K: Financial and Insurance Services

Bond’s grandson bets big on future of cobalt

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 14-Mar-17

Terra Capital’s main resources fund delivered an annualised return of 21 per cent from its formation in 2010 up until 31 January 2017. The fund avoids large stocks like BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, preferring to focus on smaller stocks in the resources sector. Founder Jeremy Bond, who is a grandson of the late Alan Bond, says cobalt stocks have become part of its portfolio recently, due to cobalt being a major component of the type of batteries used in electric cars.

CORPORATES
TERRA CAPITAL PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 300 RESOURCES INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX SMALL RESOURCES INDEX, ECOBALT SOLUTIONS INCORPORATED, EQUATOR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX EQU, BATTERY MINERALS RESOURCES LIMITED

Pause ahead of next Fed rate decision

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Original article by Timothy Moore
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 13-Mar-17

The US Federal Reserve is widely tipped to increase official interest rates in the week beginning 13 March 2017, and sharemarket trading volumes are likely to be subdued ahead of the monetary policy meeting. Stronger-than-expected growth in US jobs in February will strengthen the case for a rate rise. In contrast, most economists expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to leave the cash rate on hold in 2017. Meanwhile, Capital Economics forecasts that the iron ore price will fall to around $US45 per tonne.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES, OANDA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

Stars align as Aussie battler skates to fair value

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 31 : 17-Feb-17

The Australian dollar peaked at $US0.7732 in local trading on 16 February 2017, in response to upbeat jobs data. National Australia Bank deems $US0.777 to be "fair value" for the currency at present, and NAB’s Ray Attrill says factors such as the rise in the iron ore price have contributed to the increase in its fair value in recent weeks. The currency has also benefited from growing expectations that the Reserve Bank will not significantly reduce the cash rate during 2017.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Earnings season shows bourse’s pillars are solid

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 31 : 16-Feb-17

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed above 5,800 points on 15 February 2017, bolstered by strong earnings results by a number of blue-chip stocks. The local bourse is now underperforming the US market by less than two per cent, recovering from a disappointing performance in January. The S&P/ASX 200 could test the 6,000-point level if the reporting season continues to deliver good results, and Richard Copple­son of Bell Potter still expects it to reach 6,300 points by the end of 2017.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, COMPUTERSHARE LIMITED – ASX CPU, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, CIMIC GROUP LIMITED – ASX CIM, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, PRIMARY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX PRY, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, BRAMBLES LIMITED – ASX BXB, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Mixed views on dollar’s chance of hitting US80c

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 28 : 15-Feb-17

The Australian dollar rallied on 14 February 2017, benefiting from factors such as an upbeat business survey and a strong rise in the Chinese producer price index. The currency has reached a two-year high on a trade-weighted index basis, while it is within sight of the 2016 high of $US0.7835. However, the spot price of iron ore may not be sustainable at the current elevated level, while the gap between official interest rates in Australia and the US is likely to narrow as the Federal Reserve gears up to tighten monetary policy.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Betting on US stimulus could come back to bite

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 32 : 14-Feb-17

Sharemarkets have rallied in response to indications from US President Donald Trump of a major announcement on tax policy in coming weeks. Diana Mousina of AMP Capital warns that any move by the Trump administration to back away from its proposed tax cuts for companies and individuals would hit shares and US economic growth. However, an overly aggressive fiscal stimulus package would risk a spike in the inflation rate, which would most likely prompt a rise in interest rates. This in turn could derail the sharemarket rally.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, PERPETUAL INVESTMENTS, PACIFIC INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT COMPANY LLC

Apple Pay to take bite at big three banks

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 30 : 10-Feb-17

Macquarie Bank and ING Direct customers will have access to the Apple Pay service by the end of February 2017, but the ANZ Bank is the only "big four" bank that currently offers it. The head of Apple Pay, Jennifer Bailey, warns that the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank risk losing customers unless they embrace the global payments system. ANZ Bank has indicated that about 26 per cent of its customers use Apple Pay, while Bailey notes that Australians are now the biggest users of the service.

CORPORATES
APPLE PAY, APPLE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED – ASX MBL, ING DIRECT, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

US concerns spark global retreat

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Original article by Chris Kohler
The Australian – Page: 28 : 1-Feb-17

The Australian sharemarket retreated on 31 January 2017, with the S&P/ASX 200 shedding 0.7 per cent to close at 5,620. BHP Billiton was 2.63 per cent lower at $A26.64, Westpac eased 0.94 per cent to finish at $A31.71 and Virtus Health was down 17.7 per cent at $A5.11. However, Fortescue Metals Group advanced 2.8 per cent to end the session at $A6.66.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, VIRTUS HEALTH LIMITED – ASX VRT, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NAVITAS LIMITED – ASX NVT, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, ILUKA RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX ILU, CMC MARKETS PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Leaks on M&A deals on rise despite increased crackdown by regulators

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Original article by Michael Bennet
The Australian – Page: 14 : 19-Jan-17

A report from Intralinks shows that three per cent of Australian mergers and acquisition deals were leaked prior to an official announcement in 2015, compared with two per cent in 2014. Globally, the proportion of leaked deals rose from six per cent to 8.6 per cent in 2015. The report also notes that leaks resulted in a global median takeover premium of 53 per cent for target companies, compared with a premium of just 24 per cent for deals that were not leaked. Australia ranks among the three nations with the lowest level of M&A leaks, according to Intralinks.

CORPORATES
INTRALINKS INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Analysts suspect $65bn lift by big four banks has run its course

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Original article by Daniel Palmer
The Australian – Page: 21 : 13-Jan-17

Australia’s four major banks have enjoyed double-digit rises in their share prices since Donald Trump won the US presidential election. Their combined market capitalisation has risen by $A65bn in the last two months, prompting analysts to question whether the rally will continue. Jarrod Martin of Credit Suisse notes that shares in the "big four" are now close to fair value, although the firm is upbeat about the outlook for the banks. It anticipates earnings growth of four per cent and has upgraded its share price targets.

CORPORATES
CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED