satisfaction over the last two decades, the current result represents a continuation of the generally positive trend that we have seen since 2001, when satisfaction with banks was only 58.5%. The Commonwealth Bank had the highest customer satisfaction rating of the big four in December (unchanged at 79.6%), followed by NAB (up 0.3% to 78.6%). However, Bendigo Bank (up 0.7% to 88.8%) had the highest customer satisfaction rating among the 10 largest consumer banks.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, BENDIGO BANK, BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, ING BANK (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, BANK OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, SUNCORP BANK

Meet the Bond who helped return 74 per cent in 2017

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 27 : 30-Jan-18

Terra Capital founder Jeremy Bond is upbeat about the outlook for equities in 2018, particularly the resources sector. The firm’s natural resources fund achieved a return of 74 per cent in 2017, benefiting from rising demand for raw materials used in electric car and storage batteries, such as lithium and cobalt. However, Bond notes that the rally in the resources sector is broad-based and encompasses most commodities.

CORPORATES
TERRA CAPITAL PTY LTD, TERRA CAPITAL NATURAL RESOURCE FUND PTY LTD, TAWANA RESOURCES NL – ASX TAW, FIRST COBALT CORPORATION – ASX FCC, ECOBALT SOLUTIONS INCORPORATED, OKLO RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX OKU, CHAMPION IRON LIMITED – ASX CIA, CLEVELAND-CLIFFS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RIVERSDALE MINING LIMITED, MERCER INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, BENNELONG CONCENTRATED AUSTRALIAN EQUITIES FUND, TRIBECA GLOBAL NATURAL RESOURCES FUND

Minefield for new CBA boss

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal, Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 30-Jan-18

The head of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s retail banking division, Matt Comyn, will succeed Ian Narev as CEO in April. His remuneration will be 15 per cent lower, with a base salary of $A2.2m plus short-term and long-term incentives. Comyn’s appointment follows a global search for Narev’s successor, and CBA chair Catherine Livingstone says Comyn had the board’s full support. CBA’s retail banking division has attracted scrutiny over a money-laundering scandal, but Livingstone stresses that it was a company-wide issue.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, FINANCE SECTOR UNION, BERRILL AND WATSON, COMMINSURE

Firms sidestep AGM protest votes

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 19 : 30-Jan-18

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has released the results of its review of the latest AGM season. ASIC found that there was a decline in the number of "first strikes" issued against company boards over their remuneration reports, although here was an increase in the number of votes against individual directors. Shareholder-generated resolutions relating to climate change and human rights were tabled at eight AGMs, but attracted an average of just six per cent of "for" votes.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE

Citi upbeat on stocks amid rising resources

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 28 : 30-Jan-18

The general consensus of analysts is for the S&P/ASX 200 to be trading at around 6,250 points at the end of 2018. However, Citigroup has upgraded its year-end forecast from 6,400 points to 6,600. Tony Brennan of Citigroup notes that there is the potential for further upside if the recent rise in commodity prices is sustained. The S&P/ASX 200 has gained 0.2 per cent so far in 2018, compared with a gain of 7.5 per cent for the S&P 500.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, MSCI ALL COUNTRY WORLD INDEX, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC

Miners ride high into new profit season

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 29-Jan-18

Data from Deutsche Bank shows that Australian-listed companies are forecast to achieve earnings-per-share growth of seven per cent in 2017-18. Kogan, Noni B and Lovisa are among the companies that have upgraded their earnings forecasts ahead of the February 2018 reporting season. The outlook for resources stock in particular is good, with Macquarie Group recently upgrading its share price targets for BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and South32 on the strength of its bullish price forecasts for commodities such as iron ore and coking coal in 2018.

CORPORATES
DEUTSCHE BANK AG, KOGAN.COM LIMITED – ASX KGN, NONI B LIMITED – ASX NBL, LOVISA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LOV, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, PINNACLE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX PNI, RETAIL FOOD GROUP LIMITED – ASX RFG, AUSTRALIAN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED – ASX API, McGRATH LIMITED – ASX MEA, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, PRICELINE PHARMACY, ORIGIN ASSET MANAGEMENT, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED