K: Financial and Insurance Services

The most common question on Wall Street: when will rally end?

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Original article by Philip Baker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 27-Oct-17

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index has gained four per cent so far in 2017, and it has not ended a month in positive territory since April. Meanwhile, the major US indices have finished in the black every month except for March, and the S&P 500 has gained nearly 15 per cent in the year to date. Wall Street’s sustained rally has prompted speculation as to when it will end, but there are strong indications that the current bull run will extend beyond seven months.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX, CLIME INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX CIW, CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, EPFR GLOBAL

RBA held up by flagging inflation

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 26-Oct-17

Official data shows that growth in Australia’s headline consumer prices was below expectations at just 0.6 per cent in the September quarter, for an annual inflation rate of 1.8 per cent. Growth in the core inflation rate slowed to 0.3-0.4 per cent, compared with 0.5 per cent in the June quarter. The data has dampened expectations that the Reserve Bank will increase the cash rate in the near-term, with financial markets now pricing in a 36 per cent chance of a rate rise by May.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NOMURA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

CBA remains satisfaction leader among Australia’s major four banks

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 25-Oct-17

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that customer satisfaction with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia was 79.9% in the six months to September 2017, and despite a decline of 0.3% points from August, it has remained the satisfaction leader among the four major banks since July 2015. Satisfaction with banks overall has declined from 81.7% to 80.8% over the last 12 months. The four major banks in total have declined by 1.0% points to 78.8%, the mutual banks have declined by 0.6% points to 90.0% and the foreign banks are down 0.6% points to 83.1%. Despite these declines, overall bank satisfaction remains well above the long-term average of 73.9% established since 2001. Meanwhile, the mortgage customers of each of the four major banks continue to be a drag on their overall satisfaction, despite historically low home-loan rates. Over the last 12 months, satisfaction among the big four’s home-loan customers has fallen by 0.2% to 75.7%, leaving it well below the satisfaction of non-mortgage customers with 79.6%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH 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

ASIC win on bank swap rate rigging

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Original article by Patrick Durkin, James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Oct-17

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission’s case against Westpac, the ANZ, and National Australia Bank has been put on hold for two days. ASIC had accused the three banks of trying to rig the bank bill swap rate. However, the ANZ reported a day before the case was due to start that it had reached a settlement with ASIC, and it is understood that NAB may also do so. The deferment will allow ASIC’s deal with ANZ to be finalised and for it to be approved by the court. Outgoing ASIC chairman Greg Medcraft says the ANZ’s decision to settle the case vindicates its decision to pursue the case. It is believed that ANZ has agreed to pay a fine in the order of $A50 million.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, GREAT BRITAIN. FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY

Medibank fails to satisfy members

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Original article by Alice Uribe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 24-Oct-17

Morgan Stanley’s latest survey of customer attitudes to health insurance policies has found that 48 per cent were likely to consider changing insurers over the next 12 months, up from 41 per cent. Medibank Private had the lowest percentage of customers who would recommend it to a friend, while 50 per cent of Medibank Private customers indicated they would be likely to "shop around" over the next year, up from 40 per cent.

CORPORATES
MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, AHM HEALTH INSURANCE, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED MOTOR INSURERS LIMITED, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, NIB HEALTH FUNDS LIMITED, HBF HEALTHFUNDS INCORPORATED, THE HOSPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS FUND OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH

Brexit shut one door, opened another for Auscap

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 24-Oct-17

Auscap Asset Management, which was founded by Tim Carleton and Matthew Parker in 2012, boasts about $A450m worth of funds under management. Carleton says Auscap saw Britain’s vote to leave the European Union as an opportunity to buy several Australian stocks with exposure to the UK at a healthy discount to their pre-Brexit share price. Likewise, the firm capitalised on bearish sentiment toward retail stocks following the Federal Government’s 2014 Budget to buy oversold stocks in the sector.

CORPORATES
AUSCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ANSELL LIMITED – ASX ANN, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, CALEDONIA INVESTMENTS LIMITED, COTA CAPITAL, THORNEY INVESTMENT GROUP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GROUP LIMITED, BLACK DOG INSTITUTE, VICTOR CHANG CARDIAC RESEARCH INSTITUTE LIMITED, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS RESEARCH AUSTRALIA LIMITED, JUVENILE DIABETES RESEARCH FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL

NAB, CBA: We didn’t hike rates for profit

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 23-Oct-17

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority requested in March that interest-only loans be capped at 30 per cent of all mortgages. National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank executives were asked by federal parliament’s economics committee on 20 October why they lifted rates for existing interest-only loan customers in the wake of APRA’s directive, with the suggestion being that they were motivated by profit. However, this implication was rejected by the bank executives.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Rate rise firming after stronger jobs growth

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 20-Oct-17

A rise in official interest rates may be on the agenda in 2018 after Australia’s unemployment rate fell from 5.6 per cent to 5.5 per cent in September 2017, with a higher-than-expected 19,800 jobs being created during the month. The economy has added 317,000 jobs in the last year, which is the highest annual rate of growth since August 2005. The Reserve Bank of Australia is widely tipped to leave interest rates on hold until at least 2018.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED – ASX API

ASX’s $100b rally could be far from over, analysts predict

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Original article by Jessica Sier, Patrick Commins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 27 : 19-Oct-17

The Australian sharemarket had been range-bound since May, but a rally in the last nine trading sessions has increased its capitalisation by about $A100bn. JP Morgan’s Jason Steed says the near-term outlook for the local bourse will depend to a large extent on financial and mining stocks, which dominate the market. However, Steed adds that investors are looking for greater political certainty, particularly with regard to issues such as energy policy and regulation of the banking sector.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, TOKYO STOCK PRICE INDEX, DEUTSCHER AKTIEN INDEX

Reserve in no hurry to lift rates

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 2 : 18-Oct-17

The minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s board meeting for October suggest that the cash rate will remain at 1.5 per cent for some time. The central bank stresses that while the global trend toward monetary policy tightening is a "welcome development", it has no implications for Australian interest rates, which stayed much higher than in many nations in the wake of the global financial crisis. Meanwhile, the RBA anticipates that inflation will gradually move towards its target range.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, BANK OF CANADA, BANK OF ENGLAND, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK